Easy Pumpkin Cake

This is a delicious, freezer-friendly fall cake! This is my mother-in-law's recipe; my sister has a slightly more challenging recipe I'll post someday. We make this for my daughter's birthday (which is in October). If you'd like to ice it, cream cheese icing is ideal. If you're planning to freeze it, freeze before icing. Enjoy!

2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
3 t. cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/4 c. oil
1 (16-oz.) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. nuts (optional)

Put all ingredients in mixer bowl. Mix well for 2 minutes. Bake in tube pan or 2 loaf pans for 1 hour at 375 degrees. Good with or without frosting (but, why pass up a chance to eat cream cheese icing? Use your favorite cream cheese icing recipe or this one.)

Makes 1 tube cake or 2 loaf cakes.

Oriental Slaw

This is a refreshing change from regular coleslaw. It's easy to put together and is a crowd pleaser. My mother-in-law makes it all the time!

1 head Napa cabbage, shredded
1 package Oriental Ramen noodles (save seasoning packet)
1 package slivered almonds
2 1/2 oz. sesame seeds (optional)
4-5 green onions, chopped

(Dressing Ingredients and Recipe Follow)

Crush noodles in package. Combine noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds in bowl and pour onto cookie sheet (jelly roll pan is ideal). Bake at 375 degrees for 5-10 minutes at most; watch to make sure they toast, but don't burn. Combine with cabbage and green onions in large bowl.

Dressing
1/2 cup oil
3 T. white vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
seasoning packet from noodles

Put dressing ingredients in jar and shake well. Pour dressing over slaw 10 minutes before serving and toss.

Roasted Acorn Squash

Winter squash symbolize the coming cooler weather! They're going on sale all over the place as fall really and truly hits us. This is an easy treatment for acorn squash (can be used for any other winter squash as well). I don't usually care for acorn squash, but I like it this way.

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Favorites Cookbook

1-2 acorn squash, cut in half and seeded
vegetable or olive oil

Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Brush foil and cut sides of squash with oil (use vegetable oil if using the glaze below). Roast squash cut side down at 400 degrees for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size of squash.

Optional Glaze (the only way I will eat acorn squash! It's yummy)
3 T. maple syrup or honey
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. grated ginger

Mix well. Brush on cut sides of squash about 5 minutes before squash will be done. Flip the squash cut-side up and finish roasting for 5 or so minutes. Mmmmm.... (If pairing with Fragrant Sticky Chicken, use honey instead of maple syrup.)

1 large squash will feed my family with a bit left over

Fragrant Sticky Chicken

Another simple, easy to assemble, tasty freezer meal! This would go well with a Chinese inspired side dish like Baby Bok Choy with Garlic or a vegetable stir fry and rice. If you triple this, you will use a full can of chicken broth and approximately 1 bottle of soy sauce.

From Meals for a Month

1/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 T. grated gingerroot
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 c. honey

Combine soy sauce, broth, and ginger. Mix well, then add chicken breasts. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours; then pack into ziploc bag and freeze. Reserve honey in the pantry. (I skipped the refrigerator step...).

To thaw and cook: Thaw chicken in marinade overnight in the refrigerator. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, then add chicken and marinade. Cook 5-8 minutes on one side, then turn chicken, add honey, cover, and cook an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked and sauce is reduced.

Serves 4

Easy Strudels full of YUM!

Oh, wow! We threw these together and YUMMY! If you like strudels, either frozen variety, Arby's or whoever, you have to try these!! It took only a few minutes to prepare. See notes at the end...recipe can vary.

For Strudel:
1 pkg. of frozen puff pastry, thawed. (Usually 2 sheets in pkg.)
1 can fruit pie filling (apple, cherry, blackberry..you choose)

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold 1 thawed pastry sheet. It should be roughly a large square (you can roll if not). Cut into 4 smaller squares. Scoop a little pie filling onto one corner of smaller squares. Fold over to make triangle and seal edges (by pinching together). Repeat with other pastry sheet.

Place triangles onto cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove and let cool.

Icing: Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Add more milk, a little at a time, until it reaches a consistency that you can drizzle (still a little thick). Drizzle over cooled strudels and serve.

