86-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 6, 2001
Make It With Oats
Whole grains shine nutrition
ally because many of the natural
ly occurring nutrients and
health-enhancing nutrients and
substances in grains are located
in the germ and bran layers.
Grains can be divided into two
categories whole grains and
milled grains.
Whole grains are made up of
three layers: the germ (innermost
layer), ehe endosperm (middle
layer) and the bran (outer layer).
Milled grains in contrast have
had its bran and germ removed.
Whole grains contain disease
fighting elements fiber, antiox
idants, phytochemicals, and phy
toestrogens.
About 50-80 percent of the
minerals in grain, including cop
per, zinc, and magnesium are
found in the bran, which makes
whole grains rather than milled
grains more desirable for health
purposes.
But the goodness of whole
grain food goes beyond bran.
Whole grains contain hundreds
of nutrients and potential dis
ease-fight substances, which may
work alone, but more likely to
work together to yield the benefi
cial effects researchers are just
beginning to understand.
Oats are a good source of solu
ble fiber, which is known to help
lower blood cholesterol levels and
help keep blood sugar levels in
control. Old-fashioned and quick
oats can easily be incorporated
into many of your recipes to give
that added nutrition boost.
Try these recipes for a great
start toward total nutrition in the
year 2001.
PRIZE-WINNING
MEAT LOAF
I'/: pounds lean ground beef
1 cup tomato juice or tomato
sauce
'A cup quick or old-fashioned
oats, uncooked
1 egg or 2 egg whites, lightly
beaten
'/> cup chopped onion
'/’ teaspoon salt (optional)
'A teaspoon pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In
large bowl, combine all ingredi
ents; mix lightly but thoroughly.
Press meat loaf mixture into
Bx4-inch loaf pan.
Bake one hour until meat loaf
is to medium doneness and cen
ter is no longer pink. Let meat
loaf stand 5 minutes; drain off
any juices before slicing. 8 serv
ings.
Recipe Topics
If you have recipes for topics listed below, please share them
with us. We welcome your recipes, but ask that you include ac
curate measurements, a complete list of ingredients, and clear in
structions with each recipe you submit. Be sure to include your
name and address. Recipes should reach our office one week be
fore the publishing date listed below.
Send your recipes to Lou Ann Good, Lancaster Farming, P.O,
Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522.
January
13 - Soups And Stews
20 - Using Yogurt
27 - Superbowl Ideas
February
3 - Heart-Healthy Recipes
Variations; Add one of the fol
lowing to meat loaf ingredients:
• '/: cup chopped green or red
bell pepper
• 2'/’-ounce jar sliced mush
rooms, drained
• '/< cup grated parmesan
cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped
parsley or cilantro
Toppings (optional);
• After removing meat loaf
from oven and draining,
sprinkle with 1 cup
shredded cheese. Let stand
5 minutes before serving.
• Spoon prepared spaghetti
sauce, pizza sauce, barbe
cue sauce or salsa over
each serving.
CREAMY MAPLE
CRANBERRY OAT
MEAL
V/i cups skim or lowfat milk
'A teaspoon salt (optional)
2 cups quick or old-fashioned
oats, uncooked
'/> cup dried cranberries
'A cup maple-flavored syrup,
regular or light
'A cup toasted wheat germ
In medium saucepan, bring
milk and salt to a gentle boil.
Watch carefully. Stir in oats,
cranberries, and maple syrup.
Return to a boil; reduce heat to
medium. Cook one minute for
quick oats, 5 minutes for old
fashioned oats or until most of
milk is absorbed, stirring occa
sionally. Let stand until desired
consistency. Stir in wheat germ.
Spoon oatmeal into four cereal
bowls. Drizzle with additional
syrup, if desired. Serve with milk
or yogurt, if desired.
NOT-SO-SINFUL
BROWNIES
‘A cup vegetable oil
3 squares (3 ounces) unsweet
ened chocolate
VA cups granulated sugar
'A cup applesauce
4 egg whites or 2 eggs, lightly
beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup quick or old-fashioned
oats, uncooked
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
'A teaspoon salt (optional)
Powdered sugar (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray bottom only of
13x9-inch baking pan with no
stick cooking spray. In large
saucepan, combine oil and choc
olate. Heat over low heat, stirring
frequently, until chocolate is
melted. Remove from heat; cool
slightly. Add sugar and apple
sauce; mix well. Stir in egg
whites and vanilla; mix well. Add
combined oats, flour, baking
powder, and salt; mix well.
