Elissa...about the baked oatmeal

Hi E, I made the baked oatmeal this morning and I have a few questions. I found the texture to be a bit on the spongy side, is that normal? It didn't rise a whole lot either, wasn't sure if that is right either or if maybe my baking powder is a bit off and needs to be replaced. I used the applesauce instead of oil, not sure if maybe that made too much of a difference. The taste is good, it just has a strangeness to it, then again, look who made it Let me know your thoughts. Linda

I have been making the baked oatmeal since I first saw the recipe on here a few weeks ago and my husband and even my 5 year old grand-daughter also love it. My grand-daughter actually asked me to make it one morning!! I make it into muffins and they are great!! Here are the changes I made to the recipe. 3 cups quick oatmeal 1.5 cups fat free carb countdown milk 2 large or x-large eggs 1/2 cup natural "no sugar" applesauce 1 cup splenda 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp or to your taste of cinnamon pinch of salt spray 12 muffins cups with pam and bake in 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. They make a good size muffin. At 23 months out I can eat 1 sometimes 2 of these muffins in the morning and they are wonderful and so filling that they hold me until lunchtime. They are very low in fat and have a good amount of protein. Using the brands that I used the muffins are approximately 124 calories each and have 8.5 grams of protein. I tried the protein peanut butter balls and they turned out terrible. If anyone makes them and has any suggestions I would love to try them again. I would love to see more recipes on the message board.

Gosh, Linda. Not sure. It definetly has a very moist texture. Is that what you mean by spongy? Did you add the nuts? Gives it that crunch that I like. I don't think it rose alot either. It ended up about 1" & 1/2 high or so. Next time try the oil instead of the applesauce. You might like it better. Okay give me the recipe for the homemade ice cream we talked about. I'm gonna try it. I've been thinking about all the flavor possibilities since we talked. Elissa

Hi Elissa Home made ice cream.....oh please, oh please, oh please share this with us. I am on bended knee (my good one) and am drooling at the thought of having "legal" ice cream. Rose

Hi Elissa, I'm thinking it's one of two things, either my baking powder is off, or the egg to oatmeal ratio is too high. I made a second batch and added some flour to experiment with the consistancy and it did help some but still had that overall sponginess to it. I also added some chinese 5 spice and raisins along with the cinnamon. I think it's probably just a texture thing with me. I will play with it to see what I can come up with. The ice cream was so much fun to make. My friend sent me instructions to make it in either a coffee can or a plastic bag. I opted for the bags as it was more readily available to me. As usual, amounts are relative to what works for you and how much you want to make, but this was a general guideline: You will need 2 plastic ziplock bags Rock salt Cream, half and half, or milk, which ever you prefer ( Carb Countdown did NOT work well at all, it foamed up. Splenda Vanilla Add 1 cup of milk ( or whatever ) into a ziplock bag, add 1 tablespoon Splenda, 1 tsp vanilla and seal the bag. In the second bag add a couple tablespoons of rock salt and fill the bag about halfway up with ice cubes. Place your sealed milk bag inside your ice/salt bag and seal it up. Shake it up, roll it around, dance around the room, chant...whatever makes you happy lol for about 10-20 minutes. The contents of the milk bag will freeze fairly quickly. When mine was done I dumped the milk bag into a container, stirred it around a bit and put it in the freezer for 5 mins or so to firm it up even more...and voila! Homemade sugar free ice cream treat that you know exactly what went into it. I'm thinking this would work really well if you have one of those ice cream freezers. I have seen small electric ones at Walmart for cheap. The variations on this are endless, you could use any number of flavored extracts, fruit, instant coffee, cocoa, even food coloring to make a crazy color. Let your imagination run wild! Most of all have fun. Linda * I found the rock salt in food lion. .99 for a 4 lb box in the baking section.