Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal

I admit it...I buy a big box of instant oatmeal at Costco every month. My kids love it, they can make it themselves..and I get to lay in bed a little bit longer on the mornings it's on the menu. (They even make it for the toddler!) I love my kids. The last couple times I have bought it, ALL of the maple and brown sugar are clumpy and we cannot break it apart. I took the first box back when I realized the problem and got another one. However the second box did the same thing. So this time they ate all the other flavors and I won't be buying more. I found a recipe online for instant oatmeal packets and did a little tweaking..and voila!! I made two big batches of two different flavors that will hopefully last us a couple weeks. (big family problems)

First things first..here is what you need! (You can put these into individual baggies- but that is not necessary and creates a lot of waste.)

10 Cups Quick cooking oats
1t salt
2 Cups brown sugar
1 Cup powdered milk
3t cinnamon
3t pumpkin pie spice

Take 6 cups of the oats and put it in a big bowl. Put the rest of the oats (2 cups at a time) in the blender and blend into a powder, i just pulse it. This is what will thicken your oatmeal and give it the instant texture we are used to. Then mix the two kinds of oats together. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Put into a good air tight container.

To make: use 1/2 cup of oatmeal mixture and add hot or boiling water until you reach your desired consistency. My husband likes his oatmeal cooked in the microwave, so you can also add some water then pop it in the microwave for a minute or two until it is cooked that way.


I also made Apple Cinnamon flavor- Keep everything the same except go up to 4t cinnamon and add 3 cups crumbled dehydrated apples and omit the pumpkin pie spice.

I'm not sure of cost comparison with store bought, but I do know homemade is way better because there are less ingredients. Also, I buy everything in bulk- so the only thing I might have to go back to the store for to make more would be pumpkin pie spice.

I put my label maker to good use too ;-)

Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

My 7 year old daughter woke up on Saturday morning REALLY wanting some pumpkin bread. All the big kids had already gotten up and eaten cereal for breakfast but I decided I could still make this and they could eat it for morning snack. It turned out so delicious. Everyone loved it. I found a general recipe on my All Recipes app but tweaked it a little and I am glad I did because it was so good. This will definitely be a keeper recipe that we will have often this Fall.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour (or gluten free flour- I use Namaste all purpose gluten free)
1 cup        sugar
1T            cinnamon
1t             baking soda
1/4t          baking powder
1/4t          salt
1 pinch    ground nutmeg
1 cup       pumpkin puree
1/2 cup    butter (melted)
2              eggs
1t             vanilla
1 cup       chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a loaf pan. Stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl (I use my Kitchen Aide mixer) mix together butter, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla.  Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and continue mixing. Add chocolate chips and stir with a spoon. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until your knife comes out clean.

Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches

 

Every year I buy a bushel or more of apples and preserve applesauce to last us the next (hopefully) year, until they go on sale again. This year is no different. A health food store in town (Sprouts) recently had a sale on Gala apples, $.48/pound. So I bought a bushel. The week before, we had visited the Happy Apple Farm and bought some apples there too. So I have a ton to work with! I decided instead of canning the first couple batches, I would put them into squeezy pouches I had bought for making baby food. I froze them to be able to take to their one day a week homeschool enrichment program. They LOVE go-go squeeze applesauce but I just cannot afford to buy them for 4 kids. I am going to show you my applesauce recipe (you can use whatever one you like!), along with how I used the Infantino Pouch Maker. You can buy one on Amazon for about $18, (it includes 10 pouches) you can even go in with a friend and share it since it's not something you would both need at the same time. Once you buy it, all you have to do is buy more pouches, on Amazon the pouches are $12 for 50 pouches. ..which is a good deal! Plus you know the applesauce is good and homemade!!

Applesauce Recipe

8 lbs Apples
1" water in pot
1 Cup Sugar (optional)
Cinnamon (optional)

I DO NOT peel my apples, I just use the Pampered Chef apple slicer & corer. (This is the cinnamon I buy from Sam's, it lasts a lot longer than those little bitty jars from the store)

The kiddos love to help, so I had them peeling the stickers off of all the apples, and Little Brother just wanted to throw the apples all over the kitchen!!

 I put about 1" of water in a big pot then start filling it up with sliced apples. Once its just about to the top I sprinkle the whole top with cinnamon.

  

Next I put the lid on and put it on the stove. I turn the heat to medium and check it every 15 minutes or so.(If you find your water is boiling over I would turn the heat down to low-medium) I stir the apples around every 30 minutes to make sure the cinnamon gets mixed up good. It usually takes an hour and half to two hours to cook them good. Once they are done I put them through the meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid (I rarely use it to grind meat)  By using this attachment I am able to avoid the apple peeling process. The tough skin gets stuck and won't even go through the grinder, the rest gets ground up and you don't even know its there! Before I put the applesauce through the grinder I add a cup of sugar and stir it around. You don't by any means have to add the sugar, but I do just because we like our applesauce a little sweeter.****If your apples are juicy you do not want to add all the liquid that you end up with when they are ready to go through the grinder, so make sure you notice that your applesauce has a good consistency. I had a pint of juice left over on my last batch***

Once it goes through the grinder it is ready to either be canned, frozen, or eaten right then (we like it warm with some Cool Whip on top!) With this batch I chose to put it all into my Infantino Fresh Squeezed Pouch Maker.

I'm not sure how many pouches I made, maybe 25. This should last a good while for the kids to take to school and I won't have to buy the little cups of applesauce or remember to buy plastic spoons to send with them. The night before you want to put them in their lunches I would recommend putting them in the fridge to thaw, that way they are all ready to go in their lunch bags the next morning.