**These can be frozen and reheated for more yummy later! (Frozen after baked)
**You can use crescent rolls-pinching two together to make a small square. Fillo dough may not work the same. Also you can easily double the recipe, and do two different kinds of filling. There are some recipes where you can even make your own pie filling.

Easy Stir-and-Drop Sugar Cookies

These ordinary little sugar cookies have so much going for them: super easy to make, kid-friendly activity (stirring dough and decorating cookies), ordinary ingredients (no hydrogenated oils or corn syrup), and very tasty fresh from the oven.... Today is my daughter's birthday, so this little recipe is in her honor! (She'll be three and moving out of the "toddler" category into the "preschool category"!)

Recipe from Betty Crocker's Quick and Easy Cookbook

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. vegetable oil
• 2 t. baking powder
• 2 t. vanilla
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• additional sugar or sprinkles

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar, oil, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and eggs in large bowl with spoon. Stir in flour.
2. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press bottom of glass onto dough to grease, then dip into additional sugar; press on balls of dough to make 1/4 inch thick (we didn't press them down with a glass--just used our fingers to sprinkle on colored sprinkles and it worked fine!).
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Makes 2-4 dozen cookies, depending on size of cookie!

Easy Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken

Two versions of this easy "rotisserie" chicken: 1 that is super easy and 1 that is almost as easy! You may never buy another rotisserie chicken from the grocery! My sister contributed the cooking method here, although the method is very similar to one in our Meals for a Month cookbook. So, that's the bonus: you can freeze the chicken already seasoned, pull it out to thaw ahead of time, and simply pop it into your slow cooker on the day of choice!

Super Easy Version
1 whole chicken, 3-5 pounds, giblets and such removed
Lawry's seasoned salt (or lemon pepper or seasoning blend of choice)
4-5 balls of foil or foil-wrapped baking potatoes

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry.
2. Season chicken liberally with seasoning mix.
3. Place foil or foil-wrapped potatoes in bottom of slow cooker.
4. Place chicken breast-side down on top of foil.
5. Cook on high for 4-6 hours.

Voila! Yummy chicken! This is very tender and moist. If you use potatoes, then your meal is almost complete. The potatoes will be a bit mushier than those baked in an oven; we smashed ours and added in butter, milk, salt and pepper.

Almost as Easy Version
This seasoning blend comes from Meals for a Month; half is rubbed under the skin of the chicken and half on top of the skin before freezing/cooking. This yields a very flavorful, almost "smoky" taste. You proceed in the same fashion as above with the crockpot, replacing the Lawry's with this rub (enough for a whole chicken or 3 pounds chicken parts):

• 2 t. salt
• 2 t. smoked paprika
• 1 t. onion salt
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1/2 t. dried rosemary
• 1/2 t. dried thyme
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/8 t. pepper
• 1/8 t. cayenne pepper
  

Rotisserie Rubber Chicken Menu

See here for an explanation of "rubber chicken."

Day 1
Rotisserie Chicken in the Crockpot with mashed potatoes (potatoes cooked in crock); green side veggie (steamed broccoli, salad, whatever)

Day 2
Barbeque chicken sandwiches (toss the shredded chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve with bun of your choice); slaw; corn on the cob

Day 3
(You can also do this step on day 1; I usually do since I'm already a mess from pulling all the meat off the bird.) Make stock with a carrot or two, a celery stalk or two, and a peeled onion: break/cut the veggies in half and throw them in the pot with the carcass. Add some garlic powder, a bay leaf or two, some salt and pepper (go easy on the salt since your carcass may be heavily salted), and boil away until you like the looks of it. Strain out the broth and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, you can skim all the fat off of the top and freeze for use in soup later in the week.
Good soup choices: any chicken noodle or chicken rice variation would work well with these flavors; also a good bean soup (especially if you made your own rub for the chicken and included smoked paprika) or vegetable soup

More Freezer Meal Tips and Plans!

This thread is part of a forum at Recipezaar on Once-a-Month-Cooking (OAMC). People have posted their meal plans, strategies, recipes, etc. Enjoy! (Please note that I haven't tried any of these recipes--but there is much helpful information and lots of freezer-friendly recipes you might consider trying.)

