Tag: quick oats

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Breakfast bars are ‘apple’utely great for a morning treat

Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.
Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.

Recently, I had the chance to meet one of our readers from Hesston.

We had a fairly short (but very pleasant) conversation, and before I left, he gestured to a bag on his kitchen counter.

“Do you like apples?” he asked me.

And that’s how I became the excited owner of four huge, beautiful golden delicious apples. He said he bought an entire case of them recently and had been working through them, little by little. I was happy to take these off his hands.

I was very tempted to just eat all of them, but instead, I felt like the gift deserved a spot in a new recipe, and after searching for an apple recipe that used sweet apples instead of tart, I landed on the one I’m sharing with you this week.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Healthy Family Project” by Amanda Keefer. You can find the original post at https://healthyfamilyproject.com/recipes/apple-crisp-breakfast-bars/. I added extra maple syrup and cinnamon in my version.

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Apple Crisp Breakfast Bars

Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword apples, breakfast bars, cinnamon, Golden delicious apples, maple syrup, quick oats, sweet apples

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup and 4 tablespoons maple syrup divided
  • 4 tablespoons butter room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon divided
  • 1 egg
  • 2 sweet apples I used golden delicious, diced
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an eight-by-eight-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper, and set it aside.
  • In a bowl, mix the oats, flour, salt, one-fourth cup maple syrup, butter and two teaspoons cinnamon, and mix until everything is well combined and the texture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Set aside one-half cup of the mixture.
  • In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork, and then pour it into the remaining crumb mixture, stirring to incorporate it completely. Spread the dough into the prepared baking dish into an even layer.
  • In another bowl, mix the apples, remaining maple syrup, remaining cinnamon and cornstarch until the apples are well-coated.
  • Spread the apple mixture evenly over the dough in the pan, and then top it with the oat mixture you set aside, crumbling it evenly over the top. (It won’t completely cover it; just get it evenly over the entire thing.)
  • Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are fork tender.
  • Let the bars cool completely before slicing them into squares.
  • Store the bars in an airtight container.

These are not overtly sweet, even with the extra maple syrup I added in my version. They truly are a great breakfast bar, even though you could totally get away with sharing them as a dessert, too.

I ended up doubling my batch of these bars and sharing them as part of a brunch with friends. It’s an incredibly easy recipe to double.

It was nice to be able to take a simple gift and turn it into another gift for others. (I’m sure there’s a small-town metaphor in there somewhere.)

And it was a doubly sweet experience to have a nice conversation on a cold afternoon. Thanks again, Harvey; I hope we will chat again one day.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 9, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

Preserve your time with a quick strawberry bar

Strawberry oatmeal bars are a snap to put together and bake in 30 minutes or less. They feature a light sweetness from coconut, nuttiness from quick oats, and of course, delicious strawberry flavor from preserves.
Strawberry oatmeal bars are a snap to put together and bake in 30 minutes or less. They feature a light sweetness from coconut, nuttiness from quick oats, and of course, delicious strawberry flavor from preserves.

I am often lost when it comes to buying preserves, jams, jellies, etc.

I know there are differences, but for some reason, my brain can’t seem to keep it all straight. If you ever see me at a store, staring at my phone in front of a shelf of spreads, you’ll know exactly what I’m Googling at that moment.

A farm out of Pennsylvania, Masonic Village Farm, has a blog post on its website, explaining all the ins and outs of the fruity offerings.

Jelly is made with juice. Jam has fruit mashed up in it. Preserves uses big pieces or whole fruit. Spreads are fruit without any added sugar, and butters have pureed fruit.

It’s amazing to me that there’s a term for every subtle difference.

I found myself researching this mystery yet again this past week, as I needed to buy some strawberry preserves for some delicious bars, which did not disappoint at all.

This recipe comes from “Taste of Home” magazine. You can find the original post at https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/strawberry-oatmeal-bars. I added just a touch extra of vanilla in my version.

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Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Strawberry oatmeal bars are a snap to put together and bake in 30 minutes or less. They feature a light sweetness from coconut, nuttiness from quick oats, and of course, delicious strawberry flavor from preserves.
Course Dessert
Keyword bar cookies, coconut, easy dessert, quick bar cookie, quick dessert, quick oats, strawberry, strawberry preserves, vanilla

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter melted
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/4 cups quick oats
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup strawberry preserves or flavor of your choice
  • 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter. Dump in the vanilla, flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix well until everything is completely combined.
  • Add all but one cup of the mixture to a nine-by-13-inch baking pan (you don’t need to grease it). Press it down evenly over the bottom of the pan.
  • Spoon the preserves over the top, spreading it out evenly.
  • Stir the shredded coconut into the remaining cup of crumbs, and loosely sprinkle the crumb/coconut mixture evenly over top of the preserves layer.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. Let the bars cool completely before cutting, and store them in an airtight container.

These were a big hit at the barbecue I took them to, and they were so, so easy to make, too. This would be a great recipe to make for a young or beginning baker. The tinge of coconut was the perfect amount, and the preserves did all the work outside of that.

The nice thing is, you can easily use the preserves of your choice if strawberry isn’t really your thing or if you want to have several options for a bake sale or snack table.

And honestly, if you wanted to use a jam instead, you’d probably be just fine. Although, as we have established, I am definitely no expert.

This piece first appeared in print on July 13, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Don’t crumble under hosting pressure; make a quick and easy dessert

Quick cherry crumble lives up to its name. With super easy assembly, the dessert can be baked an on the table in just over 30 minutes.
Quick cherry crumble lives up to its name. With super easy assembly, the dessert can be baked an on the table in just over 30 minutes.

