Real Cereal

I know I haven't been on in a long time, and that may happen again after this, (so much for blogging twice a week!), but after the breakfast we just had, I had to throw it out there.

A little over a year ago I stopped feeding my kids cereal. Really, we stopped buying anything that had any measure of processing and cereal was at the top of the list. Well, this instantly complicated life just a bit since now I would have to get up with my little early birds and make breakfast. I found a pretty good soaked homemade granola recipe a few months ago and made it a couple times. I just didn't love it like I loved my old tried and true unsoaked granola! So, we were back to square one.

Don't get me wrong. The breakfasts we have been having since then have been fun and so yummy! How fun to be able to have breakfast cookies or sprouted scones or just fried eggs with bacon every day! But once in a while, a little cereal would be nice...

Over Christmas I soaked and then dried some oats in my wonderful dehydrator. They were soaked in water and a little buttermilk (about 2 tsp per cup) for about 24-48 hours and kept at about 85 degrees. After drying them I had these nice crispy oats. I stuck them in a bag and left them alone until today, not quite sure what I was going to do with them...

(I imagine if you don't have a dehydrator you could dry the oats in the oven at low low temps, under 150 degrees. In case you don't know, the soaking is to break down and minimize the harmful effects of the phytic acids that prohibit absorption of certain vital nutrients.)

This morning, I decided it was high time for some easy granola. So here is what I did:

4 cups of soaked and dried oats
1/2 cup dried apples
1/2 cup dried pears
1/2 cup raisins
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup soaked, dried and finely chopped walnuts
2-4 tbsp maple syrup

Mixed all together in a big bowl and served with cold raw milk.

The great thing about this recipe is that not only is it fabulous, (and I am pretty picky when it comes to flavor!), but it can be infinitely modified to add whatever dried fruit and soaked nuts are in the house. I almost added flax seeds but didn't want to take the time to grind them. Next time maybe.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday.

The accidental meal success

Sometimes it is good not having a menu plan! Well, okay, maybe I won't go that far, but this made up dinner marks a true highlight in my culinary adventures, and it was all because I thawed some meat without a plan!

That morning, I pulled out 1 1/2 pounds of beef (from Organic Pastures) from the freezer, thinking that surely I would be able to make something yummy, (if I could just sit down for a second to figure out what!). Then, for breakfast we had scrambled eggs (pastured, of course), with raw cheese and 1/2 package of bacon. Bacon is just so good!

All day, I just kept thinking about that other 1/2 package of bacon...(it could be because my whole house still smelled like it...), and how I could work it into dinner. OOOOOOOH! Bacon cheeseburgers...yum...

However, 4pm rolled around pretty quickly and we have an old charcoal grill...I just didn't want to go through all the trouble of getting it going! Plus, I was out of bread, completely. So...how can I make something with bacon and beef, that won't take that long, and that the kids will devour...?

Behold, the bacon cheeseburger meatloaf!
(Sorry, I didn't think to take a picture until we had almost finished the whole thing! Even then I had to keep pushing my DS's hand out of the picture cuz he wanted more!)
Can I copywrite a recipe? Cuz this one is somethin special!

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf
1 1/2 lb. pastured ground beef
1/2 lb. uncooked bacon, sliced small
1 onion minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. lacto-fermented ketchup (I haven't made this yet but when the tomatoes are ripe...)
1 1/2 c. shredded raw cheddar cheese (reserve the 1/2 c.)
1 pastured egg
1 c. *soaked oats (soaked with 1/4 c. buttermilk for 12-24 hours), optional: sub. 1 c. sprouted breadcrumbs (remember, I said I was out of bread?)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl really well, then throw it into a glass baking dish, (9x13 maybe). Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 c. cheese on the top and bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. Then enjoy!!!

We had these with another made up recipe, Skillet Au Gratin Potatoes made with organic potatoes, raw cream and raw cheese(See picture at the top). I'll have to blog on that one next. Yum yum!
*Disclaimer: Okay, my oats weren't soaked this time since I was on such a time crunch and hadn't planned ahead. However, next time I make this, (and I will!), I will either use leftover bread (sprouted) or soaked oats. I have no doubt that it will still be just as good...

This blog is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Cheeseslave.

Real Food Wednesday: donuts and bagels

Okay, this morning we are making donuts because I saw it on a blog here and remember how much I loved when my mom would make us donuts for breakfast. Of course, we only got them on weekends because we all had school on the weekdays. I'll post a picture after we are done, hopefully I'll remember to get the whole process because you KNOW the kids will be helping!

Also, I need a recipe for a basic sprouted grain bagel! I could make it up, and I am getting sorely tempted to do so, but if anyone has a recipe out there I could much more easily do adaptations. We love Trader Joe's sprouted wheat cinn. raisin bagels but I am tired of paying for 6 of them and having only 2 servings for my kids! Anyone?