There is also a fantabulous Recipezaar article on OAMC in general, including lots of links to freezer-friendly recipes for all sorts of things.

Easy Beans and Rice

This is another quick gem from Saving Dinner. It's tasty and easy (sure, if you cooked your own beans and all, you might find a better recipe, but this one is perfect for a weeknight dinner). My toddlers like it, too; I serve the beans separately from the rice for them and they pick out the beans and sausage with their fingers.... Mmmmm.

Easy Beans and Rice
~Saving Dinner 

1 pound kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (can also use turkey smoked sausage)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cans red or black beans, drained
1 cup tomatoes, chopped (I've also used a can of diced tomatoes)
1/2 t. thyme
1/4 t. cayenne pepper, optional
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups brown rice, cooked

In a skillet over medium-low heat, cook sliced sausage for about 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper, and saute till veggies are tender. Add beans and tomatoes with their juice. Season with thyme, cayenne (optional), and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.

Serves 6

Rubber Chicken

The term "rubber chicken" refers to stretching that chicken to make as many meals as possible from it, often ending with soup or stock. For rubber chicken, it's imperative that you start with bone-in chicken pieces or a whole chicken; otherwise, you can't make stock from it at the end! I like the idea of rubber chicken, but in my current busy life, I have to have everything thought-through and organized ahead of time or it won't happen.

So, I had the genius idea of creating some rubber chicken menus: a recipe for roasted chicken, a second dish made from the cooked chicken meat (and coordinating with the flavors/seasonings used in the roasting recipe), and a final soup or stock (also coordinating with the earlier flavors/seasonings). This way, I'm much, much more likely to actually make use of my bird! There are so many variations here--Mexican-inspired, Curry-infused, Garlic-infused, Basic (salt and pepper), Herbed varieties, etc. I have a roasted chicken recipe for each of these scenarios and accompanying dishes/suggestions to do with the leftovers! Then, my week is half planned. I usually bake some potatoes or sweet potatoes along with the chicken and only need to come up with a simple vegetable side for half of my week's meals!

Many people do rubber chicken on the weekends and then eat off of it early in the week. For our family, it works best to roast the chicken for Monday night's dinner. Mondays are our home days because our weekends (especially Sunday) are so long. Since we have a 45 minute commute to church, we usually do something ultra simple like soup or salad or sandwiches for Sunday lunch. Thus, a "real meal" is extra welcome on Mondays! Here's our new weekly schedule (we'll see how long I can keep this up):

• Monday: Roast Chicken of some sort (pick off meat after dinner--save carcass and meat separately)
  
• Tuesday: Meal with leftover cooked chicken (casserole, pasta dish, etc.); make stock from carcass
  
• Wednesday: Church
• Thursday: Freezer meal or leftovers from Tuesday
  
• Friday: Make soup from stock! Simple, eh? (We usually just eat off of the soup for lunches and maybe Sunday night dinner; Friday night's meal will either be the soup or something from the freezer)
• Saturday: Stir-Fry with meat already cut up from the freezer, Entree Salad, or something grilled (the only night of the week that hubby is home for dinner with the kids except Sunday--we eat fresh stuff (the kinds of meals that don't reheat well))
• Sunday: soup, salad, sandwiches, or leftovers

Below are some possible menus. Chicken salad can go with any flavor of roast chicken, so that is always an option. Chicken noodle/rice soups can work well with them all, too. I've listed some other meal possibilities that coordinate especially well with the flavors of the given roasted chicken recipe. You can always freeze leftovers--most casseroles and soups freeze well, the chicken carcass will freeze, and, of course, the chicken meat will freeze. Enjoy! (I'll keep updating links as I post recipes)

Italian Rubber Chicken

• Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (crock-pot recipe)
• 3-Cheese Chicken Florentine (we leave out the mushrooms, but this is sooooo good--freezes well, too) OR Chicken Spaghetti OR White and Green Lasagna
  
