Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

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Make Your Own: Instant Oatmeal Packets

 

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These are so simple & quick to make & they can save you quite a bit of money, depending on what all you add to them.  If you’re like my family, we like all kinds of varieties.  These can be customized to your family’s tastes and preferences, AND you won’t have all of the additives and preservatives in yours that you find in the ones that you would buy prepackaged in the stores. 

My 8-year-old (very soon to be 9) son loves oatmeal but has trouble remembering what all the measurements are, so these are easy for him to grab and fix himself with a little supervision with the hot liquid (usually milk).

The ones that I mixed up today are just brown sugar and cinnamon because that I what I have on hand right now.  But you could add chopped dried fruit, or even fresh fruit after it’s been mixed up, plus any other spices or flavors that you love. 

I got the original recipe from Frugal Families, but I almost always customize it to our tastes & what I have on hand at the time.

Instant Oatmeal Packets

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  • 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
  • 2 Tbs ground oatmeal
  • pinch of salt

For the ground oatmeal, I place 2 heaping tablespoons of oats in my mini food chopper and process:

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Mix all ingredients together and store in an air tight container, label, & store until ready to use.

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A few variations:

Dried fruit & cream:  1 Tbs. dry milk or nondairy creamer & 2 Tbs. chopped fruit of choice.

Raisins/Craisins & Brown Sugar:  1tsp. packed brown sugar & 1 Tbs. raisins/craisins. 

Spiced Oatmeal:  1 Tbs. Sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and scant 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Brown Sugar & Cinnamon:  1 Tbs. packed brown sugar and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Possible Additional Toppings: Fresh fruits, peanut butter, maple syrup, butter, jam/jelly, apple butter, etc.   The possibilities are endless! 

The cost?  Well, I’m glad you asked.  For me, the cost is  about $0.09/packet vs. $0.18-$0.20/store bought packets.   Again, with dried fruits and other toppings, the price could increase to about $0.12/packet, but it’s still cheaper than buying store bought & adding additional toppings to that, which we usually ended up doing.   This time, I mixed up 26 packets (ran out of baggies) in about 10 minutes time.  It really takes very little time to do this. 

I hope this inspires you to MYO oatmeal packets.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you do. 

 

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Thanksgiving Pot Pie

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I put this together after looking at a few different recipes.  I will say that it turned out to be very good.  A definite keeper for helping to use up holiday leftovers!

(**Will Post Pic Later Today!**)

Thanksgiving Pot Pie

There is no exact science here, but I will walk you through what I did.  You will need a 9×9 baking dish. 

Layer in:
Turkey, cut into bite size pieces
Leftover cooked veggies of choice (I used corn, green beans, & peas).
On top of veggies, place small (teaspoon-size) scoops of mashed potatoes ( or peel, cube, and cook 1 to 2 medium-sized potatoes until fork tender)
Pour about 1/2 cup of turkey gravy on top of this (eyeball it) (can use a cream soup mixed with a little milk in place of this)
Sprinkle about 2 tsp of dried thyme on top of this.
Sprinkle layer of shredded cheddar cheese on top of all of this.

Mix together:
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
about 1 cup of milk

Whisk until smooth and pour over top, making sure to gently push out to all the edges and corners.  Batter should be runny & will thicken while cooking. 

Bake at 350* for 45 to 55 minutes or until dish is hot & bubbly, & the topping is a nice golden brown.  If it browns too quickly, cover with foil.  

I served this dish to my family of 5 with some rolls and there is enough left over for another meal.   This is a great way to use up those leftovers that are your family is starting to get tired of.   

For more great recipes, head on over to Blessed With Grace for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday!

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Recipe: 6-Layer Country Casserole

I guess I should say that Grandma’s Kitchen is just about my favorite Gooseberry Patch cookbook that I own right now.   Here’s another recipe from that cookbook.

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6-Layer Country Casserole

3 potatoes, sliced 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped 1 green pepper, sliced
1 lb ground beef, browned Granish: bread crumbs
1 onion, chopped  

 

Layer all ingredients, in order, in a lightly greased 13” x 9” pan.  Cover and bake at 325* for 1 hour.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs; return to oven for additional 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown.  Serves 6 to 8. 

This is what we’re having for dinner tonight.

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It smelled a lot better than it tasted.  It wasn’t bad, but it could use a little something else.  I’m thinking maybe mozzarella cheese and a little seasoning (maybe rosemary and thyme)?  It’s a recipe that I will definitely be trying again.  A little tweeking and it could be a really good recipe.

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