Sunday, January 21, 2024

Breakfast at the Grover Hotel: Easy Oatmeal Muffins #1

 


These hearty muffins are easy to make, inexpensive, and contain less sugar than store-bought muffins. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Blend together dry ingredients.

2 1/2 cups Bisquick
1 tsp allspice
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (I used quick cooking oatmeal)

In a separate bowl, blend together wet ingredients and sugar.

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup melted butter or margarine
2 cups buttermilk

If you don't have buttermilk (it's strangely difficult to find buttermilk where I live) add a little vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk. 

In a large bowl, mix the wet and dry ingredients until well blended. 

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 dozen muffins.

I adapted this recipe from the Amish bran muffin recipe in the Dining On a Dime 20th Anniversary cookbook because I always have a lot of quick-cooking oatmeal on hand. 

Here is the original recipe.

5 cups all purpose four
5 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. allspice
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups buttermilk
1 (20 oz.) box raisin bran fakes

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix all of the ingredients together. The batter will be lumpy. Fill muffin cups ⅔ full and bake 20 minutes. The batter can be kept refrigerated for up to 6 weeks. Makes 30-35 muffins. 

You can purchase Dining On a Dime cookbooks here:

These are my most-used cookbooks. They are filled with frugal recipes and helpful tips for stretching your budget. 

I will receive a small commission for any products purchased through the above link.

I use silicone baking cups for my muffins and cupcakes. They are durable, inexpensive, and reusable. 



I will receive a small commission for any products purchased through the above link.

You'll get the best price on Bisquick at Costco, but if you don't have a Costco membership or a Costco near you, this Costco-size box from Amazon is only a couple dollars more and you get the convenience of having it delivered to you. 



Bisquick isn't just for making biscuits. It's extremely versatile. I've found that I can swap a couple cups of Bisquick for the dry ingredients in a cake, cookie, or muffin recipe and it turns out quite nicely.



I haven't bought oatmeal in literal years because they always include it in the food bank box. Plain oatmeal tends to be pretty cheap. I've provided a link for an inexpensive option in case you need it. I will earn a small commission for anything ordered through this link.

I hope you enjoy making and eating this simple and hearty treat! Until next time!


Image by Colleen ODell from Pixabay
Ornery "Muffin" Owl

Cactus Clem
Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

"Y'all might wanna be careful walkin' around in that getup, Ornery. Hangry might mistake ya fer a muffin and gobble ya right down!"


Hangry Wyrm
Free use image from Clkr Free Vector Images

"Watch yourself, Cactus. I've heard your kind is good eatin'."


Ghost Town Grover
Free use image from Clker Free Vector Images

"Am I the only one that's gonna stick to the topic of this here post? These muffins are dang good! I think I'm gonna have me another one!"
















Sunday, January 7, 2024

Sunday Dinner at the Grover Hotel: Lazy Chocolate Orange Cannoli Cake

 


You can read the original not-so-lazy version of the recipe here.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chocolate-cannoli-cake/

However, if you're short on time and just want a really good, moist chocolate cake with a little something extra, follow my version.

Beat together these wet ingredients:

1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

3 eggs

1/3 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup ricotta cheese (While not exactly the same, cottage cheese can be substituted for ricotta.)

You could also add a tablespoon of brewed coffee. I left it out because my son doesn't like coffee.

Once these ingredients are well-blended, add in a box of devil's food cake mix. Blend well. Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Cool the cake and frost or don't. 

Enjoy!

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors
Ornery Owl
"I'm going to have to start making my own cake mix base. The price of basic cake mixes is going up like everything else these days. You'd think they were including gold flakes!"

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors
Cactus Clem
"Ornery was kinda irritated with me when I drank the first batch of wet ingredients. They was kinda lackin' something until I added a bottle of Cuzzin Hildy-Bob and Virgil-Joe's corn squeezins."



Free use image from Clkr Free Vector Images
Ghost Town Grover
"I tried ter tell Clem he oughta wait and make himself a cake milkshake, but he just couldn't hold off. Ya need to be quicker on the draw with the cake mix next time, Ornery!"


Free use image from Clker Free Vector Images
Hangry Wyrm
"Who needs frosting? This cake is dang good! More please!"



Saturday, August 12, 2023

Cooking with Ornery Owl: Slow Cooker Butterscotch Monkey Bread

 


Hey Chow Hounds! I took the butterscotch monkey bread recipe from The Cookie Rookie and adapted it to the slow cooker. It made a fantastic dessert after a simple dinner of ham steak, mashed potatoes, and avocados.