• Minestrone

Mexican Rubber Chicken

• Red-Roasted Chicken
• Chipotle Cheddar Chicken Cakes OR Quesadillas OR Chicken Tucson OR Gringo Chicken Salad (needs a lot of leftover cooked chicken)
• Black Bean Soup

Curry Rubber Chicken (not Indian, but the curry flavor does feature slightly in every recipe)

• Glazed Chicken and Vegetables (includes apples)
• Curried Chicken Salad OR Chicken Divan
• Coffeehouse Chicken Noodle Soup

Herbed Rubber Chicken

• Herb-Roasted Chicken (Dried Herbs) OR Herb-Roasted Chicken (Fresh Herbs)
• Chicken Spectacular OR Chicken Salad OR Risotto
  
• stock for any soup
  

Basic Rubber Chicken

• Basic Roast Chicken
• Chicken Spectacular OR Asian Chicken Salad OR Homemade Hot Pockets OR Sticky Skins--roast some extra potatoes along with your chicken the first day
• Stock for any soup
  

Decadent Rubber Chicken

• New Mommy Roast Chicken
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Stock for any soup
  

Rotisserie Rubber Chicken

• Slow-Cooker Rotisserie Chicken
• Easy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches OR Sticky Skins
  
• Stock for any soup--especially good for bean soups if you're leaving a ham bone out
  

Butternut Squash Soup

This is our family's favorite fall soup--EVERYONE LOVES IT!!! I used to thicken it with rice cereal when my kids were infants and they inhaled it. Now, we sprinkle chopped, cooked broccoli on top and they inhale it. My husband loves it, and I, who only like butternut squash in a few ways, really enjoy this soup, too. You must try it! Bonus: it freezes great--you can freeze just the cooked squash portion, or puree it with the cheese (and tofu) and freeze it that way. The first time we had it was at a friend's house. She substituted a block of silken tofu for one block of cream cheese (not being a huge tofu fan, I'm glad I didn't know that beforehand). We always make the same substitution since you really can't tell and it adds some extra protein (while taking away some of the fat). Mmmmm......

Butternut Squash Soup

Recipe from allrecipes.com (I'm giving you our version below--the only change is the tofu substitution)

• 6 tablespoons chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups water
• 4 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (10-14 ounce) package soft or silken tofu

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Serves 6

Toddler Meals: the Guarantees

I don't know about the rest of you out there who are feeding toddlers, but mine seem to eat like it's their last meal one night and then pick at their food for the next three nights. I've been told this is typical, but it certainly makes meal planning a frustration at times. So, I don't plan for them much--just expect them to eat what the adults are eating for dinner.

That being said, there are a few meals that I know they won't eat (spicy/weird ethnic comes to mind) or times when we just want to order pizza (the younger two toddlers aren't up to pizza eating skill yet). So, what do I feed my toddlers when they've not eaten much lately, won't eat what I'm serving tonight, or just need a good dose/boost of veggies or protein (the two categories that seem to fall by the wayside during eating strikes)? Here's my list of guarantees--the foods I know they'll eat if at all hungry. If you have any guarantees, please share them!

Protein Options:
Beans (black, pintos, etc.)
Eggs in any form
Hot dogs
Chicken nuggets (yes, we have a big bag in the freezer)
Cottage Cheese
Yogurt
Peanut Butter

Veggie Options:
Fancy Spinach (this is practically a complete meal with all the eggs and cheese in it; my kids LOVE this)
Cottage Cheese and Spinach Gratin--the easy version (again, practically a complete meal with the addition of a carb; my kids INHALE this....go figure)
Baked or Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash Souffle (only if I'm feeling extra generous with my time :) )
Steamed Broccoli
Steamed Peas or straight from the bag frozen (must feel good on those little teething gums)
Pumpkin puree stirred into yogurt

Combos/Meals:
Quesadillas (anything works here: whole wheat tortillas, cheese, and anything else they might eat--including chopped cooked broccoli, chicken, beans, etc.)
Hot dog, cottage cheese, peas in a little divided plate--a staple for my older daughter when I was in the midst of a twin pregnancy
Creamy Peanut Chicken (with extra veggies mixed in)
Pumpkin Yogurt or smoothie

Apple Chicken

This is a great fall dinner--quick, easy, healthy. It's kind of saucy, so you could easily pair it with noodles or even rice.

