Easy & Healthy Instant Oatmeal Packets

FB Source: Homestead Survival

ORIGINAL Source: The Yummy Life

ORIGINAL Source with FULL INSTRUCTIONS: The Yummy Life - FULL Instructions

Ingredients:

BASIC RECIPE FOR A SINGLE SERVING PACKET:
1/3 cup rolled oats (instant or quick); old fashioned oats may be used for microwave and refrigerator oatmeal
1 teaspoon chia seeds or ground flaxseed (optional)
2 teaspoons oat bran (or wheat germ/bran)
2 teaspoons powdered milk (omit for non-dairy, vegan)
1 to 3 teaspoons brown sugar, sucanat, pure maple sugar, coconut sugar, or other preferred sweetener
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

OPTIONAL ADD INS (see suggested flavor varieties in directions):
dried or freeze dried fruit, chopped
chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, macademia nuts)
PB2 powdered peanut butter
cocoa powder
instant coffee or espresso powder
sweet spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, cloves)
ground vanilla beans (dry powder)

Directions:
Combine basic recipe ingredients in individual zip top bags. Add additional flavor ingredients, if desired--see suggestions below.

To prepare 1 serving of hot oatmeal:

• BOILING WATER METHOD (not recommended for old fashioned oats): Add 1 oatmeal packet to mug or bowl. Pour in 2/3 cups boiling water and stir. Let instant oats stand for 3-4 minutes to soften and thicken; stir, and they are ready to eat. Quick oats may need to soften an additional minute or two.
• MICROWAVE METHOD: Add 1 oatmeal packet and 3/4 cup cold water to microwave safe mug or bowl. (The container needs to be large enough to allow for mixture to expand while it cooks. It can bubble up and double in size in the microwave.) For instant oats, cook uncovered on high for 1 minute; stir, and it's ready to eat. For quick oats, cook on high for 2 minutes, let stand 2 minutes, stir, and it's ready to heat. NOTE: Microwave power and cooking times can vary; adjust cooking time if necessary.

To prepare 1 serving of refrigerator oatmeal:
Add one oatmeal packet to a pint or half-pint jar (or other covered container). Pour in 1/2 cup cold water, add 1/4 cup plain, Greek yogurt, cover tightly, and shake vigorously until well mixed. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight, or up to 3 days.

12 FLAVOR VARIATIONS (use the basic recipe ingredients, plus these additions):

1. Plain -- Use basic recipe ingredients.
2. Apple Cinnamon Maple -- 2 tablespoons dried or 1/4 cup freeze-dried chopped apples; additional 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon; use maple sugar for sweetener
3. Blueberry -- 2 tablespoons dried or 1/4 cup freeze-dried blueberries.
4. Cherry Almond -- 2 tablespoons dried or 1/4 tablespoons freeze-dried cherries; 1 tablespoon sliced or slivered almonds.
5. Apricot Ginger -- 2 tablespoons chopped dried apricots; 1 teaspoon minced crystallized ginger.
6. Cranberry Orange Pecan -- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries, 1 teaspoon dried orange peel bits, 1 tablespoon chopped pecans.
7. Pineapple Coconut -- 2 tablespoons dried or 1/4 cup freeze-dried chopped dried pineapple, 1 tablespoon freeze-dried coconut
8. Raspberry Vanilla Bean-- 2 tablespoons dried or 1/4 cup freeze-dried raspberries, 1/4 teaspoon ground vanilla powder
9. Peach (or Mango) Macademia Nut -- 2 tablespoons chopped dried peaches (or mangos), 1 tablespoon chopped macadamia nuts
10. Cocoa Banana -- 1/4 cup chopped freeze-dried bananas (dried banana chips not recommended), 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
11. Peanut Butter Banana -- 1/4 cup chopped freeze-dried bananas (dried banana chips not recommended), 1 tablespoon PB2 peanut butter powder
12. Mocha -- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Instant Oatmeal Packets ~ Frugal Food Storage Project

Make your own individual instant oatmeal packets in a variety of flavors. An easy, make-ahead, healthy on-the-go breakfast or snack for work, travel, camping, and college dorms, or those busy mornings when there's no time to make breakfast. Use packets for hot or refrigerator oatmeal.

Make-ahead convenience. These bags may be made, tightly sealed, and stored for several months, depending on the shelf life of the ingredients used. May be stored in freezer to extend their life further.

To make oatmeal packets gluten-free, use gluten-free oats and oat bran.

Nutritional data for the basic oatmeal packets (without fruit or nuts). There is 1-1/2 teaspoons of brown sugar for the sweetener in these calculations. For one plain oatmeal packet: 160 calories, 2.8g fat, 53mg sodium, 28.6g carbs, 3.9g fiber, 7.6g sugars, 6.5g protein. Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 4.

Breakfast Bites

FB Source: Heather Pettit

Ingredients:

1 package of pre-shredded potatoes (refrigerated section next to the eggs)

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 finely chopped onion (optional)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

 salt and pepper to taste. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a mini muffin pan. 
2. Pour potatoes into a bowl, add the salt, garlic powder and onion, stir to combine. 
3. Pour in the egg and give it another stir, then add the cheese and mix it all up. 
4. Spoon into mini muffin tins and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown and tops and edges begin to get crispy. 

