hold that thought on the picture above…

Scottish Oatmeal:

Yesterday, I wrote about some new things I want to try in my kitchen. One is Scottish Oats by Bob’s Red Mill, which I made for breakfast. Scottish Oats are basically a ground version of rolled oats. There are 140 calories per 1/4 C dry oats, 2.5 g fat, 6 g protein. I read about different varieties of oats on Ashley’s blog. Click her recipe page for info and recipe ideas. I am still experimenting. And click this page for her description of every oat imaginable. Very interesting!

Basic Scottish Oatmeal (Trial #1 following instructions on bag):

• 1/4 C dry Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oats
• 3/4 C water
• splash milk
• 1/2 banana
• drizzle honey
• pinch salt
• small handful of Kashi Go Lean

Instructions:

Combine dry oats, salt, and water in large bowl. Microwave for 3-4 minutes. Add banana, milk, cereal, and honey. (I prefer microwave to stove top because of cook time. I don’t like to wait for breakfast. But I might try stovetop to compare.)

My issue with hot oatmeal is the mess. First I tried a smaller bowl, and it exploded in the microwave. Then I moved it to a larger bowl and transfered to a different bowl for eating. Blah cleanup. I also thought the texture of my oats didn’t look anything like the pictures on Ashley’s blog. It looked a little like polenta but tasted like oats. It was very dense and made a small amount. She uses more liquid, which I’ll try next time.

I also kept my mix-ins and toppings light because I wanted to taste the oats and see if I should change the texture.

And as usual when I eat hot oatmeal, I’m never satisfied, and I think it lacks protein. I have a whole bag of it, so I’ll keep trying.

This is the dry oats so you can see the texture and how it’s different than rolled oats.

This is the cooked picture.

Moroccan Dinner:

One night for dinner, I had a little challenge for myself. I wanted to make a flavorful dinner without buying a flavor packet of pre-mixed spices, and I wanted to use what I had in my pantry. I had ground turkey in the freezer and pearl cous cous on hand,  so I wanted to make a cohesive meal that tied these together. With a little Googling, I decided on a Moroccan themed dinner, but didn’t tell Jeffrey or he’d get scared.

Ingredients:

• Near East Pearl Cous Cous (or any brand)
• small handful Feta Cheese
• small handful Sliced Dried Apricots
• 1 package Jennie O Ground Turkey, Lean
• 1 small Yellow onion
• 2 pan drizzles EVOO
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions:

• For Turkey: Sautee diced onions in pan with EVOO until translucent or cooked well.
• In medium mixing bowl, combine turkey with spices and mix with hands. Let sit in refrigerator to marinate together. Other spices you could add if you have them are fresh garlic, coriander, nutmeg.
• Add ground turkey to the pan with onions and break into pieces. Let cook through on both sides, about 15 minutes total.
• For cous cous: follow box instructions. The instructions I used was to boil 1 3/4 C water, then add cous cous to pot and cook, then add mix. Cook more, let sit. Time amounts were on the box. After letting it sit covered for 5 minutes at the end, I added crumbled feta and sliced apricots to let it mix together.
• For vegetables: Preheat oven to 375*. Spread asparagus and sliced red pepper on baking sheet with EVOO, salt and pepper, and bake for 30 minutes.

My favorite part of this dish was actually the cous cous! I haven’t cooked pearl cous cous at home before, and it was really great. The added feta and apricots gave a nice fruity and creamy consistency, and the water actually helped make it seem extra creamy too, but no cream involved.

The meat was flavored really well, and would be great in tacos or tortillas too. Nothing screamed “Morocco” (but we haven’t been there so wouldn’t know) but I wanted to make sure the flavors went together, which was why I picked a flavor type.

All parts were great as leftovers too.