You can find the original recipe here.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams (1stick)
3.5 ounces Cook ‘n Serve Butterscotch
Pudding Mix 99 grams (1 box)
½ cup dark brown sugar 107 grams
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon (or Penzey's pie spice)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chopped pecans 113 grams
24 frozen dinner rolls

Microwave the butter, butterscotch pudding mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt on 50% power until butter has melted. Whisk together until incorporated.

Pour a little sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker. If you have chopped nuts, you can sprinkle 1/2 cup of those over the sauce. I didn't have any.

4. Place half the frozen rolls evenly over the pecans leaving a little space (¼-inch) between rolls.

5. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup pecans and ½ of the butter/pudding mixture over the rolls.

6. Add the remaining frozen rolls on top of the butter/pudding mixture (cutting the rolls where needed).

7. Top evenly with the remaining butter/pudding mixture.

The original recipe calls for thawing the frozen dough in the fridge overnight. You can skip this step with the slow cooker. The bread will not become crispy on top when made in the slow cooker. This isn't a problem. It is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 200°F-205°F or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

Cook the monkey bread for 4 hours on low. The Instant Pot only has one heat setting. I've found it to be comparable to the low setting on other slow cookers.

Storage: Store butterscotch monkey bread in an airtight container at room
temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Enjoy this tasty monkey bread with breakfast, brunch, or as a dessert. 

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~


Image by Open Clipart Vectors
Ornery Owl sez:
"This is a tasty treat that's worth the wait. Try it!"


Pic by Clkr Free Vector Images

Hangry Wyrm sez:
"Hands off my monkey bread or I'll cut you!"


Pic by Clker Free Vector Images

Ghost Town Grover sez:
"I'm a ghost, Hangry. That li'l ole pigsticker ain't gonna hurt me none."

Image by Open Clipart Vectors

Cactus Clem sez:
"I just wanna drink a little of the syrup, Hangry. I'm a mutant cactus man. I can't eat no solid food!"




Get yourself an Instant Pot and get cookin'!
I will earn a small commission for purchases made through this link.

All images used in the post (other than the Instant Pot) were found on Pixabay and are free to use.










Friday, July 21, 2023

The Return of the Good Stuff

 

Free use image from Pixabay

The new and improved Good Stuff from Grover returns next month with more culinary creations and other fun things. Get ready!

Cactus Clem


Ghost Town Grover


Ornery Owl



Saturday, December 3, 2022

Just Jemi: WEP & Harry's Mission

Just Jemi: WEP & Harry's Mission: Nothing was going to stop Harry from achieving his mission. He’d planned every step. It had taken him days and days. Now, he had to make sur...

I'm glad Henry got his Dalmatian puppy. That Santa is a sneaky one!
Was I the only kid who liked broccoli? Actually, I liked (and still like) most vegetables. However, I only like zucchini and yellow squash when they're cooked. Back in the 70s, people would put raw zucchini in salads, and I'd eat it thinking it was cucumber. Yech!

One of my New Year's resolutions is to revive this blog.

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Sunday Dinner at the Grover Hotel: Creamy Chicken Tacos

 

Image by Nevena Mikec from Pixabay

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of the links in this post, I will earn a small commission.

This Sunday, why not make your life easy and cook a meal that invites others to serve themselves? Creamy Chicken Tacos have only three ingredients and couldn't be easier to make in your crockpot or using the slow cooker function on your Instant Pot.

Here's what you will need.

4 chicken breasts
1 can of Ro-Tel
4 ounces of cream cheese

Cook the chicken and Ro-Tel for 6 hours. Use the low setting on the crockpot or the slow cook button on the Instant Pot.

Shred the chicken.

Add the cream cheese and cook for 30 minutes longer. Stir and let everyone make their hard or soft-shell tacos the way they like 'em.

Here are a few topping suggestions.

Avocado slices or cubes
Guacamole
Shredded lettuce
Diced onions
Chopped tomatoes
Salsa
Sour Cream

You can find more super-simple recipes like this one at the Living on a Dime website. Just follow the link and look in the sidebar for the free 22 Recipes in 20 Minutes e-book.

https://bit.ly/LODCIE

They also have a full-length cookbook in either e-book or print version (I have the e-book version) and lots of videos with recipe ideas and money-saving suggestions.

I retired my crockpot once I discovered how well the slow cooker function on my Instant Pot works. The outside of the Instant Pot stays cool so I trust it to sit on my countertop. I always put the crockpot on the stovetop because the outside got so hot. The Instant Pot replaces so many gadgets including an electric steamer and rice cooker. I even retired my Dutch oven because the food cooks more evenly in the Instant Pot. 