Eat warm, or cool and freeze into individual packs and heat for about 20 seconds in the microwave. 

Breakfast is made for the whole week!

Stacie says: "Add crumbled bacon or sausage and other fun add-ins to this before you bake them. YUM!"

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring

FB Source: Tammy Smith Griffiths

Ingredients:
2 small tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits OR 1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits **
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 C. pancake syrup (any brand you like, I used Mrs. Buttersworth)
1/3 C. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 C. chopped pecans, optional
1/4 C. chopped almonds, optional

Directions:

1. Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray.
2. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired).
4. Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan.
5. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top. 
6. Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring. 
7. Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures. 
8. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 
9. Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

** You can use 1 1/2 tubes of the Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits (if 1 doesn't' seem like enough) and bake it for about 30 minutes. 

French Toast Breakfast Muffins

Source: Chrissy Kelley

Ingredients:
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg (preferably room temperature)
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk

Topping (option: cut topping in half*)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Do NOT overmix; overmixing will ruin the texture of the finished muffins.
3. Scoop batter into muffin tins that have sprayed with cooking spray. Using a large ice cream scoop, I got 8 medium-large muffins out of this batter; I think you could get 10-12 muffins by distributing the batter a little less generously. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.
4. For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in melted butter (you can dip just the top, but it's even tastier to dip the whole muffin!), then dip/roll the muffin in cinnamon sugar.

*May have left-over topping; the extra topping can be used for dipping, while eating the muffins (oh my). Another option is to cut the topping ingredients in half.

CONSUME, ENJOY, GO CRAZY! 

These are amazing!! Taste exactly like French toast!!! Made with skim milk and light butter was only 121 calories a muffin if you make 12!

Breakfast Enchiladas

Gail Kilman

Ingredients:
1lb sausage
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 (8 in) flour tortillas
6 eggs
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups of half and half
3 oz of real bacon bits

Directions:

1. Simply cook the sausage in a frying pan. Once cooked, stir together the sausage, 1 cup of the cheese, and half of the bacon bits.
2. Place an 1/8th of the mixture in the center of a tortilla and roll them up. Place them seam side down in a greased baking dish. Repeat until all tortillas are used.
3. In another bowl beat the eggs and flour. Mix in the half-and-half and pour over the tortillas in the pan. You can either cook immediately or cover and put in the refrigerator until morning.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Sprinkle remaining cheese and bacon bits over the tortillas. Cover with foil and bake for 35 min. 
6. Uncover dish and bake 10 min longer.

Breakfast for Dinner (Just for Fun!)

Jon Wilson

My contribution to the recent food frenzy on FB.

For delicious breakfast for dinner:
Heat a pan
Put in bacon
Cook it
Add pancakes or eggs or French Toast or waffles with syrup.

Photo by Jon Wilson of http://facebook.com/wilsonimagery


Stacie says: This post was JUST for fun!! Hope you got a grin out of it! ;)

Overnight Oatmeal

"Health is wealth"

Must try Overnight Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 container (6 oz) greek yogurt, any flavor
1/4 cup uncooked old-fashioned or quick oats
1/4 cup fruit

Directions:

1. In container with tight-fitting cover, mix yogurt and uncooked oats. Stir in desired fruit.
2. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 3 days before eating. Enjoy!

Avocado & Egg Breakfast

EMA'S HERBS

One of the ‪healthiest‬ and yummiest breakfast/snacks ever! High in ‪‎protein‬ and healthy fats. So good for you! It's delicious

Ingredients:
-Whole ‪avocado‬
-Eggs
-Cayenne pepper (or any spice of your choice)

Remove the stone from an avocado. Scoop out a little more avocado to increase the size of the stone's crater. Crack an egg into the crater. Sprinkle with Cayenne pepper (cheese too if you desire). Bake in the oven at 180 degrees* until egg is cooked to the level you like.

Did you know that the avocado has been called the world's most perfect food and has many health benefits? It has achieved this distinction because many nutritionists claim it not only contains everything a person needs to survive — but it has also been found to contribute to the prevention and control of Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions.

*Stacie says: I THINK they mean 180 degrees Celcius, which converts to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole

New Ideas

Breakfast casserole in the crock pot! Cooks while you sleep! Sounds perfect for a Sunday morning and great for company!


Ingredients:
1 bag 26 oz. frozen hash browns
12 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 16 oz. roll sausage
maple, sage or regular sausage.
Salt and pepper
16 oz. bag shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Spray crock pot and evenly spread hash browns at the bottom.
2. Crack 12 eggs in a large bowl.
3. Mix well (and slowly) using a whisk.
4. Add the milk.
5. Go ahead and sprinkle in the ground mustard. This might sound like a weird ingredient, but I've come to love (and use) this in most of my recipes.
6. Add plenty of salt and lots of fresh pepper. Mix well and set aside.
7. Cook the sausage on high heat, drain and set aside.
8. Add sausage on top of hash browns.
9. Is this enough cheese? Maybe? Probably. Throw the whole big bag in there.
10. Mix it up well. Or good, depending on where you're from.
11. Pour the egg mixture over everything in the crock pot. Using a wood spoon, even everything out so it's spread evenly.
12. Turn the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.

Some fun variations of this recipe. Before cooking (during prep) you can add:
chunks of sourdough bread
diced chiles
salsa
diced green onions

Serve hot with a glass of orange juice and a side of toast.

Breakfast Egg Muffins To Go

Melanie Landau Kerwin

Breakfast Egg Muffins To Go

Eggs are one of the most versatile breakfast foods around, but few of us can spare the time to cook them in the morning. These eggs muffins are designed to be cooked ahead of time, then grabbed on the go. Egg muffins will keep one week in the refrigerator. Microwave 30 seconds to reheat.

Just add a variety of different goodies to your tin. Maybe 6 with bacon, onion & cheese and 6 with spinach, mushrooms and ham. You can't mess this up! In the morning, just grab a couple from your ziploc and nuke them and away you go! No unhealthy trip to Micky D's. ;

Lots of variations Enjoy!

Yield - 12 muffins

1/2 pound ground Italian pork or turkey sausage
4 ounces frozen chopped broccoli florets
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 parchment paper muffin wrappers or 12 silicone muffin cups

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until no longer pink.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave frozen broccoli florets until thawed (approximately 4 minutes) and drain.
4. If using a muffin tin, line tin with parchment paper wrappers. If using silicone muffin cups, place cups on a baking sheet lined with foil (to catch any egg overflow and making clean-up much easier!).
5. In a large bowl, combine sausage, broccoli and cheese. Spoon mixture into cups, filling them 2/3 of the way, leaving room to add the egg mixture.
6. In another bowl with a pour spout, beat together 12 eggs. Add salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture into each muffin cup, being careful to leave a little room (1/4 inch or so) at the top.
7. Bake 25 minutes, or until muffins have risen and are firm.

Variation: Instead of Italian sausage, try diced bacon, Canadian bacon, ham, chorizo or crumbled breakfast sausage. Try other veggies such as diced red pepper, spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. Mix and match at will!

Breakfast Cheese Danish

Jennifer Busha

Breakfast Cheese Danish

2 cans ready to use refrigerated crescent rolls
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350* degrees and grease a 13X9-inch baking pan. Lay a pack of crescent rolls in the pan and pinch the openings together. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls evenly and then lay the second pack of crescent rolls on top of the cheese mixture and brush with egg white. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with glaze after cooling for 20 minutes.

Breakfast Cupcakes

Linda Tylke Curren

BREAKFAST CUPCAKES

This is a really easy dish to prepare, and it looks so darn cute! It is also a great dish to serve on a buffet table because each serving is completely self-contained and can just be picked up and popped on a plate.

For the muffin cup:

1 20 ounce package pre-shredded hash brown-style potatoes

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

4 tablespoons flour

1 small sweet onion, coarsely grated

2 thick slices deli ham, chopped into small bits (about 1 cup)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To fill the muffin cup, after it has baked:

1 dozen eggs, scrambled

chives for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F., and lightly spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the first eight ingredients together in a large bowl. Spoon potato mixture into each prepared muffin cup until about 1/3 full. Gently press the potato mixture down in the middle and up the sides of each cup. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. If the nests have puffed up too much in the center, scoop out a little with a teaspoon. Spoon a few tablespoons of scramble eggs into each nest and top with chives.ramble eggs into each nest and top with chives.

French Toast Casserole

Christy Merriman

French Toast Casserole

1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. butter
2 c. corn syrup
1 loaf French bread, sliced
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
Garnish: powdered sugar, maple syrup
(We added 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans to our recipe)

Melt together brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat; pour into a greased 13" x 9" baking pan. Arrange bread slices over mixture and set aside. Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla; pour over bread, coating all slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Sprinkle with powered sugar; serve with warm syrup. Makes 6-8 servings

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Parent's Room

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Ingredients:

for the Pancakes:
4 cups all-purpose flour
8 tsps baking powder
2 tsp. salt
4 cups milk
4 tbsps vegetable oil
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

for the Cinnamon Filling
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

for the Cream Cheese Glaze
1/2 cup butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

To make the Cinnamon Filling:
Mix the three ingredients together. Place in a disposable piping bag and snip the end off or put in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off.


To make the Pancakes:
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir them together until everything is moistened leaving a few lumps.

Heat your griddle to exactly 325 degrees. You don't want these too cook too quickly, and you won't want your cinnamon to burn.

Make desired size pancake on greased griddle and then using the piping bag and starting at the center of the pancake, create a cinnamon swirl. Wait until the pancake has lots of bubble before you try to turn it. You will find that when you turn it the cinnamon swirl will melt. The cinnamon will melt out and create the craters which the cream cheese glaze will fill.

To make the Cream Cheese Glaze:
In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and cream cheese and then stir together. Whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add a little milk if needed to make
it a glaze consistency.

Place pancake on plate, then cover with cream cheese glaze.


~Mysti