Cranberry Honey Oatmeal Bread

I've been in a baking mood, and this is just the start of it. In one day, my three year old, Sausage Boy and I made this bread, the Banana Girl and I made her famous Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and Super Bear and I made...well I can't tell you yet, you'll have to wait until the Secret Recipe Club reveal date later in Feb (around my birthday!!!)

These baking moods of mine, come and go: with life, time, and maybe that time of the month ;) Whatever it is, I'm in the kitchen right now. In fact the preschool teachers already benefited since I sent in extras with a little Valentine's Day note. While I'm a fan of sweet treats for Valentines (can we say Cookie Dough Truffles, Citrus Meringue Pie, Rosemary Chocolate Tart, or My Favorite Molasses Cookies??) there is a time and a place for less sugar. This is the time. I'm feeling large and not in charge. I need to make changes, real ones. If someone could just let me borrow their will power, I promise to give it back when I'm done.

This recipe is from a blog called "Eat Yourself Skinny" if that gives you any idea as to where I'm going. According to the blog, one slice is 196 calories. If that's true, I'd be scared to know what my Zucchini Bread ranks up at. I found this recipe at Pinterest, my new love. Apparently there are a ton of people who are just pinning things and never getting around to doing them. I am determined NOT to be one of those. I want to use this fantastic tool and not just dream about using it. Bring on the pins!!

I pinned this recipe in December and knew I wanted to make it because I love cranberries. I have a go to Cranberry Coffee Cake that I keep cranberries in the freezer all year round to make. It would be perfect for Valentine's Day since it has the red cranberries, but it contains...sugar. This Oatmeal bread only contains a little bit of honey...a very little. I found out how little after I ate a piece. It was pretty sour. I mean, I like cranberries, but I had to change the recipe to make it more suited to me. The original recipe can be found here at Allrecipes. Here is my adapted recipe - and yes, this means it will come in at more than the 196 calories (or 5 WW pts, which Kelly, the author so kindly shares). My helper said our version turned out "really good Mommy", so there it is straight from the expert.

Cranberry Honey Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 c oats

1 c honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 c heavy cream or whole milk

1 c fresh cranberries, chopped (or dried)

1/2 c nuts, chopped (I like pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and oats (reserve a sprinkle of the oats for later).

In a medium bowl, mix together honey, vegetable oil, eggs and milk. Pour liquid into the flour mixture bowl, stirring just until moistened.  Stir in chopped cranberries and pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle whole oats on the top for decoration and fancyness (yes, I'm sure that's a word). Bake for 1 hour if using fresh cranberries and 45 minutes if using dried. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Slice and serve with cream cheese or butter. Or if you are being healthy like I'm trying, enjoy it plain.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries

Happy New Year!! I am so excited about this year. Our family is finally complete with our four precious children, we are settled into a wonderful neighborhood, found a great church and life feels....right. 2011 is going to be a great year here in Chickenville and I wish all the same for you!

I wanted to share this yummy dish for your winter table. It's the perfect way to start off a new year. When you roast veggies on a baking sheet it just brings out the natural sugars and makes them taste amazing. My kids love eating this dish and surprise! it's good for them. The sweet squash and the sweet/ tart cranberries make it seem like a treat. It's a perfect side dish for this time of year with all of the winter squashes in season.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries

(Adapted from Whole Foods)
1 medium butternut squash
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 onion (I like to use Vidalia)
2 tsp dried sage
4 tbsp dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Peel squash and cut in half lengthwise.

Scoop out seeds from the center and discard.

Cut squash into large chunks.

Peel onions and cut into half rings. Coat with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and arrange on a silicone mat lined baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until well caramelized. Stirring and flipping halfway through cooking time.

When squash and onions are done, toss with sage and cranberries. Serve immediately.

Cherry Almond Snack Mix

We are not a sugar cereal household. My poor kids have never tasted Cocoa Puffs or Frosted Flakes. They don't know that Fruit Loops will make your milk colored. I know, they are so deprived!

However, we ARE a cereal house. My husband teases me that I am like Jerry Seinfield with our 20 (yes 20) boxes of cereal that I keep at anytime. I buy when it's on sale and I have a coupon. We keep about 5 boxes open at a time and the rest are in the laundry room overflow. I don't feel badly about this, because my friend Melissa says she has MORE than 20 boxes in her pantry!!

Every once in a while I will make something with our cereal like a trail mix, Chex Mix, and People Chow (which you should check out at Our Life in a Click - I love her photography). My twist on the original recipe found on a Chex cereal box long ago is to replace half the chocolate chips with butterscotch chips. Yum!

Another favorite cereal recipe is Cherry Almond Snack Mix. For this one you need to start with this Quaker cereal (and yes you can use any of their three flavor version of this cereal).

Cherry Almond Snack Mix


4 c Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal
1/2 c sliced almonds
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp apple pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
dash of salt
1 c dried cherries, cranberries, or raisins


In a bowl, combine butter, spices and salt. Add cereal and almonds to bowl and toss to coat. Spread out mixture on baking pan with sides (aka jelly roll pan). Bake at 300 degrees for 20 mins stirring once halfway through the cooking time. Cool out of oven and then add the dried fruit (which I have not done yet in the above photo). Store in airtight container.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

This no-fail recipe is one of my breakfast items I bring to get togethers all year round. It's always delicious and everyone loves it. The sweet cake part contrasts well with the tart of the cranberries. Although you can't get cranberries all year, when they are in season, just buy a couple of extra bags. Then you can throw them, in their original bags in the freezer for later. When you want to make this coffee cake, you don't even have to defrost them, which makes them easier to mince. I promise this is what I bring home everytime...

You can use any kind of nuts you like (or omit them altogether). I've used pecans, almonds, walnuts, and even macadamia nuts. You can change the spices or even use dried apricots instead of cranberries so it's really like a basic coffee cake recipe that everyone should have in their arsenal. You can even make it the night before and store it in the fridge and then bake it in the morning. Love those kind of dishes for breakfast!

Cranberry Coffee Cake (adapted from Southern Living)

Serves 12-15

2/3 c soft butter

1 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

2 eggs

2 c flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c buttermilk

Nut Crunch Topping
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans)

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 c minced cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter until creamy, add sugars and eggs, beat again. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, soda, powder, and salt. Add dry mixture to butter mix in small batches alternating with buttermilk. Mix well.

Combine the nut crunch toppings: nutmeg, nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.

Grease 9x13 pan. Pour half of batter into bottom of pan. Sprinkle half of nut mixture over batter and half of cranberries over batter. Pour remaining batter over top and smooth out. Top with remaining nut mixture and cranberries. Bake for 35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean when poked in center. Serve warm. Can also be made the night before and stored covered in fridge until ready to bake.