A Better Oatmeal

A great wintertime breakfast always starts with A Better Oatmeal.  Here is my version that is reminiscent of the goodness of what Mom told you to eat as a child but I made it taste like a better oatmeal cookie!!  Hope you enjoy as much as we do.  Since I am diabetic, I use sugar free pancake syrup for the sweetener.   You could use brown sugar for that sweeter flavor...or eliminate the syrup if you do not want it sweet.  

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A Better Oatmeal

Breakfast

1 ts butter

1/2 ts cinnamon

1/4 c pecans; chopped

1/2 ts salt

3 tb pancake syrup; sugar free

2 c milk

1 c oatmeal; quick cooking

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat;  add cinnamon, pecans, salt and

pancake syrup.  Stir while "roasting" pecan pieces.  
Add milk and bring to a boil.

Add oatmeal and stir to combine.  Let rest, covered for two minutes while

oats absorb the milk.

I use sugar free pancake syrup for the sweetener.  Brown sugar can also be

substituted.

Notes:  ©WHStoneman

Yield: 2 servings

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Meatloaf for a Cold Winter Night!

These cold winter nights really beg

for Meatloaf and Mashed Taters!!

What a Comfort Meal....Meatloaf fills the menu for me!  

I have started roasting meatloaf on a broiler pan...and all the grease drips away.   I never cared for a meatloaf swimming in the grease!!    I found this technique a few years ago and love to have the loaf covered with bacon....y'all can't go wrong with bacon, can we?    And the sauce topping adds that extra punch of flavor since I go heavy on the Tabasco.  

Ready for the oven!!  

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My Favorite Meatloaf

Beef, Main Dish

  Meatloaf:

1 cup whole milk

6 slices white bread

2 pounds ground beef

1 cup (heaping) parmesan cheese; grated

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

3/4 teaspoons salt

  black pepper; to taste

1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley; minced

4 whole eggs, beaten

10 slices thin/regular bacon, as needed

  Sauce:

1 1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

  Tabasco to taste

2 dash Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in

for several minutes. Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan,

seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour

in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture

into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain.

Line the bottom of the pan with foil for easy cleanup.

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and

hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over

the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake

for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Yield: 10 servings

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Wonderful Sauce Glaze on top....let your

loaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  

Mashed taters and broccoli...on a cold winter night...what could ever

taste better?  

Coconut Custard Pie

I love comfort food....period.   And for me, comfort food can be an appetizer, entrée and a comfort dessert.   The comfort dessert journey began as a child....I remember all the things that family members made including banana pudding, chocolate cake and peanut butter cookies.  

A number of years back, I remember watching Mama Dip on TV.  Mama is the Queen of Comfort Food.  She has been operating her restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC for many years and her life story is quite interesting.  

This is her Coconut Custard Pie....and it is a slice of heaven with each bite.  

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Coconut Custard Pie

Pies

3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 stick butter; melted
3  eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
1  9-inch pie shell; unbaked

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a bowl, blend together the sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add the butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix well. Stir in the coconut.

Pour into the pie shell and bake for 45 minutes or until firm.  My bake time was longer, so check to be sure there is NO jiggle in the middle. 

Notes:  © Mama Dip

            MAMA DIP'S KITCHEN

            408 W. Rosemary Street
            Chapel Hill, NC 27514
            (919) 942-5837

Yield: 8 servings


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Ready for the Oven

 

I use my upside down cooling racks to place pie

in oven.   Makes it so much easier to remove when hot

and I don't have to worry about damaging the fragile crust

with a pot holder.  

Coconut Custard Pie with Whipped Cream and Flaked Coconut

Bon Appétit and Enjoy 

YOUR Wonderful World!

Apple Sausage Pancakes

My meal inspirations have been at an all time low.,  It was time to get busy and dream up some new choices in the kitchen.   Of course, my favorite meal is breakfast....and I love a "white linen" breakfast.  

This just evolved today and I really enjoyed the flavors...and of course, needed to share with you.  

Apple Sausage Pancakes & Scrambled Eggs

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Apple Sausage Pancakes

Breakfast, Brunch

1/2 lb bulk sausage

2 tb canola oil

1 c While Lily SR flour

1/2 ts salt

1  egg

1 c buttermilk

1 ts cinnamon

2 tb pancake syrup; sugar free, if desired

1/2  Granny Smith apple; shredded

Preheat skillet and add oil. Heat thoroughly and crumble sausage in pan.

Cook completely until browned. You will need pea sized sausage crumbles.

 Do NOT drain sausage.

In a separate bowl, add SR flour, salt, egg, buttermilk, cinnamon and

pancake syrup. Stir to combine. The syrup will be your flavored sweetener

for the batter. If batter is a little too thick, add more buttermilk to

achieve desired consistency. If batter to thin, add a couple extra

tablespoons of SR flour. Stir in grated apple.

Stir in cooled sausage including the pan drippings. This adds the necessary

oil to the batter and also adds more sausage flavor.

Preheat griddle to medium. Add ice cream scoops of batter to griddle and

cook first side until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and

finish cooking until golden.

While cooking remaining pancakes, keep first batch warm in preheated oven

or under heat lamp. Serve immediately with syrup to pass.

Notes:  ©WHStoneman

Yield: 8 pancakes

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Golden Goodness from the Griddle

Serve with your choice of eggs, fruit and juice....Enjoy!