Trailside Treat Baked Oatmeal

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

Serves: 1 9x13 inch pan

Ingredients

• 3 c. old fashioned oats
• 1½ c. brown sugar (reduce to 1 c.)
• 5½ c. milk
• ½ c. peanut butter
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. raisins (optional)
• 1 c. chocolate chips (reduce to 1/2 c.)

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, combine oats, sugar, milk, peanut butter, and eggs.
2. Simmer over medium heat 20 minutes, stirring often, until thickened.
3. Stir in raisins.
4. Pour into greased 9x13 inch pan and top with chocolate chips.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until oatmeal is set.
6. Serve warm; top with milk or additional brown sugar if desired.

Gnocchi, Sausage and Spinach Soup

Rating: 5

Yield: 8 - 10 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 sm. yellow onion, diced

olive oil, for sauteing

sea or Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

19 oz. Italian sausage, ground or removed from casings, hot or sweet

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed between fingers

64 ounces low-sodium chicken broth

38 oz. potato gnocchi

4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, rough chopped

1 1/2 cup half & half or heavy cream (light is ok)

fresh grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large sauce pan or soup pot saute onion and red pepper in a couple of tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat until tender. Season well with salt and pepper. In a separate, large skillet brown the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Add garlic to onion mixture and saute until fragrant.
2. Drain sausage and add to onion mixture along with the basil and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper, simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add gnocchi and spinach, bring to a simmer and cook until gnocchi puff up and start to float (check package for cooking time). Add half & half and fresh basil, bring to a simmer for three or four minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Salted Carmelitas

Yield: 12

Ingredients

• 32 caramels, unwrapped (such as Kraft)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 10 Tbsp salted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*
• coarse sea salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour cream over caramels in a microwave safe bowl, heat mixture on HIGH power in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval until melted and smooth (alternately you can combine the two ingredients in a saucepan and melt over low heat), set aside.
• In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, rolled oats, light-brown sugar, baking soda and 1/4 tsp table salt. Place butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat butter in microwave until melted. Stir vanilla extract into melted butter then pour mixture over dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir well to evenly coat. Press half of the oat mixture evenly into the bottom of a buttered 8 by 8-inch baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips into an even layer over baked cookie crust, then pour caramel mixture evenly over chocolate chip layer. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt evenly over caramel layer, then sprinkle top evenly with remaining oat mixture. Bake in preheated oven 16 - 20 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven, sprinkle top evenly with an 1/8 tsp coarse sea salt (or to taste) and allow to cool for 20 minutes at room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap leaving a small opening on one corner (to allow condensation to escape), transfer to refrigerator to chill until cool enough to cut into clean squares (mine took about 2 hours chilling). Alternately you can enjoy them warm after about 20 minutes of cooling at room temperature (you just won't have clean cut squares and the caramel will be really runny). Store in an airtight container at room temperature.