Baked Oatmeal

Ok, so now for something a little more healthy than bacon!

Ramesh and I were at a wedding in December and the bed and breakfast that we stayed at had an amazing breakfast. One of the things they served was baked oatmeal. Now, I'm not a fan of oatmeal, but it looked really good...and most importantly, it did not look mushy. I gave it a try and loved it! When we got back to Lincoln I was determined to find a good recipe and ran across this one on a blog called "Annie's Eats." For the past few weeks, I've been making this oatmeal on Sunday so we can have a quick, healthy breakfast during the week. It reheats well and is a great breakfast, especially if you just need something quick to eat.

http://annies-eats.com/2011/09/12/baked-oatmeal-with-fruit/

Baked Oatmeal with Bananas and Blueberries

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted, divided
½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
¼ cup maple syrup, or you can use honey
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided

Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir with a fork to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla. Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the berries. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Bacon

Wow, I am not a good blogger...

I guess it's been a while since my last post. To make up for it, I'm going to post a few recipes now. The first is for baked bacon. I have to admit that as a Southerner, I was skeptical that this would even work. I mean, who bakes bacon? That definitely sounds like a yankee thing to do. But, I gave it a try and WOW! Not only does the bacon come out light and crispy, but the clean up is a breeze!

Baked Bacon

Line a baking sheet with foil. (This step is not necessary, but it makes the clean up so easy!)

Arrange the bacon on the sheet. Put the sheet in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400F.

Let the bacon cook for about 18 minutes. It could take a little less/more time depending on the thickness of your bacon.

Remove bacon from sheet and enjoy!! Yay for no more grease splatter burns!!

Nat's Special Fried Rice

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks! Preparing for a conference is always a lot of work...especially when I can't help but revise my poster 50 times. But, all the work has paid off because the poster came out great and now Ramesh and I can focus on getting ready to go to New Orleans for the AMS annual meeting! We absolutely can't wait to enjoy some warm weather, maybe a thunderstorm or two, and of course, eat some amazing food.

This week I thought I'd post my fried rice recipe so Suz and Jerome have something to cook in their brand new wok! :)

Nat's Special Fried Rice

Cook rice before starting veggies (1 cup of rice will make 2 batches of stir fry). I like to use basmati rice. Basmati rice can be expensive, so be sure to check out your local ethnic stores for the best prices. We can buy a 15lb. bag from the middle eastern store here in town for about $25 - what a deal!!

Veggies:

1/2 onion, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
5 mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1/2 pack bean sprouts
1/3 pack snow peas
1/3 pack broccoli

Stir fry veggies in the following ingredients:

2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 spoon garlic paste
1 spoon ginger paste
1 spoon sambol olek

When veggies are desired texture, scramble an egg in the same pan as the veggies. Mix together. Stir fry with about 1/2 cup of rice.

ENJOY!

Japanese Cooking Class

Over Christmas, Ramesh and I were lucky enough to be able to take a Japanese cooking class at The Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. The best part of the class was being able to take it with Anandmama (uncle Anand) and cousins Shuma and Pooja.


Japanese is one of those cuisines that we just don't cook much of, so this was a great class to take. Upon arriving, we learned that you can take a class on about every cuisine imaginable. You can take a class about beer making, or brownies, or Thai. Or, you can even take class to improve your knife skills. Our class had about 16 people and we were divided into 3 groups. Over the 4-hour time period each group had to make 4-5 dishes (enough for all 16 people) and then the pigging out started! The menu was extensive, but tonight I'm going to share a dish that, for me, was the most surprising - ramen noodles. That's right, ramen! I had never eaten ramen in my life and certainly never thought I would like even like it. But, when you eat ramen noodles in a traditional Japanese broth, you will like them too!

Before starting, it will be a good idea to locate a good Asian market. In addition to finding the necessary ingredients for this recipe, you will be able to find great deals on soy sauce, sesame oil, rice, coconut milk, and spices. We buy rice and the majority of our spices and sauces at either the Indian, Asian, or Arabic markets.

Once you've had fun shopping at the Asian market, you will want to make the broth, or dashi, first.

Basic Dashi Broth
Yields about 1 quart

1/4 ounce kombu, wiped with a damp cloth (kombu is a type of kelp)
1/2 ounce dried bonito flakes (dried fish flakes)
1 quart cold water

Fill a stockpot with the water and add the kombu. Let sit at least 15 minutes to rehydrate slightly.

Heat the pot (uncovered) on medium high heat. Let the water come very close to boiling (should take about 10 minutes). Remove the kombu just before the water boils. Do not let the water boil because the stock will turn bitter otherwise. The kombu should be fairly soft and you should be able to pierce it with your fingernail. If the kombu is too hard, lower the heat, add a little bit more water, and then remove kombu just before water boils.

Now, bring the stock to a boil. Remove it from the heat and add the bonito flakes. Allow the flakes to settle, about 5 minutes, and then strain. You can reserve the kombu and bonito for a second dashi, if desired.

Now, on to the ramen!

Ramen
Serves 2

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dashi
2 packages ramen noodles (3 ounces each)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon mirin
1 teaspoon sugar

In a large, deep saucepan, heat sesame oil over low heat. Add garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add soup base and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add ramen noodles and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Stir in soy sauce, sake, sea salt, mirin, and sugar into soup base mixture. Strain into 2 serving bowls. Divide ramen evenly between the bowls. Serve immediately with toppings of your choice. Good toppings include: chopped scalions, cooked spinach, nor (dried seaweed), bamboo shoots, black sesame seeds, or freshly ground black pepper.

ENJOY! Doesn't that look good?

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Nebraska Nibbles - a blog about food and recipes and life in Nebraska. My name is Natalie and I'm a climatologist here in Lincoln, NE. After finishing graduate school I realized that I had an enormous amount of time on my hands and thought that it was time to give up on the nightly Wendy's runs and start cooking some real food. The thing was I knew how to cook, but I rarely had time to do it...if you've ever gone to grad school, you know what I mean. Over the past few years, my husband Ramesh and I have amassed quite a collection of amazing recipes. Many of our friends ask for them, so that is the inspiration for this blog - a little archive where people can come and find the latest new thing or old favorite that we happen to be cooking.

ENJOY!