Cookie Dough Topping

In efforts to find something sweet that didn't contain eggs, I remembered my Carmelita recipe. (I am nursing my baby and for some reason or another, if I eat anything with egg in it, he vomits.) I made a batch of Carmelitas without chocolate and fell in love. I decided to make another batch a few days later but kept eating the "dough." After keeping it in the fridge, it solidified into beautiful little crumbles. It was destined to become cookie dough topping for ice cream! And it was a match made in heaven! The great thing about this cookie dough is that it doesn't contain egg and it can be versatile for what you'd like to add to it. Mini chocolate chips, raisins, dash of cinnamon, and/or nuts.

Full batch (makes quite a bit)

Half batch in italics

1 1/2 cups oatmeal - 3/4 cup

1 1/2 cups flour - 3/4 cup

1 1/4 cups brown sugar - 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp

3/4 tsp soda - 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp

1/4 tsp salt - 1/8 tsp

3/4 tsp vanilla - 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp

2 cubes butter (no substitutes) - 1 cube

Add all dry ingredients and mix with spoon. Add vanilla and butter. Mix well. I do this with a pair of plastic gloves (meant for handling food). It just works better. (A half batch is pictured.)Put in a ziploc bag and let it refrigerate for several hours. You can separate this into different bowls and put in the extras (chocolate chips, etc) so that you have different choices. But plain is really good, too.
Crumble it up and put it on your desired flavor of ice cream!Super simple but it adds such great taste to your ice cream. I like it plain or on ice cream or on yogurt. It is loaded with butter (but what great tasting recipe isn't?) but it's not like you're sitting and eating the whole batch. ;) Not that I have done that or anything! ;)

Keep any remaining topping (if there is any!) stored in ziploc bag(s) in the fridge.

BBQ Sparerib Meatballs

From my own brain
I thought of these one night when I was craving spareribs but didn't have any spareribs. So I tried them out and they've been a hit in our family ever since.

1 to 2 lbs of hamburger, thawed (1 lb makes 20-30 balls, 2lbs makes about 40-60 balls, it depends on how big you make your meatballs)
2 Tbsp to 1/4 cup finely blended oatmeal (almost like an oatmeal flour), I do this in the blender and then store it in a tightly sealed container and use it as I need it.
Mnced onions (desired amount)
dash of salt and pepper

Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Mix and assess if you need more blended oatmeal. You want to make sure you have enough but too much will make them dry. 2 Tbsp+ is about right for 1 lb. And 1/4 cup is about right for 2 lbs. Mix well with fork and roll balls into 1 inch balls. Place in 9x13 inch pan (they can be close together.) The picture below is of 2 lbs and 60 meatballs.

Cook for 30 minutes at 375. They may need longer if you are doing 2 lbs.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan make sparerib sauce. It can be any recipe. I like ones that are a little tiny bit sweet and not overly spicy. A sparerib can handle that but it is a lot for a meatball. Or if you want a super fast sauce, just buy it in a bottle. I haven't found one I like yet. If you do, let me know. I'll try it out!

After the meatballs cook, make sure they look mostly done. You want them to be completely brown all the way around. If they're not put them back in for a few more minutes. If you're really adept, hold the pan and pour the drippings into a bowl. I'm not super adept so I usually just remove them from the oven and put them on a large plate. Then I pour out the drippings and wipe out pan and put the meatballs back in.

Pour some sparerib sauce over the meatballs. (I don't usually ending up needing all of it so I store it in a bowl and use it later for chicken or for another smaller batch of meatballs.) Put meatballs back in oven and cook for another 20 minutes. I usually pull one out and cut it in half and make sure it is all the way done. Serve with mashed potatoes, any flavor of rice, or use for hors d'oeuvres. Very good!

For appetizers, serve meatballs on a plate with a toothpick in each.

***Lo-Fat suggestion: Instead of hamburger, use ground turkey. That will at least off set some of the calories/fat from any sauce you use. Unless you're able to find a low fat sauce... and then you're set!

Granola

from Nellie

10 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 lb shredded coconut
2 cups salted sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
3 cups chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, or combination
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil or 1 cup margarine/butter (I used margarine)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 tsp salt (if you use raw sunflower seeds, increase salt to 1 1/2 tsp)
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp vanilla
Raisins or other dried fruits, if desired

In a very large bowl (I used my big silver bowl), combine oats, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and nuts. Stir with spoon until mixed well. In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, oil or margarine/butter, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Heat until sugar is dissolved, but do not boil. I stirred almost constantly with a small whisk until right before it boiled. Pour syrup mixture over dry ingredients and stir until well-coated. Spread into 4 9x13 inch pans or cookie sheets (with sides). Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Bake 15 minutes longer for crunchier texture. I cooked it until it was the texture I wanted. So, it might take a little longer. Cool. Add raisins and other dried fruit, if desired, or maybe even some plain M&M's. Put in airtight containers. Label. Store in cool, dry place. Use within 6 months. Makes about 20 cups of granola mix.

Note: Don't chop up the nuts too much -unless you want them to go unnoticed. I used whole raw almonds. The most I would cut them up is in half. I cut the pecans and walnuts up a little more, but not much.

Neiman-Marcus Cookies

with my changes

I realize that most of you may have this recipe already. But I am going to post it anyway for those that don't.

1 cube butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 oz of Hershey bar, grated (1 regular Hershey bar)
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup oatmeal, blended
6 oz mini chocolate chips OR for chocolate chunk cookies: break up more Hershey bars into little pieces

Blend oatmeal (not quick oats) to a fine powder in a blender. (I usually blend a lot and then keep it in a tightly sealed container. I use it for meatloaf and other recipes as well.) Measure out as much as you need for recipe. Tip: Sometimes I only measure out 1 cup and see how the dough mixes up before I add the additional 1/4 cup. If it dry, I leave it out. If it is a little too sticky, I add the 1/4 cup.

In a bowl, cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Add oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and soda. Mix well. Stir in grated Hershey bar, mini chocolate chips or Hershey bar pieces. Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen+ depending on size of your dough balls.

These are so good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and then drizzled with a little bit of caramel and/or chocolate syrup. A super simple, yummy dessert.

Meatloaf

from mom

1 lb hamburger
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 egg
2 tsp minced onions

Put in loaf pan.

Topping:
1/3+ cup ketchup
1/3+ cup brown sugar
(I like a little more sauce so I sometimes use 1/2 cup of each)

Warm in microwave.

Pour over hamburger mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.