My mom mentioned a savvy use for the apple bits that remain at the bottom of your #10 cans of apple slices. She reconstituted them and used them in her bottled apple syrup recipe (this recipe is posted in a previous entry). They can also be added to oatmeal to dress up breakfast, or you can add them to homemade oatmeal packets.
HOMEMADE INSTANT OATMEAL PACKETS
6 C. Quick cooking oats
8 ziploc baggies
Salt, if desired
Put the following into each baggie: 1/2 cup regular oats, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Store baggies in an airtight container. (I didn’t do this the last time I made them and the brown sugar turned into rocks in the bags. J) This makes a larger portion than the store-bought packet. To serve, empty packet into a bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes. Adjust water amount for thicker or thinner oatmeal. Can also be made in the microwave for 90 seconds.
Here are some variations to try:
Sweetened Oatmeal: Add 2 T. sugar
Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Oatmeal: Add 2 T. brown sugar and 1/2 t. cinnamon
Raisins and Brown Sugar: Add 2 T. packed brown sugar and 2 T. raisins.
Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal: Add 2 T. sugar, 1/2 t. cinnamon, & 4 T. Chopped dried apples (I also like to add chopped nuts to this one)
Fruit and Cream Oatmeal: Add 2 T. non-dairy coffee creamer and 4 T. dried fruit
Health Nut Oatmeal: Add 4 T. any kind of wheat germ
So cool! I need to buy some quick cooking oats now! I’ve been loving oatmeal every morning. I prefer it over cereal now, which is so weird since I only had sugared cereal growing up. I’m slowly learning from geniuses like you how to be more healthy!
That’s a good use for the dried apple crumbs! If you don’t want to go through the bother of making your own instant oatmeal packets, you could just add them to the bowl of oatmeal. Here’s the Pantry Panel post about how to make oatmeal that tastes like instant oatmeal, without making a bunch of little packets.
I am an AP Distributor and Brandy’s SIL. I enjoy reading all your tips and recipes in the catalogs each month. I remembered this from a while back and was glad to find it on your site. I am going to make this, with one slight change. Instead of putting it into individual baggies I am going to put it all into a 1 gal. square jar #1229. My family only likes one flavor so I think this will work for us. When I use the jars, I print the item label and instruction label onto clear 2″x4″ mailing labels. They stay on great even after washing the container.