Oatmeal... FAIL?

Hope everyone had a great holiday!  I am back to the grind, so here we go...

As a kid I hated oatmeal.  It was just so mushy and icky.  I'm an adult now (sorta), so naturally, I've learned to like it and this cold weather has me itching for a hot breakfast.  We have about 100 inherited packets of instant oatmeal in our cupboard, so I figured I would do a Bake or Buy on making my own oatmeal.  So good straight from the stove top.

Store Brand: Instant Maple and Brown Sugar

My Recipe (this is just how I make it - use whatever toppings you like):
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup skim milk
Spoonful of dried cranberries
Spoonful of chopped walnuts
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch of cinnamon

- I start by putting the milk on the stove with the cranberries and heat it to a low simmer.
- Add the oats and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.

- Put it in a bowl and let it sit a few more minutes to thicken.

- Add sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts.

- Stir and enjoy!

So my homemade oatmeal turned out great.  Surprisingly enough, the issue came in when I made the instant!  I know, crazy.  Since I am not a big fan of instant oatmeal, I just read the bag which had two options - add boiling water to the packet, or add milk or water and cook in the microwave.  I added milk and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes (packet read 2 - 3 mins).  I was busy with the stovetop oatmeal and when I went to grab the instant - AHHHHH!

Hmm, not such a great way to start my morning after all!  Anyways, I will compare them for the sake of competition.

The instant oatmeal was very thick and almost like paste.  The flavored packet (brown sugar and maple) was far too sweet for my tastes as well.  Obviously, the instant oatmeal here isn't winning any awards.

I was fairly surprised by the cost.  With all my gourmet toppings, I assumed it would cost more, but if you make the instant with milk it's just about the same cost (the instant makes a little less than my recipe).

	Amount	Cost	Cost/cup
Quaker Instant Oatmeal	2/3 cup	$      0.42	$           0.63
Homemade	1 cup	$      0.66	$           0.66

Bake or Buy?  BAKE!

Bagels

Another bread-making opportunity!  I'm excited for the smell of the house and to eat some warm chewy bagels.

Now, if I lived in NYC, I wouldn't even bother doing this test.  They have the BEST bagels.  Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside - don't even ask to have it toasted.  AMIRIGHT?  Anywho, I don't live there, and I'm going to look to replace my grocery store bagels with something better.  Here we go!

The Store Brand: Thomas' Everything Bagels

My Recipe (adapted from http://www.lifecurrents.dw2.net/):

Egg Bagels
1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon grapeseed or light olive oil
3 ½ – 4 ½ cups unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Toppings - use whatever your heart desires - I used 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and garlic powder

- Whisk together water, eggs, 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, yeast, and oil in a large bowl until the yeast dissolves.
- Stir in 1 cup of the flour. Then stir in 1 tablespoon salt and enough additional flour to make a soft dough, about 2 ½ cups.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, gradually incorporating more flour, until the dough is smooth and quite firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces; roll each piece into a 10-inch-long rope. Form into bagels by overlapping the ends up 1 inch. Pinch ends together firmly.
- Set bagels aside, uncovered, to rise until slightly puffy, about 20 minutes.

 

- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F.
- Line 1 large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Bring 6 quarts water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt to a boil in a large pot.
- Get your egg wash and topping ready to go, because the next few steps go fast.

- Slip about 3-4 risen bagels at a time into the pot; the water should be at a lively simmer. Cook for 45 seconds, turn them over, and cook for another 45 seconds.

- Drain the bagels on a clean dish towel, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the tops of the bagels with egg white and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon of your chosen topping, if using.

- Bake for 15 minutes. Turn over and bake until golden brown, about 5 more minutes.

- Freeze fresh bagels (once cooled), unless you are eating them all that day (don't laugh - you might!).

I just made a half batch - very easy recipe to split.  And the taste?  They were SO amazing.  The bottoms were perfectly crispy - next time I will probably leave the tops under the broiler for just a minute to get them a little crispier.  Thomas' just weren't good - no crisp to the crust at all.  If you're going to buy your bagels, get them from a bakery - packaged bagels just aren't the same.

And the cost?  Wowser, Thomas' bagels are no joke - I guess that's why I always buy them when they are BOGO (buy one, get one free).  Even at half price, they cost almost twice as much as homemade!  Fair enough, mine are smaller, but you could easily make them larger and they would still cost less.

	Count	Cost	Cost/Bagel
Thomas' Bagels - Everything	6 Bagels	$     4.49	$          0.75
Homemade	12 Bagels	$     2.41	$          0.20

So Bake or Buy?  BAKE!

See this post and more:

Tastetastic Thursday at A Little Nosh

Breakfast Dogs

So, this isn't a Bake or Buy, so sue me.  It's good nonetheless.

Now, I haven't always been a non-meat eater.  And since it's Halloween and people may need good hangover foods tomorrow, I thought I'd throw something out there that is SCARY good (hey you get TWO special holiday posts - don't get used to it).

This is what I like to call a breakfast dog.  I invented it in college when I wanted a hot dog for breakfast, but I didn't want people to look at me funny (not successful).

Recipe:
Yeah you guessed it - cook that bad boy up, put it on a bun, and top it with scrambled eggs, cheese, and salsa.

Yeah, the photo quality is bad, but hey, I took that photo about five years ago!

If you're going to eat meat (and that is your own decision), EAT ONE OF THESE!  And then eat one for me!