Get the Instant Pot delivered to your door with Amazon.
Currently selling for $78.99
List price $89.99

Happy Cooking!



Ornery Owl
Free-use image from Open Clipart Vectors

Come cook with Ornery Owl on the official Good Stuff from Grover blog


Don't forget to enter the monthly drawing to Win Free Vanilla plus approximately $100 worth of great spices and extracts from Watkins. Contest open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. No purchase is necessary and you will not be contacted without your permission.



The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)



Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Ornery Owl's Saturday Night Special: Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

 


Image by Benoît DE HAAS from Pixabay

Who in the world wants to spend Saturday night slaving over a stove? Not this owl! With your trusty Instant Pot Duo (or a skillet and a crockpot) you can instead spend about a half-hour of prep time midday and have a thick, savory soup ready six hours later with minimal effort.



Get the Instant Pot delivered to your door with Amazon.
https://amzn.to/3bOGxOC (Currently $89)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of the links in this post, I will earn a small commission.

 Once I learned how well the Instant Pot Duo works as a slow cooker, I retired my crockpot. And since the Instant Pot Duo also has a built-in sauté function, I don’t need to dirty a separate skillet to brown the meat.

The following recipe yields 2-4 servings. It will serve two moderately hungry adults and two children or two very hungry adults. It is easy to multiply the recipe.

Begin by turning on the sauté function on your Instant Pot Duo or heat a skillet on medium-high. Either way, you will melt 1 ½ tablespoons of butter.

When the butter is hot, add 2-3 strips of bacon or a small handful of bacon ends and pieces. I received a big pack of bacon ends and pieces from the food bank. I portioned this into Ziploc bags, approximately a small handful of bacon to a bag. Bacon ends and pieces work nicely for flavoring soups and stews.

Cook the bacon for 5 minutes. With the Instant Pot, you’ll want to stir frequently to avoid burning. After 5 minutes, add onion. I used half of a small onion, chopped.

Fry the onion and the bacon for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add one pound of ground beef. I seasoned the beef with a generous sprinkle of The Blend and approximately a tablespoonful of Montreal seasoning. I didn’t measure it, so this is a guess.

Cook the beef until browned, stirring frequently.

Turn off the sauté function on the Instant Pot or remove the skillet from the heat and pour the beef mixture into your crockpot. Add one cup of chicken broth. I like to use Kirkland chicken stock from Costco, which is inexpensive. You can use any brand you like. You can also use bullion in a cup of water.

Do NOT buy Kirkland chicken stock from Amazon or you'll pay about three times what you would in the store. If you want to buy chicken stock from Amazon, the Kitchen Basics brand is comparable to the grocery store price at $3.24 for 32 ounces. https://amzn.to/3loe2wH

Set your Instant Pot to the slow cook function or your crockpot to low. Cook this mixture for 5 hours.

After 5 hours, stir in ½ cup of heavy cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, 4 ounces of cream cheese, and your choice of 1 cup of cooked rice, 1 cup of riced cauliflower, or 2 small, cubed potatoes. Cook for 1 more hour until the cheese is melted.

I had some leftover spicy Asian pork and rice and I stirred this into the soup.

I do not expect leftovers with this soup. It is delicious!

  The Blend is made by Kinder's. This mix has just three ingredients: black pepper, sea salt, and garlic powder. You could certainly make your own. 

I like to stock up on The Blend from Costco when it's on sale because it's very inexpensive. You can also purchase two 10.5-ounce bottles from Amazon, currently priced at $18.94. https://amzn.to/3fjz37M

You can purchase an 11.62-ounce jar of Montreal seasoning from Amazon for $6.12 through the following link. https://amzn.to/3rJGLNV Alternatively, you can opt for a subscription at $5.20 for the same size jar, you choose the delivery frequency.

I adapted this recipe from the Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger Soup recipe from http://www.lazydaycookingclub.com

 I pay a small monthly fee for membership to the Lazy Day Cooking Club. As a member of the Lazy Day Cooking Club, not only do you receive easy and delicious recipes, but they come with a built-in serving calculator and shopping list generator. I save money and have less food going to waste with the Lazy Day Cooking Club.

I am not an affiliate of the Lazy Day Cooking Club, and I don’t receive any sort of compensation for telling you about them. I just think that it is an awesome program that my readers might like.

Happy Cooking!



Ornery Owl
Free-use image from Open Clipart Vectors

Come cook with Ornery Owl on the official Good Stuff from Grover blog


Don't forget to enter the monthly drawing to Win Free Vanilla plus approximately $100 worth of great spices and extracts from Watkins. Contest open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. No purchase is necessary and you will not be contacted without your permission.



The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)



Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.