When I can the applesauce in jars I usually get about 2 quarts and 2 pints per batch. I use a pressure canner and it takes 20 minutes, but you can use a water bath canner as well. They need to boil for about 20 minutes to be processed correctly. Let them sit to cool and you will hear them pop. Once they are cooled label and date them and store them away!! Good Luck!

** I am not in any way being compensated by Amazon or Infantino for this post, this is just something I highly recommend and believe Amazon has the best price for it. **

Spicey Chicken Spaghetti

This is a great recipe for big families, or if you have a smaller family like ours it can make 2 meals. And you can control the spiciness by what kind of Rotel you buy.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz pkg Spaghetti
1 16 oz bar of Velveeta cubed
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 C. butter
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Rotel
3-4 chicken breast already cooked and cubed

First you want to cook your spaghetti according to the package directions.

While doing that go ahead and get a big saucepan and start to melt your butter. After the butter is melted add your onions. (I didn't have an onion, so I used dried minced onions and they worked out fine.)

When the onions are getting clear and pretty soft you can add your can of Rotel and Velveeta  Cheese and cook that until it melts.

When it looks like a cheese sauce you can add your chicken. I didn't use chicken breasts only- I had bought a fryer chicken and cooked it for dinner in the crockpot last week, after dinner I picked the rest of the meat off and had been saving it in the fridge for this casserole. (after all is said and done this 1 chicken will have fed us for 3 dinner meals)

Mix the chicken in good and heat through.

While that is heating its probably about time for your spaghetti to be drained and you can put it all in the bottom of the pan.

After this you can add the chicken and cheese mixture to the top. Then you will bake it at 350* for 25 minutes. If you were making this on a bulk freezer cooking day you would not put it in the oven, you would put some wax paper and foil over the top of the pan(s) and put them in the freezer. Then when you were ready to use it for your dinner you can defrost it in the fridge the night before and bake as above. If you forget to take it out of the freezer till right at dinner time you can cook it at 350* for 1 hr.

I use mild rotel because my kids don't like things that are too spicey. They also sell regular and extra hot I believe- so you can adjust it for your tastes.

Homemade Tortillas

I made my wonderful homemade tortillas tonight for our enchilada dinner. Once you make them homemade, the store bought will be completely unacceptable! Especially to your spouse! I love this recipe because it is quick and easy- you could get a tortilla press to make them a bit quicker, but I am pretty speedy with my rolling pin so that has not been necessary. Make sure you have a cast iron skillet to make these- I have never tried it on a regular skillet- but cast iron works great! You will want it heated to medium.  Here are directions on how I make them- give it a try- you wont regret it!!!!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (sometimes I use 2 cups whole wheat, 1 cup white)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 TBSP shortening or lard
1 1/4 cup water

 Mix the flour, baking powder, salt together- then add shortening and cut in.

I use my hand to make sure all the shortening is getting mixed in really good with the dry ingredients. Make sure it feels cornmealish- I also think it resembles the feel of moon sand...all mommy's with young kiddos will know what this feels like. Then add the water slowly while working it into a dough ball. (you may not use all the water & may have to add more flour if it is too sticky.) Once you have kneaded it into a nice round non-sticky ball leave it in the bowl and cover it for 10 minutes or so to let it settle.

After that break it into small pieces and work it into a ball by using your thumb and pressing in inwards- hard to explain but just make a bunch of dough balls. Cover this again and let it sit for 10 more minutes.

Turn your burner on to warm up your skillet- no higher then medium.

Next have your counter or cutting board floured a little and take one dough ball and smoosh it down then use the rolling pin to roll it out in a circle. I flip it over and around to get it in a nice circle. 

Go ahead and put it on your hot skillet and it should make some bubbles..if they are really big I usually pop them with the corner of my spatula. Then turn it over and leave it for about 30 seconds. Take it off after this it should be done. You don't want to leave it too long or it will burn and not be nice and soft.

While its cooking on the first side I try to get a couple more rolled out and ready so I always have another one ready for the skillet.

You should get 18-20  6 in tortillas out of one batch.

I was able to make a pan full of enchiladas and have 5 tortillas left over- we will eat these as a snack tomorrow with butter and honey on them. This is a BIG treat in our house and loved by everyone!

**I have also made a batch and cooked half into tortillas and put the rest of the dough balls in a freezer ziploc in the freezer. I let them sit on the counter to defrost when I need them and this gives them a chance to settle and be ready to be rolled out. You may need a little extra flour on the cutting board because of a bit of moisture **

Freezer/Bulk Cooking

I have been following along with Money Saving Mom's 4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer Challenge I haven't done it every day, but am trying to do a few a week. Last week I made homemade bagels- not for the freezer cause they didn't last long- (blog post coming soon)!! I made a triple batch of waffles and put those in the freezer, made a double batch of Amish Oatmeal, and one batch of my Cinnamon Rolls for the freezer as well! The oatmeal and cinnamon rolls I make to the point of being baked, then cover them good and put them in the freezer- they will still need to be cooked. Yesterday I made Granola Bars for the first time! YUMMY! Both my girls have an allergy to peanuts so ALL store bought granola bars are a no-no. The kids loved the homemade ones and we plan on making these a staple in our house!!

Here is the recipe:

• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup raisins

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well.(I ended up using my hands.) Stir in chips & raisins. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan- I would use 2 next time because they were pretty thick in one. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes; cut into bars. Cool completely in the pan before removing. I then put them in baggies in groups of 3 for the kids. If I had Saran Wrap I would have wrapped then individually.