I was remarking to some friends the other day about how Joey and I are complete opposites when it comes to socializing.

As an extroverted social butterfly, Joey draws his energy from being around people and generally loves a crowd.

For me, while I love to socialize, I tend to be reenergized by some alone time, and after a long day of hanging out with people or going to an event, I need a break to recharge.

Despite that difference, what Joey and I do have in common is that we love to host.

Planning a meal or a snack table and having people over to spend time chatting or playing games or watching sports with us is one of our favorite activities.

This past week, Joey casually mentioned, “Oh, I probably should have told you but I invited a bunch of people over to hang out this weekend.”

I was totally on board.

We discussed menu a bit, and that was that.

But then, the night before our get-together, I remembered I totally forgot to plan a dessert, which is a necessity for any big meal, in my humble opinion.

Luckily, the Internet and my pantry saved the day on this one, and I managed a delicious, quick dessert for our guests.

This recipe comes from the blog “Julie’s Eats & Treats” by Julie Evink. You can find the original at https://www.julieseatsandtreats.com/cherry-crunch-pie/. I added cinnamon and almond extract in my version.

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Quick Cherry Crumble

Quick cherry crumble lives up to its name. With super easy assembly, the dessert can be baked an on the table in just over 30 minutes.
Course Dessert
Keyword almond extract, brown sugar, canned cinnamon rolls, cherry crisp, cherry crumble, cherry pie filling, easy dessert, quick dessert, quick oats

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
  • 21 ounces cherry pie filling
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon until everything is well incorporated and the mixture looks like pea-sized crumbs.
  • Dump half of the mixture into an eight- or nine-inch glass pie plate and press it firmly to an even layer on the bottom and up the sides.
  • Pour the can of cherry pie filling into the plate, and sprinkle on the almond extract. Give the filling a gentle stir to distribute the extract, and then crumble the rest of the crust mixture evenly over the top of the filling.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the crumble is browned.
  • Serve warm or room temperature for the best flavor, but out of the fridge is a winner, too.

As you can see, this really was a quick recipe, and I was glad I added the extra oomph with the cinnamon and almond extract. You could leave those out, but I thought it made the dessert taste a bit more homemade.

This would also be absolutely amazing with some ice cream, if you wanted to pull out all the stops.

I know some people hate hosting, but despite my tendencies to be a bit of an introvert, I love opening our home to our friends and family and watching them have a good time.

Plus, it generally means just a little leftover dessert in the fridge when they all leave.

This piece first appeared in print on June 29, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Try to wrap your mind around enchilada meatballs for dinner

Enchilada meatballs take all the wonderful flavors from the classic Mexican dish and serve them up in meatball form. They are great for dinner with a side of rice.
Enchilada meatballs take all the wonderful flavors from the classic Mexican dish and serve them up in meatball form. They are great for dinner with a side of rice.

I’ll admit it. We’ve been in a bit of a meal rut lately.

Joey and I have fallen into a pattern of three to five dishes that we make every week, and while our meals are never bad or disappointing, they have been lacking a little excitement.

So I decided to pull out a kind of strange recipe I saw online recently to create some enchilada meatballs. (Yes, that’s what passes for excitement at our house.)

I have had enchiladas. I have had meatballs. Heck, I’ve even had enchilada casseroles, but it’s such a simple dish that there aren’t a lot of ways to be creative with it. So I thought I really needed to see what enchilada meatballs were all about.

This comes from the blog “The Weary Chef.” You can find the original post at https://wearychef.com/recipe/cheesy-mexican-meatballs/. I doubled nearly all of the seasonings in my version below.

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Enchilada Meatballs

Enchilada meatballs take all the wonderful flavors from the classicMexican dish and serve them up in meatball form. They are great for dinner with a side of rice.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword chili powder, cumin, easy dinner, enchilada sauce, enchiladas, garlic powder, ground beef, hot sauce, kid-friendly, meatballs, onion powder, oregano, quick oats, shredded cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef leaner is better
  • 10 ounces red enchilada sauce divided
  • 3/4 cup quick oats
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce I used chipotle Tabasco
  • 2 cups shredded cheese I used Mexican blend

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
  • In a bowl, combine the ground beef, 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, oats, eggs, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, cumin, chili powder and hot sauce. Using a spoon or your hands, mix everything together until it’s well combined.
  • Using a one-inch scoop or just a spoon to portion, roll the mixture into meatballs about the size of a ping-pong ball. Place them in the prepared baking dish. They don’t need to be very far apart.
  • Once all the meatballs are in the dish, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of them. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese over top of the meatballs. Bake, uncovered, for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and just a little browned. Serve immediately with your favorite Mexican sides.

We ate these with some Mexican rice and rolled them up in tortillas, kind of like a meatball sub. This was absolutely delicious, but it was also extremely filling. Those meatballs are deceptively dense but also really good, so be careful when filling your plate.

As far as the spice level, this was incredibly kid friendly. If I were to make this again just for Joey and me, I would buy spicier enchilada sauce and maybe use a spicier hot sauce in the mix, too. Just as is, though, it was very mild, and you could always back off on adding the hot sauce or even cutting back on the chili powder for your pickier eaters.

It’s fun to take traditional flavors and mix them up a bit by serving them in a new way every once in awhile, and this recipe was no exception.

Of course, now that our meatball leftovers are gone, we are slowly falling back into our normal rut. I guess I need to hop back online for something new.

This piece first appeared in print on March 9, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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