Use Up Your Hametz with These Easy, Delicious Breakfast Recipes!

Passover is right around the corner and all of us have a little too much hametz lying around. Sick of sandwiches and toast everyday? Waking up to plain oatmeal every morning just to use up that big canister before the first Seder? Instead of letting it go to waste or eating the same boring thing everyday, change things up a little bit with these two breakfast recipes, brought to us by Denine and Donna in the Temple Office and perfect for using up all that hametz.

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The first recipe comes to us from Denine Gorniak, our very own bookkeeper and the bicycle-chef blogger, who was kind enough to provide us with a photo of the finished product. YUM!

Baked Oatmeal with Bananas, Chocolate Chips and Pumpkin

Ingredients:

• 2 Eggs – lightly beaten
• 1 Cup Milk (Almond/Soy/Rice/Regular – your choice)
• 1/3 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar or ¼ Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Pure Pumpkin Puree
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable/Canola or Melted & Cooled Coconut Oil or Melted & Cooled Unsalted
• Butter
• 1 Medium-Large Banana – Mashed (about ½ Cup total)
• 2 ½ Cups Rolled Oats
• ¼ Cup Flax Seeds (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt or Sea Salt
• ½ Cup Chopped or Sliced Nuts such as Almonds, Pecans or Walnuts
• ½ Cup Semi-Sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate Chips or Chopped Chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 375 Degrees and set a rack in the middle of the oven.

2. Grease/spray a large 12 muffin tin and set aside. If using muffin cups, line the tin. Or, grease an 8×8 baking pan.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and milk and 1/3 cup of sugar (or ¼ cup of brown sugar) until pale and frothy, and then beat in the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and oil. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Lastly, fold in the mashed bananas. Set aside.

4. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – Rolled oats, flax seeds (if using), cinnamon, baking powder and baking sodas, and salt. Then stir in the sliced/chopped nuts and chocolate chips.

5. Carefully pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and fold to combine – do not over mix.

6. Using a spring-loaded ice-cream scooper – dollop out the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling each muffin tin ¾ full – not quite to the top of the tin, to allow for rising. Or, pour the batter into a prepared 8×8 baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over all the batter/muffins.

7. Bake the muffins for 30 minutes, on a rack set in the middle of the oven. Rotate the muffin pan half-way through the baking time. After 30 minutes, test to see if they baked oatmeal is set – by inserting a skewer into the oatmeal to see if it comes out clean. Baked oatmeal “muffins” should be golden brown and the center should spring back when touched. If not baked enough, bake for another 5-8 minutes.

8. If using the 8×8 baking pan, bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating the pan once. Oatmeal is done when the top is golden brown and the batter no longer jiggles when the pan is shaken.

9. Turn the baked oatmeal muffins out onto a rack to cool. Once cooled, store in a covered container and refrigerate. Eat within 4 days. Baked oatmeal can be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months. If baking in an 8×8 pan, cool in the pan before serving.

10. Serving Suggestions: Serve hot or cold, with maple syrup drizzled over or a dollop of yogurt, or with fresh fruit and berries. These are great to eat out of hand as your breakfast-on- the-go! I’m always looking for easy and satisfying things to have on hand for breakfast. I discovered baked oatmeal as an alternative to hot-cooked oatmeal or to my favorite, “Over-Night Oats”. Having moved to a nearly-dairy free and low-fat, low-sugar diet, baked oatmeal has become a new favorite breakfast staple for me. I can bake a batch of these and then freeze them, allowing me to grab a baked oatmeal muffin each morning to have as part of my morning meal. I love the multitude of ways I can vary the flavors of this recipe and adapt it to a variety of dietary needs.

When using oats, I opt for quick-cook or regular rolled oats, not instant oats, which tend to go gummy when liquid is added. Look for gluten-free oats if possible, especially if you have gluten intolerance.

The baked oatmeal can be flavored and varied according to your tastes. Instead of nuts, use seeds like pumpkin. You can omit the pumpkin puree (which adds a lot of moisture) and instead, increase the mashed bananas to 2 or three bananas. Fold in frozen blueberries or other frozen fruit; or a mixture of dried fruit such as craisins, chopped apricots, and raisins. This recipe can be made dairy-free, gluten-free, and even vegan, buy varying the ingredients. Alternatively you can use egg substitute like Egg-Beaters or flax eggs. Milk substitutes, like almond milk works very well. If you like your baked oatmeal sweeter, you can increase the sugar to ½ cup or use a combination of sugar and maple syrup, or honey or agave nectar.

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The second recipe comes to us from Donna Rosenthal, executive director and talented chef!

Super Easy French Toast Casserole – your family will love you for this!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• One stick of butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 loaf (8 ounces) crusty bread, challah, or any bread will do
• 2 cups milk – whatever kind you have on hand (soy milk is fine, too)
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Cinnamon to taste – a sprinkle or a lot!
• An extra tablespoon brown sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Melt the brown sugar and butter together in a small pan over medium heat. Pour into a greased 9×12 inch baking dish. Use a pan that can take high heat (an aluminum disposable pan or a metal brownie pan).

2. Slice or break up the bread and spread it out in the baking dish. You’ll have a 1 to 2 inch layer of bread.

3. Beat the milk, eggs, and vanilla together with a whisk or a mixer and pour over the bread. Try to saturate all of the bread.

4. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar.

5. You can do all of this in the evening and cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate until baking it in the morning OR you can pop it right into a 450 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Variations:

Like fruit? Sprinkle in some blueberries or raisins or whatever fruit you like. How about pecans? They’re good in this, too. You could go gourmet and swap out the ½ cup brown sugar for ½ cup of pure maple syrup. Want to go decadent? Try serving warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

Yum!

Tags: hametz, Passover, recipes