Spread evenly in prepared pan.
Bake 22-25 minutes or until cen
ter is almost set and edges pull
away from sides of pan. Do not
over bake. Cool completely.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar
just before serving, if desired.
Cut into bars. Store loosely cov
ered. 24 bars.
STUFFED
MINI MEAT LOAVES
Vi cup frozen chopped brocco
li, thawed
Vi cup shredded Cheddar or
Co-Jack cheese
1 pound lean ground beef
'A cup quick or old-fashioned
oats, uncooked
Vi cup ready-to-serve beef
broth, divided
IVi teaspoons Worcestershire
sauce
Vi to Va teaspoon salt
Va teaspoon pepper
Va cup catsup (optional)
In small bowl, combine brocco
li and cheese; set aside.
In medium bowl, combine
ground beef, oats, Va cup broth,
Worcestershire sauce, salt and
pepper; mix lightly but thorough
ly. Shape meat loaf mixture into
four '/2-inch thick patties (ap
proximately 4-inch diameter).
Place an equal amount of filling
in center of each patty; bring up
edges to enclose filling, shaping
to form oval loaf.
Heat medium nonstick skillet
over medium heat until hot.
Place meat loaves in skillet;
brown 3 minutes on each side.
Add remaining Va cup broth; re
duce heat to medium-low. Cover;
simmer 12-14 minutes or until
meat is no longer pink.
To serve, top each meat loaf
with one tablespoon catsup, if de
sired. Serves 4.
Oat History
According to information from
Onhealth.com, oat straw, or
“Avena sativa” in Latin, is the
above ground part of a plant
more often associated with the
commercial product milled from
its seed.
The cultivation of oatmeal
dates back to at least 2000 B.C.E.
Oats are native to warm Mediter
ranean regions of the world. In
Europe, the oat plant is used for
much more than its yield of
grain.
Extracts and tinctures prepar
ed from the oat straw and the
plant’s immature, milky seed are
readily available. These formulas
are used as a nervous system re
storative, to assist convalescence,
and to strengthen a weakened
Italian Pesto Oat Rolls combine eye appeal with test
md nutrition.
Featured Recipe
Italian Pesto Oat Rolls won the $2,000 first prize in the
muffins/bread category of the seventl) annual Quaker Oatmeal
“Bake It Better With Oats” Recipe Contest.
Italian Pesto Oat Rolls are the perfect accompaniment for
soups, salads, and pastas. This made-from-scratch yeast roll
blends Old World flavor and the wonderful hearty texture of oats
with contemporary convenience.
For more recipes using oats, write to The Oat Expert, 225 W.
Washington, Suite 1440, Chicago, IL 60606.
VA to 2/i cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
Vi cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
'/4-ounce package quick-rising yeast
VA teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed (optional)
V* cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
'A cup refrigerated pesto sauce
Lightly spray baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray.
In large mixing bowl, combine VA cups flour, oats, cheese,
sugar, yeast, salt and fennel seeds; mix well. Heat water and oil
until very warm. Add to flour mixture. By hand, gradually stir
until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in additional flour to
make a soft dough that pulls away from sides of bowl.
Knead dough on lightly floured surface 5 minutes or until
smooth and elastic, lightly sprinkling work surface and hands
with additional flour if dough is sticky.
Roll dough into 10-inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges. Spread
about 1 teaspoon pesto across each wedge. Roll up tightly from
wide end. Place rolls seam side down on baking sheet; gently
push ends down. Cover with damp cloth. Let rolls rise in warm
place 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls 20-22 minutes or until
light golden brown. Serve warm. 1 dozen.
If desired, after rolls have risen, brush tops lightly with olive oil
and sprinkle with oats.
For bread machines: Add VA cup flour, the oats, cheese, sugar,
2'A teaspoons bread machine yeast or quick-rising yeast, salt, fen
nel, water (at room temperature) and olive oil to bread machine
pan in order recommended by manufacturer. Select dough/
manual cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough from ma
chine to a lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough
additional flour to make dough easy to handle. Proceed as di
rected above.
Nutrition information: 1 roll. Calories 180, total fat 7 g, satu
rated fat 1.5 g, cholesterol less than 5 mg, sodium 330 mg, carbo
hydrate 23 g, dietary fiber 1 g, protein 5 g.
ITALIAN PESTO
OAT ROLLS