Pantry Oatmeal Patties

I know this isn't Wednesday, and I would normally post a recipe I've made on that day, but I ran out of time and still wanted to get this posted this week.

This is what I made for supper last night, and I changed up the recipe a bit to fit our tastes more. 

First off, I'll say that this recipe is really meant to be a meal that you can pull from your pantry, and can be easily made without the addition of nuts, or shredded cheese.  Many of the "meatless meals" I make, include nuts and often some shredded cheese.

Here is a picture of the "meat":

It's very moist and the recipe made a big pan.

Here is the original recipe, and I'll put off to the side what I changed.

Pantry Oatmeal Patties

1 chopped onion

3 eggs, beaten

1 C. cottage cheese

1 C. quick oatmeal

1 C. dry bread crumbs (I used 1 C. ground walnuts)

1/2 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp. salt (I didn't use)

1 can evaporated milk (I used 1% milk)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

This is the soup I like to use:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, only using 1/2 can of milk.

See how nice and creamy it looks?

  Form into patties.  Fry them in a skillet or griddle.

I set them on a paper towel to soak up extra oil.

Next, lay them all in a greased 9 x 13" cake pan (I like to spray with olive oil).  By layering them, you can fit them all in and they're easier to grab to take out, too.

See how some of these are darker than others?  They're not burnt, just very browned.  I like these ones best, as the oats get toasted a bit and add more yummy flavor!

     Take can of soup and mix with other 1/2 can of milk.  Pour over patties.

 Bake 350* for 20 min.

When you take it out of the oven, this is what it will look like.  The liquid has thickened up and the patties have absorbed some of the soup and flavoring also.

The idea of using the whole can of evaporated milk, is a great one I think.  Because, usually a recipe will call for a portion of a can and then what do you do with the rest of it?  Usually I throw it out, since I rarely use it in any of my recipes.

If you do use the evaporated milk, I will tell you that you will love it, if you like a sweetness to your food.  I prefer to have it not be sweet, so I skipped it and used regular milk.

Also, I when using the bread crumbs, this has a more 'bready' taste to it, and I know what you're thinking, "Of course it does!"  lol, but usually when using bread crumbs (or cracker crumbs) I don't taste the heaviness of it, like I do in this original recipe.  Not that it is bad, in no way at all, it's just a personal preference of mine that I chose to use nuts this time.

I really encourage you to try this, either way the recipe is written.  If you try it, let me know how you liked it, Enjoy!

~Ren

Vegetarian Hamburger Substitute

Wether you are a vegetarian, or just enjoy some meatless meals, here is a recipe you might enjoy!  It uses whole grain foods, and is so much healthier than real ground beef.

If you are used to buying the vege meat that looks like ground beef, here is a substitute for you to try.  I will use it the same as hamburger and possible even mixing it with hamburger to make my real meat stretch.

You will only need 6 ingredients. 

What you need:

2 Cups brown rice

2 Cups lentils

2 Tbsp. steak seasoning (I used Montreal Steak)

1/4 Cup olive oil

1/2 Cup vital wheat gluten*

1 Cup rolled oats

What to do:

In a large pot, add 8 Cups of water and your rice, lentils and steak seasoning.

Cook until these are soft.  I let mine come to a boil, then covered and simmered for over an hour.  Make sure the rice is done, the lentils will be done before the rice.

Add the oil, wheat gluten and rolled oats.  I found it easier to mix these in a very large bowl.

Mix well.

  Pour into 2 - 13x9" pans. 

Bake at 300* for an hour.  You want the mixture to be more dry than wet.  Think "crumbles".  After I cooked mine for an hour, I turned my oven down to 225* and left them in there for another hour.  Keep checking and stirring mixture to evenly cook and "dehydrate" it.

Now, knowing that 1 pound of cooked ground hamburger usually gives me about 2 Cups, I measured out my cooled "meat" into 2 Cup portions and put into freezer bags.

As I make up some recipes using this beef substitute, I'll show you and give you the recipes!  Let me know if you try this out and what recipes you used it in!

  

*I get my vital wheat gluten at my local Amish store, they carry many bulk items and I always buy from them!  You can also find this at a health food store, whole food store or online.