Quick and Easy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – Butterless, too!

My mom substituted quick cooking oats for instant packets of brown sugar oatmeal once and the results were magnificent. I was totally, 100% inspired by her delicious cookies when I was coming up with this one. I looked around at a few cookie recipes, saw what they all had in common, combined one or two things here and there, and substituted a few ingredients with  instant packets of oatmeal and applesauce.

This recipe, although it contains brown sugar, is decently healthy for you, considering the health benefits that are in most cookies.

This recipe doesn’t make a lot of cookies, mine made 8. But isn’t that just the perfect amount? Now I won’t have cookies staring me in the face every time I go into the kitchen. If I did, my waistline would hate me because I wouldn’t be able to stay away from them!

These cookies turned out very dense and chewy, but still tasted great! They sort of had the consistency of granola bars, which I really enjoyed. It was a nice change from a regular cookie.

Quick and Easy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Servings: 8 cookies
Time: 15 minutes
Level: Easy

2 packets of Brown Sugar and Maple Instant Oatmeal (I used the Weight Control kind from Quaker’s)
1 egg
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
handful of raisins, optional
handful of chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients together.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until edges begin to brown. Yum!

Tips
– You can use 1/4 c. unsalted butter in place of the applesauce.
– Try using different flavors of instant oatmeal and different fruits.

Creme Brulee

My mother-in-law, Kim, made a delicious dinner for us tonight. She made pork loin, asparagus, smashed potatoes, tomatoes, and crescent rolls. Yum! But the icing on the cake, so to say, was the dessert.

Making creme brulee turned out to be quite an adventure. First of all, you are supposed to refrigerate the dish overnight before you serve it. Seriously? Who can make a dessert and just stare at it for days? No way. Not us. We made it (well… Mrs. Kim made it), we ate it. And let me tell you, it was gooooooood.

The adventure continued when we needed to torch the sugar on top. My sister-in-law’s boyfriend, Raul, turned on the torch, began torching the sugar, and quickly went up in flames. That’s right, his entire arm was set ablaze. We’re talking flames to the ceiling… He’s totally fine but man, looking back on it, I sure wish I had a picture. I was standing there with my camera on him when it happened. All I would have had to do is push the button. But, my fight or flight kicked in and I took off. Too bad.

This dessert is worth it. It’s worth the time, the effort, the risk of burning yourself or your house down, and the extra miles you’ll have to run after indulging.

Creme Brulee

Time: 1 – 1/2 hours
Level: Medium to difficult
Servings: 4

2 c. heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. or so of light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 275°. Whisk the cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla together in a bowl. Pour the mixture either into individual ramekins or a small casserole dish. Place the ramekins or casserole dish in a larger casserole dish. Pour hot water into the dish until it reaches half way up side of the ramekins or  smaller dish, creating a water bath. Put in the oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, check every 10 minutes. Creme brulee is done when you can stick a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

Remove the ramekins or smaller casserole dish from the water bath. Set them n the counter to cool, about 15 minutes. Put them in the fridge to chill overnight. (We skipped this step, but it probably would have been a good idea) When ready to serve, sprinkle a thin layer of brown sugar on top.

Torch the top or place the dish under the broiler for 1 minute.

Yum!

Easy Salmon

Y’all! This marinade is legit! I haven’t made it, or even thought about it, in forever and then suddenly, at work, a craving flung itself all over me…  My belly is yellin’…

Easy Salmon

Cook Time: about 20 minutes
Level: Easy
Servings 2-4

1/3 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
lemon pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
2-4 4oz. salmon

Put all ingredients, except for salmon, into a zip-loc bag. Smoosh around until the brown sugar is dissolved. Add salmon. Place bag of marinating salmon in the fridge for about 5 minutes. Turn the bag over and continue marinating for another 5 minutes.

Do no exceed 15 minutes or else the salmon will begin to cook in the liquid.

On medium heat, in a lightly oiled pan or grill,  grill salmon for 3 or so minutes per side, until the fish becomes flaky. Yum!

Tips

-Side suggestions:
*Brown Rice (do you have any leftover from yesterday’s stir fry?)
*Vegetables (What about using the leftover veggie blend from last night’s stir fry? Just put the veggies in a saucepan and add a little Fat Free Italian salad dressing. Cook over medium-high heat until veggies are thawed, but still crisp. You could also add a little of the bottled stir fry sauce, if you have any left. I didn’t do that tonight because we just had those flavors last night but it’s a great last minute idea for the future!)

Here is the pan I used: