Instant Oatmeal Packets

Not all of Fly guy's hotels serve breakfast.  With his cooler already packed to the max, muffins and the like are not an option for his long trips.  The last few weeks I've been tossing in homemade 'instant oatmeal' packets.

These are so customizable. Just add some hot water from the hotel coffee pot and you are set.  Apparently he said hot tap water worked fine also.  I don't know, maybe sleep deprivation makes tap water oatmeal seem tasty? 

We like the texture of whole rolled oats, but if you like a finer texture you may try instant oats.  My kids ate this exact recipe for breakfast leaving them begging for seconds.  Begging for oatmeal?  Oh yes, super mom moment. 

Instant Oatmeal Packets
serves 1

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup mix ins (I chose dates and pecans)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
optional: 1-2 tsp brown sugar

Right before serving add in approximately 2/3 cups almost boiling water.  Let sit a few moments to allow the water to absorb.

Oven Baked Apple Chips

So I was out in the rain doing a little photoshoot when Fly Guy wandered off and came back eating a large shiny red apple.  "Hey, where did that come from?  I thought you were just peeing in the bushes!"  Apparently several feet from a pecan tree we discovered there is also a tree loaded with delicious apples.  This is the best Fall ever!

Now what to do with all our apples?  And how to incorporate them in brown bag lunches?

Apple chips!  Crunchy, sweet, crinkly chips.  As a bonus they make your house smell like Christmas while baking.

Now there are several recipes for these chips but you just have to play with cooking times.  Different apples have different amounts of moisture.  I discovered this when I baked two kinds at once and one variety burned.  My final chips are almost identical to the Italian Dish's Apple Chips.  Check out how she gifted hers instead of just stuffing her face when she was done.

You don't have to add any flavor.  My apples were not sweet or tart when I baked them plain but still tasty.  The unflavored ones also seem to cook faster (or it could be my imagination).  My kids like the sugar spice variety best. 

Several cooks claim to cut these apples by hand.  Eh, not for me.  I use a mandoline slicer very similiar to this.  Easy peasy.
 

Oven Baked Apple Chips 

A few thinly sliced apples  (5 for me)
A handful of brown or white sugar (1/3 cup brown)
A few teaspoons of spices  (1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves)

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper (I baked 3 pans at once).  Mix you sugar and spices in a small bowl then lightly dip one side of each apple slice before laying then on prepared baking sheets.  You can lay them close, but don't overlap.

Bake between 200 and 225 for 2 to 2.5 hours flipping once after the first hour.  The chips will be a little crunchy when done and further harden as they cool.  If they do not seem to be crisping up as desired you can turn off the oven after the initial 2 hours and leave the pans in for the slices to dry out.

No Bake Nuggets

Because you can't bring a jar of peanut butter on an airplane.

No Bake Nuggets
Makes 15-20 one inch balls

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/6 cup honey
1/6 cup molasses*
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1 cup regular rolled oats
1 cup crushed peanuts

*I pour both the molasses and honey together in a 1/3 measuring cup.  It doesn't have to be super exact.

Directions

Mix the peanut butter, sweeteners, cocoa, and vanilla in a bowl until well incorporated.  Add in the oats and stir well.  The mixture will be tough to stir but still sticky.

Form 1 inch balls and roll in crushed peanuts.  Eat at room temperature or chilled.

Fair warning.  These are sweet!  It won't take more than a couple to knock out that sweet tooth.

Hotel Friendly Popcorn

 

I recently went to my kid's back to school night where teachers had placed cute little notes along with packages of microwavable popcorn on the desks.  "thanks for popping in" if I remember right.  But my kids knew they couldn't eat them due to being chocked full of lard and artificial flavors.  So I wrote "thanks for popping their bubble" on the backside and put it back on the desk.  Joking.  I graciously accepted.

No prob.  I now have my own microwavable popcorn.  It's cheaper, healthier, funner.  Funner when I start writing my own notes to Fly Guy for his overnight trips.  None of which I will be reprinting here...  Ahem.

Back to popcorn.  Oh you won't believe how easy.



 

Are you ready?
Pen and paper handy?
Ok!

Hotel Friendly Popcorn

• Take a paper lunch bag and place 1/4 cup kernels in it.
• Fold over the top twice about a 3/4 inch fold each time creasing it well
• Place the bag on it's side and make sure it's not touching the sides of the microwave
• Microwave for 2-3 minutes or until the popping slows to several second between pops.
• Spend your free time writing witty messages and laughing at your own jokes
• Not that I do that...

Food Prep– Frozen Muffin Batter

If you give a moose a muffin... You know the story . Some mornings I feel like I have a herd of moose in my house. I couldn't keep up on the muffin front. I wanted leftover muffins for snacks and lunches without having to bake 100 muffins and then gag on the leftover banana smell in the pantry.

And then I came across a golden tidbit while reading Money Saving Mom.  You can freeze muffin batter raw!  It works, we've tried it.  

Just whip up your favorite muffin recipe and fill your greased or lined muffin tins as usual.  Place the whole pan in the freezer until the muffins are frozen solid.  Then pop them out and place in a freezer bag up to three months.  When you are ready to bake just add another 5 minutes or so.  Alternately you could place them in the pan to defrost in the fridge overnight and bake as usual in the morning.

We made a double batch of Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins (minus some sugar) this morning. Baked one pan and froze the other for later.

Fly Guy has 1.5 hours to get to the airport when he's called on reserve.  As soon as that phone rings one of us can pop in some muffins which will be waiting fresh when he heads out the door.  Oh my meese are going to love me! 

Two Ingredient Carry On Cookies

I've been hooked on different variations of these two ingredient cookies ever since they made their debut on The Burlap Bag. 

It's just ripe bananas, oats, and if you want a handful of a mix-ins.  When I say ripe I mean there should be a few brown spots on the skins of those nanners.

Ingredients

2 bananas
1 cup regular oats
Optional: 1/2 cup add-ins such as nuts or dried fruit

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 and spray a cookie sheet with oil.

Mash the bannans and oats together however you please but I choose to use a pastry cutter .  Add a few tablespoons applesauce if it's too dry or more oats if it's too wet.

Stir in your optional mix ins.  Not much more than 1/2 cup or things start to fall apart.I used chopped walnuts and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

Drop by small spoonfuls on your greased cookie sheet and slightly flatten.  They come out of the oven in the same shape they went in.

Bake for 12-18 minutes.

I'm packing for Fly Guy's four day trip that starts tomorrow and his cooler is going to be tight.  Not to worry, I've found space in his flight bag.  If you see an unusually good looking pilot carrying a bag with a 'fly' sticker in an airport near you.  He has cookies.  I bet he'd share.