Oatmeal

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Oatmeal
Oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods around. It's rich in soluble fiber, and has been proven to help lower cholesterol. It's also inexpensive and keeps well, making it a good choice for long-term food storage.
Instant vs. Regular. Instant oatmeal is just regular oatmeal that's been broken up so it will cook faster. All grains store better and longer if they're kept intact, so regular oatmeal is best for food storage. If you want instant oatmeal, just put regular oatmeal in the blender and pulse it a few times.
Where to buy. You can buy oatmeal in small quantities at the grocery store, but it's much less expensive to buy in bulk. 
What do you do with it? What do you do with 50 pounds of oatmeal besides eat mush every morning? All kinds of things.

• Oatmeal itself is a very versatile baking ingredient. Use it in
• * Granola
• * Cookies
• * Muffins
• * Crisps and cobblers
• * Meatballs and meatloaf

You can also make oat flour by grinding regular oatmeal in the blender (just pulse until it's very fine). Oat flour can be substituted for part of the regular flour in almost any recipe. Oat flour has all the health benefits of regular oatmeal. Plus, it's an ideal ingredient for low-sugar, low-fat treats. Because it's slightly sweet, you can cut back on sugar in a recipe. And because oat flour holds moisture, you can cut back on the fat in a recipe.

Oatmeal Recipes

Classic Oatmeal Cookies (Abt 60 2-inch cookies) oven 375 bake for 10-12 minutes
1 C butter/margerine ½ C sugar ½ C brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla	Cream til fluffy.
1 ½ C flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon	Stir together, then add to creamed mixture.
3 C oatmeal 6 oz (1/2 bag) choc chips 1 C chopped walnuts	Fold in. Drop by rounded tablespoons on ungreased cookie sheet, bake 10-12 minutes.
* To reduce the fat, cut butter to ½ C butter and add ½ C applesauce.

Non-fat, Low-sugar Banana Muffins oven 350 15 minutes
1½ C whole wheat flour 1/3 C brown sugar 1 T baking powder ½ C oatmeal flour 1/4 C oatmeal	Sift together.
1 C mashed, very ripe bananas (abt 2 large) 1/3 C milk/ buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla 2 egg whites	Combine, then stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Bake in muffin cups coated with non-stick spray.

Berry Cobbler Topping (This recipe is taken from Fat-free Holiday Recipes, by Sandra Woodruff) oven 375 45 minutes
A sweet biscuit-type topping for any kind of berry cobbler (blueberry, raspberry, etc.)
1/3 C oat flour 2/3 C flour 1/4 C sugar 1 ½ tsp baking powder	Stir together.
½ C buttermilk	Add and stir just till moistened. Spoon on top of berry mixture and cook for 45 minutes, or til browned.
* To make a simple, low-sugar berry cobbler: combine 6 C berries, 3 T cornstarch, and 1/3 C sugar.

Oatmeal for One
In large serving bowl, combine 1/3 C oatmeal & 1 C water. Microwave for 3-4 minutes.
Muffins for One or Two (Fast, easy breakfasts)
Bake any muffin recipe as usual, then freeze. Individual muffins microwave in about 45 seconds, for great snacks or very fast breakfasts.

Easy Meatballs (Abt 60 1" meatballs) oven 350 25 minutes
1½ lbs lean hamburger 3/4 C oatmeal (*Can pulse into oat flour) 1 egg or 2 egg whites ½ C onion, fine dice 1½ C beef bouillon ½ tsp pepper	Mix thoroughly. Shape into 1" balls. Coat cookie sheet with nonstick spray, and bake meatballs for 25 minutes.
Fast, easy meals: Bake recipe in bulk, then freeze meatballs in meal-sized portions. Microwave & serve with frozen/canned veggies for a fast, easy meal. Eat all different ways: * Spaghetti sauce, meatballs, spaghetti * Sweet and sour, meatballs, rice * Cream of mushroom soup, meatballs, noodles Families on the go: * Combine meatballs and sauce in crockpot at beginning of the day. Dinner's ready when you are; plus, family members can serve themselves as they come and go. For one or two: * Make individual mini-meatloafs in muffin tins. Freeze in meal-sized portions. * Cook meatballs in bulk, but freeze small portions in ziploc bags. * Use the crockpot idea above, but use a "crockette" (very small crockpot, about the size of potpourri steamers).