Recipe from Saving Dinner

1 1/4 t. vegetable oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
3/4 c. dry white wine
3/4 c. chicken broth
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cider vinegar
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. salt
1 t. pepper (less if you're feeding very young children)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add chicken and brown on all sides. Add apple slices, saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 the wine and chicken broth, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix remaining wine and broth together with remaining ingredients; add to skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens.

Serves 6

Apples

Please note that this picture came from another blog I just discovered when I did my "google images search". I was too lazy to photograph a nearly identical basket of apples that is on my own kitchen counter. Wanted to give credit where credit is due! Click here for original photo and accompanying, yummy-looking apple recipe.

Mmmmm.... there are so many divine apple-related eating experiences, aren't there? That might help to explain why fall is my favorite season since it happens to be apple season. (I've also always lived in the Southeast and fall is such a welcome break from the heat and humidity and mosquitoes!)

So, what can you do with apples besides eat them out of hand? What apples are best for various eating experiences? Read on for suggestions and information on apple varieties. Before we go any further into our apple exploration, I must tell you that if there is an orchard within driving distance of your house, you must start there. Even a local produce market will be better than a supermarket if you're anywhere close to apple country. Why? My local Kroger sells beautiful, waxed, all-the-same-size Honey Crisps for $2.99/pound. The orchard (literally a 10 minute drive up the road) sells homey-looking, multi-sized, nonwaxed Honey Crisps for .... $0.80/pound. Hmm... You tell me which I'd rather buy: I'll take cheaper, fresher, non-waxed any day. And those little apples you can find at orchards and produce markets are the perfect size for little hands!

For eating apples out of hand, my top favorites are Honey Crisps, Cameos, Mutzus. No question. If you've never tried one of these apples, you must! They are all crisp and sort of sweet-tart.

For apple dumplings, Romes or Winesaps work well--my mother-in-law uses both and I've had the best luck with Romes in particular.

For apple sauce, a mixture is best. Make sure you include some good firm, tart ones (Arkansas Black, Granny Smith, early Winesaps) in the mix as well as some softer ones (Macintosh, Jonagolds, Jonamacs). Sweet apples (Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonamacs, etc.) will give a sweeter, less complex sauce. This can be good if you want something sweeter (I never add sugar to my applesauce.). If you want rich apple flavor, though, you must include some tart varieties. Including a mixture of firm and soft apples will also give you a nice texture variation.

For apple pies, frequently Granny Smith or other tart, firm apples work best since they hold their shape a bit better. Here's a recipe by Gayle over at The Grocery Cart Challenge for apple pies that freeze well (step by step freezing directions)!

Here's a list of recipes that simply use any kind of apples (nice to have on hand if you, like me, can't resist a big bag of reduced apples that still look perfect or you've just been to an orchard and bought the full bushel...):

• Apple Oatmeal
• Apple Scones
• Pork with Apples
• Baked Apples (in crockpot)
• Apple Chicken
• Oatmeal Apple Muffins
• Apple Oatmeal Bars
• Apple Walnut Muffins
• Apple Scones
• Apple Dutch Baby
  
• (I'll be updating the links above and adding more in the next couple of weeks!)
  

For more apple facts than you will ever need, read this. For more general info on apples, check out this.

Apple Dumplings

I start to salivate at the mere mention of these babies. Mmmmm... These are worth every bit of the effort it takes (they're not difficult, but since I rarely make dessert, any work is more effort than usual). In fact, these are so good, you should run to your nearest orchard, pick up some Rome apples, rush back home, and have these for dinner. Seriously, if you're going to be eating these, why add any extra calories beforehand? This is a luscious tradition I married into: these apple dumplings for dinner one night every fall. Incidentally, perhaps dangerously, they freeze well. So, now my freezer has 12 in it waiting for a good excuse.... Photos are for the steps taken to freeze them; I'll post a final, cooked picture next time we eat them if we can hold off eating them long enough!

