Overnight Oats + whey powder oatmeal test

I recently purchased some unflavored whey protein powder by Jarrow hoping it could mix into oatmeal and be undetectable. This is what works and what doesn't.

Oatmeal tests:
Add whey powder before microwaving oats/water: FAIL. The cooked whey absorbed water and was chunky and strange texture. It tasted ok, but texture is too big a turn off.

Add whey powder to hot cooked steel cut full liquid oatmeal: WORKED. The addition was undetectable to finished steel cut oats. I think I tried adding half a scoop, but I think a whole scoop would be fine too. Make sure to stir in quick. Only add it to oatmeal that has all the liquid needed.

I tried adding it to hot cooked old fashioned oats with only half the liquid (a microwave trick I do in order to add milk later) and sort of had to mash it in, then I added milk after. This had strange texture again. FAIL.

If I stir it into hot cooked old fashioned oats with full liquid, then x.

Overnight oats:
I like them. This is what I do:

1/2 cup old fashioned oats (the package says this is 40 grams, but 40 grams is actually more like a scant 1/2 cup. I usually do the scant or measure it by weight.)
3/4 scoop unflavored whey powder
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup 2% milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
fruit mix in, chopped strawberries are great or half banana.

Shake up first 3 ingredients in wide mouth pint canning jar, then add milk and let sit overnight. Add syrup and fruit before eating.

I'm sure I'll try more variations over time. The strawberry version has 30/13/54g p/f/c. 433 calories.

Another high protein breakfast to do is http://damndelicious.net/2016/07/15/healthy-protein-waffles/

Sourdough Muffins

http://webpages.charter.net/rhamley/bread/quickbreads2.htm
Sourdough Muffins

This recipe is easy to convert to corn muffins or any other grained muffin by subsituting the 1 cup of flour with 1 cup cornmeal, or 1 cup millet, or whatever flour you want. It might work with almond meal too, I haven't done that though.

I have tried it with cornmeal and they were terrific. It baked in 10 minutes in a mini-muffin pan.

Sourdough Pancakes or Waffles

Sourdough Pancakes or Waffles

This recipe is great. It feeds our family of 4 (plus infant) and there were a few extra too. I use whole wheat for the additional cup of flour.

Instructions from Leann about her 40 year old starter:

Put your sourdough starter in a Tupperware that will be its new home. 

Directions for today and after use:  Add flour and cool water to make about 1 1/2 cups of starter that is the consistency of thick pancake batter.  Let it sit on the counter with lid off for a few hours until you start to see bubbles on top.  Put the lid on and put it in the fridge. 

 Directions for before use:  About one hour (or as soon as you remember:)) before use, bring starter out of fridge. Add enough flour ( I usually do two or three spoonfuls) and water to make sure you have enough starter for your recipe with a couple of TBSP leftover as culture. Let sit on the counter until you are ready to make your recipe;  hopefully you will start to see some bubbles at that time.  After you use your starter, you should have a couple of tablespoons left over in your Tupperware.  Follow the "after use" directions. 

 Ideally use the starter every two weeks, but I usually do it once every month or two.

Laura's modifications for the starter and this recipe:
I have been maintaining the starter at 100% hydration (equal parts weight flour and water). 1 cup of starter weighs 250g.

Night before Instant Pot Oatmeal

Using rolled oats:
2 cups old fashioned oats, 2.5 cups water. Use pot in a pot method--I used 1.5 quart souffle dish. Add dried fruit/nuts/seasonings etc.
Put 2 cups water into instant pot, then put in trivet that came with it. Place souffle dish on top of trivet and put on lid.
Set to steam for 13 minutes, then put delay timer so that it will start around 6 am.

Notes:
This worked. But I think the oats were overcooked, and there were too many leftovers and kids didn't want them. Only do 1 cup oats next time, which is enough for 3 people. Try 10 minutes pressure time. Soaking the oats overnight reduce the cooking time needed.

French Toast Casserole

http://fantasticfamilyfavorites.blogspot.com/2010/05/brazos-bakes-french-toast.html

French Toast Casserole

This was terrific. Leann made this for me post baby, and I liked it so much I made it tonight. I have been enjoying more bread lately, and made some this week. I used 3/4 loaf (but should have used a whole one) of this bread. (Because it was only 3/4 of a loaf I left out 2 of the eggs, but with a whole loaf I would use all 10.)

It is not clear from the directions, but this should be baked uncovered. You may need to cover near the end if it is getting too brown (I did not need to).

Alterations:
Instead of half and half I used 1/2 cup milk and 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese blended up. It was thick and worked well (also boosting protein in the dish, and much less fat). It would have been fine to do equal parts milk and cottage cheese also.
I also only put 4 oz cream cheese
and 4 T butter.

I think the butter is totally unnoticeable, I will leave it out next time.

David liked this dish. He usually does not like "soggy bread" dishes so I am glad he likes this.

Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/241038/microwave-chocolate-mug-cake/

Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake

This was great for a mug cake (not as good as a real cake with egg in my opinion..but still delicious). You need an oversized mug or bowl for this or else it will overflow. I've made it a bunch of times now and it was good when i followed the recipe exactly (except did cut out a little sugar). I tried replacing some of the fat with water and the result was terrible.

Pumpkin Yeast Bread Recipe

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pumpkin-yeast-bread-recipe

This was good, but i don't see much use for this bread since its not very versatile. My yulecake bread would have been far preferred  as a sweet yeast bread. I folled the recipe exactly except put in 1/3 part whole wheat flour by weight, and used only 1 packet of yeast instead of 2 (and proofed it in milk).

Powdered Milk Biscuits

http://seniorark.com/RE/a/powdered%20milk%20biscuits.htm
Powdered Milk Biscuits

I thought these were a bit dry, but they would have turned out better if I'd rolled out dough and cut it out rather than pretending this was a drop biscuit recipe and plopping uneven amounts on the silpat. David and kids liked them though.

FAIL Soaked Whole Wheat Crackers

http://just-making-noise.com/easy-homemade-whole-grain-crackers/

Soaked Whole Wheat Crackers

490 grams whole wheat flour (140 g/cup)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar

Add after soaking:
1 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
These were terrible.  I did two batches, rolling them out and scoring them with a pastry wheel I have. The first I baked 10 minutes. They were soft and chewy, definitely not cracker like. Ila said they were "noodley." The second batch I did 15 minutes. They were hard, not flaky or anything, just hard. Ila said those were like biscuits.

Either way, I will not be making these again. I think the original recipe called for ww pastry flour, and I think that using regular ww flour just does not work. Thankfully the kids still like them so they will not go to waste!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2.html
Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Winter Minestrone Soup

Lisa made this soup for me after I had Henrik. She used frozen meat balls in place of the bacon. It was the best minestrone ever, I really loved it. She also "added a head of cauliflower and a zucchini. I usually just throw in whatever sad vegetables are dying a painful, not-fresh death in the back of my crisper drawer. That soup is a great redeemer of sad vegetables."
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/winter-minestrone-soup-with-garlic-bruschetta/

Notes 1/31/17:
I made this, without spinach, and added a head of cauliflower and a yellow squash. Plus the other vegetables were more 2 cups instead of 1.5 cups. It made nearly 8 quarts. It is so delicious though! I think the sweetness of the butternut squash is what really makes it so tasty for me. And the pesto is a must.

Lisa suggests removing and freezing half the soup before you add pasta, then when you thaw it you can add the pasta then and cook a bit more. I think this keeps the pasta from breaking down since it does not freeze well.

Notes 2/28/17:
I made this with leftover christmas ham. It was amazing. I added a whole cauliflower again, and 1 cup tomato sauce (or puree...it was home canned and was a bit thick). Also I used my food processor to slice most of the vegetables and squash, and added spinach this time. It was great again!

Butternut Squash and Turkey Chili

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/butternut-squash-and-turkey-chili.html

Butternut Squash and Turkey Chili

This was more soup like, which I enjoyed. Eliza made this meal for me after Henrik was born. I really liked it and like that it is a way to use up winter squash.

Ham, Cheese, Potato Casserole

Ham, Cheese, Potato Casserole

Loosely based on http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/ham---cheese-potato-casserole



2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon pepper
cubed potatoes--3 or 4 pounds?
2 cups white sauce (butter/roux with 4 Tbsp millet flour and 2 cups milk) with 6 oz shredded sharp cheedar stirred in at the end.
2-1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham (or chopped ham steak)

This fit into 3 square pans, 2 of which I froze.

This needs more time than the recipe says, maybe because the potatoes are fresh.  It needed 40 min covered 30 minutes uncovered, ten 10 minutes sitting.

Notes: This is good as a side. It needs some salad or something very light with it, as it is extremely rich and can overwhelm if you eat a large serving.

Coleys Garlic Bread

Coleys Garlic Bread

Garlic bread was equal parts melted butter and olive oil brushed on bread, add garlic powder and throw under broiler.
When it's getting Brown, then take out, add parmesan cheese and parsley and throw back in until melted.

Notes: Coley made me dinner and this was part of it. It is the best garlic bread I've ever had.

English Muffin Pizza

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/86649/fast-english-muffin-pizzas/ (loosely followed)

I was surprised how well these turned out. I may never make real pizza anymore.

I used whole wheat english muffins (british muffins from TJs). I put a spoonful of tomato sauce on each one, then mozzarella cheese, then 4 pepperoni, then cheese.  Then I baked for 15 minutes at 375 until the cheese on tip was getting some crunch and brownish color.

Everyone enjoyed them and it was eash to portion out and quick to prepare. David said he liked it as well as regular pizza. It even crisped up so it was like a real crust. I was pretty amazed. This is one to remember!

Use a full pack of 6 muffins.