Brrrrr…

This is what I saw from my craft room window this morning. It’s a chilly 1 degree at our house (which, admittedly, is better than a negative number!), so being the good mother I am, I sent my boys off to school (and the Army) with some soul-warming baked oatmeal.

Our eldest will not eat regular oatmeal, because of the texture. He loves this, probably because it’s more like a dense oatmeal cake. Not that sweet, just yummy. The “Wisconsin” in the name comes from the Penzeys spices, maple syrup, and the dried cherries in it…all Wisconsin products. How regional am I?

Wisconsin Baked Oatmeal

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp Penzeys Baking Spice (or a combo of cinnamon, allspice, and ginger)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs, beaten)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup dried cherries (or dried fruit of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes, until edges begin to brown.

I serve it with a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt, to up the calcium and protein factor. I mean, my kids have to go a whole 2 hours before they have a snack at school. Then another hour until lunch. It’s crazy, how often they eat at school. And how hungry they still are!

This yields 6 regular servings, or 12 smaller ones. For our family of 5, we had about 2 servings left over.

Enjoy, and stay warm (if that’s what you choose to do, of course!).

‘Tis the Season…already?

Yes, it’s time to get your brains working and figure out what you’re doing for your hand-stamped holiday cards this year! That was mean for a Monday, wasn’t it? Well, I plan to make it up to you. I had a burst of creativity over the weekend, so for the next 10 posts, I’ll have a new holiday card design to share. Some may look complicated, but they really aren’t…no sweat shop origami cards this year!

To jumpstart my Monday (everyone here was lethargic…too much family fun over the weekend, I suppose), I made some really hearty (and that does not mean not tasty) multigrain hot cereal. We picked apples yesterday, so guess what ingredient will feature heavily in our meals this week? Yes, apples! I’ve been making myself a pumpkin coffee smoothie for the last few mornings, and being a pumpkin fanatic, I wanted to incorporate that, as well. The result was delicious!

I just cooked some multigrain hot cereal according to the directions on the package and added some brown sugar. Okay, quite a lot of brown sugar. Then I stirred in a handful of craisins and about 1/4 cup pumpkin (from a can) for each serving. Some diced apples on top, and voila! My kids thought it was great, too.

Now for the card….

All Stampin' Up!: Delightful Decorations, Christmas Greetings, and
Distressed Dots stamp sets; Cherry Cobbler, Baja Blue, Old Olive, and
Whisper White Cardstock; Cherry Cobbler, Baja Blue, and Old Olive inks;
Cherry Cobbler Bakers' Twine; Ornament punch

To make the 3-D ornament, I stamped then punched 3 identical ornaments. Fold them in half vertically and adhere the sides. Tie your bow after you make the ornament 3-D, or the tie will be too tight for it to fold out. I think it would be cute with some rhinestone bling added to the sentiment, but wanted to keep this simple and quick. You could also put Old Olive ribbon on top of the paper strip for a little more texture. My favorite feature of the Christmas Greetings set is that it has a nice little verse for inside the card, as well as the front. And it's inexpensive!

Tune in tomorrow for another card idea! And maybe another use for apples….