Recipe from my mother-in-law

Dumplings

• 6 medium-sized apples (large if you're feeling indulgent; Romes are best, and my mother-in-law also uses Winesaps)
• 2 c. flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 2/3 c. shortening (can use half butter)*
• 1/2 c. milk

I suppose you could use all butter, too. You may want to refrigerate dough after rolling it out for a bit so it will harden back up; the butter can make the crust almost too soft to work with if it gets warm enough.

1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in shortening/butter. Add milk and stir until moistened.
2. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface in a rectangle 18x12-inches. Cut into 6 squares.
3. Peel and core the apples. Place one apple on each dough square. Sprinkle each apple with sugar (optional), cinnamon, and dot with butter. Wrap dough around apples.
4. To freeze: Place apples on cookie sheet and flash freeze. When dumplings are hard, pop them off the cookie sheet and into a ziploc bag. Put them in the baking dish the night before in the refrigerator to thaw (cover with saran wrap).
   
5. To bake: Place in an ungreased 11x7-inch baking dish (I've also used an 8x8-inch and a loaf pan together--they just need to fit right next to each other and the sides of the pan without being mashed together--a snug fit). Pour syrup (recipe below) over and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.
   
6. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Syrup--make when you are ready to cook the dumplings

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 3 T. butter

Put water, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add butter.

Serves 6

Apple Oatmeal

You would think that it wouldn't take me a cookbook to figure this gem out. (It clearly didn't take Gayle over at The Grocery Cart Challenge a cookbook--yea for Gayle for thinking creatively!) Here is another great way to include apples in your diet--especially if you have an older infant/young toddler who doesn't have enough teeth to chew raw apples yet! It's a wonderful cool morning breakfast--sort of "stick-to-your-ribs-and-warm-you-up" stuff.

Recipe inspired by More-with-Less (I made it from memory this week and it still turned out great--my cookbook has been loaned out)

2 1/2 cups oats (we used steel cut this week)
2 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
cinnamon
brown sugar
butter
milk

Cook oats as you would normally (I used water, but I think you could cook them with milk and still put the apples in). If you've never cooked oatmeal before, just follow the directions on the box and enjoy learning how to cook the perfect cold weather breakfast! If you're using regular old-fashioned oats, add apples in with oats and proceed. If you're using steel-cut oats, give the oats a 5 minute head start unless your apples are really firm. When oats and apples are done to your liking, top with your desired toppings (we always use a wee bit of brown sugar, sprinkle of cinnamon, pat of butter, and some milk)

Serves 4-5

Baby Food Cake (Plum Cake)

For me, plum cake and fall are linked forever. One of the first Scottish Highland Games I attended with my future husband and in-laws (although we weren't even dating at the time) involved a picnic for which my mother-in-law made this cake--and it was a perfect fall day in October. It is an ideal picnic cake because it's easy to whip up and it keeps well--is even better the next day. It also freezes great. It's one of the recipes I've made the most from a cookbook she made for me of their family's favorite recipes. The original recipe calls for plum baby food, but I've begun having trouble finding "plum" specifically; any dark fruit (usually combined with apple) will work. I've often combined prune baby food with regular applesauce, and it's worked out just fine. It is also a dairy free cake for those for whom that's a requirement!

• 2 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 c. oil
• 2 c. self-rising flour
• 1 t. ground cloves
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 12 ounces dark fruit baby food*
• 1 c. nuts (optional)

*I never used my own baby food purees for this because mine were always thicker than store bought. I'm sure you could experiment though!

1. Cream sugar and eggs. Add oil and mix well.
2. Sift flour and spices. Add to creamed mixture.
3. Add baby food and nuts (if using).
4. Pour into greased and floured tube pan or two loaf pans.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for about an hour (start checking at 55 minutes). I use the toothpick test (toothpick coming out clean when stuck in middle of cake).
6. Cool on a wire rack (in the pan) for about 10 minutes. Then, finish cooling on wire rack out of pan.
7. Glaze while still warm (optional).

Optional Glaze (yummy! I've never tried freezing it this way, but you're welcome to attempt it!)
Boil 4 T. lemon juice and 1 c. powdered sugar. Poke holes in warm cake and pour glaze over cake.

Makes 1 tube cake or 2 loaf-sized cakes.