Southwestern Oatmeal Cakes for #FoodieExtravaganza + A Giveaway

This months #FoodieExtravaganza is hosted by Lauren of From Gate to Plate.  Now Lauren is one smart cookie.  She knows that come this time in January we are all still eagerly embracing our new found wellness programs.  She knows that we will stay strong at least until February when we get sidetracked by Valentines Day LOL.

So Lauren chose Oatmeal as the required ingredient for this months challenge.  This way, if you have already fallen off the health band wagon you can still make cookies and crumbles and ooey gooey bars.  I told you she was smart!!

Here is a little message from Laura to you:
We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food!  Each month we will decide on an all-famous National Monthly Food Holiday in which we will base our recipes around. This month's the ingredient is oatmeal.  Yes, January is National Oatmeal Month along with a whole array of other delightful things!! Get excited!! We hope you all enjoy our delicious oatmeal treats this month and come back to see what we bring for you next month.  If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza.  We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.

When Lauren first announced this month's ingredient, I immediately thought of a great baked oatmeal recipe that I was first served in a little Inn in Indiana that we went to with our friends, Bob and Cathy and Cathy's parents many years ago.  It is a delicious recipe and I am going to share it with you soon but not for this Foodie Extravaganza.  I know that there are going to be a lot of heart healthy oatmeal recipes given out this month so I thought I would look for something a little different.  I wanted to find a way to use oatmeal for something other than breakfast or dessert.  And then I set the entire idea aside to deal with after the holidays.

Then, as luck would have it, my January/February Issue of Cuisine at Home arrived in the mail. 

Even during the busiest time of year I am unable to put Cuisine at Home on a shelf for later.  Nope, I immediately, sit down at the table, ignore the rest of the mail and anything else that might be going on and start flipping through.  I may not read it word for word this first time but I definitely give myself a big taste of what I will find in the current issue.  This month, lo and behold, there was a section dedicated to oatmeal.  How fortuitous is that!!

This issue included recipes for bars and for breakfast but I had already decided against those and then I turned the page.....Southwestern Oatmeal Cakes.....containing cheese and bacon, seared and served with Salsa, Avocado and Sour Cream.  Yep....so much for healthy....break out the margaritas!!!

Following the recipe I chose you will find a great lineup of recipes from the rest of the group. Not only that but there is also a giveaway for you to enter. The oat-guru Kathy Hester has been so generous in donating one of her books to one of our lucky Foodie Extravaganza readers. With her book OATrageous Oatmeals: Delicious & Surprising Plant-Based Dishes From This Humble, Heart-Healthy Grain (affiliate link), you will learn how to use heart-healthy oatmeal in new and exciting ways! You can find recipes such as Steel-cut Oat Sausage Crumbles, Chickpea Veggie Soup, and Blackberry Mojito Overnight Oats. Now go enter this awesome giveaway because I'm super jealous that I can't enter! If you don't win, feel free to grab the link from above to purchase your own!  What an exciting month!!

So onto my recipe:

I made the following adaptations to this recipe:  The original recipe called for 8 scallions but I only had 4; it asked for 1 1/4 c. chicken broth, I was out so I used 1 bouillon cube in 1 1/4 c. hot water and deducted the salt called for in the recipe; instead of granulated garlic, I used freeze dried; the original asked for white cheddar cheese and I used a Mexican Blend; the recipe asked for pickled jalapenos and I used my pickled peppers that I canned in the summer which included but were not limited to jalapenos.

After cooking the bacon, drain all but 2 T. of the drippings.

Cook, scallion whites with seasonings in the drippings.

Then add the chicken broth, water and oats.

Cook until liquid is absorbed and oats are thick.

Remove oats to a bowl and allow steam to subside.

Add the scallion greens, bacon, cheese and pickled peppers.

Stir to combine and then press into a loaf pan treated with cooking spray.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

Place 1/3 c. oats into a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Turn the oat mixture onto a cutting board and cut into 8 equal slices with a serrated knife.

Sear, in batches, on all sides in hot olive oil over med high heat.

Change oil and wipe pan between batches.

They were very tasty.

Reminiscent of Nachos with Bacon or a Stuffed Baked Potato.

You could easily omit the bacon for a delicious Meatless Monday Meal.

Seared Southwestern Oatmeal Cakes

adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue #109

4 strips thick cut bacon, diced 

4 scallions, sliced with whites and greens separated

1 1/2 t. each, ground cumin, ground coriander and freeze dried garlic

1/2 t. kosher salt

2 c. + 1/3 c. old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/4 c. chicken broth

1 1/4 c. water

2 1/4 c. shredded Mexican blend cheese

3 T. chopped pickled peppers

6 T. olive oil

Salsa

Avocado. sliced

Sour Cream

Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray, set aside.  Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp, remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  Discard all but 2 T. of the bacon drippings.  Sweat the scallion, spices and salt over med low heat until scallions are softened.  Add 2 c. of the oats and stir to coat.  Add the broth and water, bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid is absorbed and oatmeal is thick, stirring frequently, 6-7 minutes.  Transfer oatmeal mixture to a bowl and allow steam to subside.  Add the cheese, peppers and reserved bacon to the oatmeal and stir to combine. Press into the treated loaf pan, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 5 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350* with a baking sheet inside. Place 1/3 c. old fashioned rolled oats into a food processer and pulse until finely ground, remove to shallow dish.  Invert oatmeal loaf onto a cutting board and cut crosswise, using a serrated knife, into 8 equal slices.  Coat both sides of oatmeal slices with the ground oatmeal, pressing so it adheres and tapping off excess.

Heat 3 T. of olive oil in large cast iron skillet over high heat until shimmering.  Fry oatmeal slices in batches until golden on both sides, place first batch on baking sheet in oven to keep warm.  Wipe out skillet and add more oil between batches.  Enjoy with Salsa, Sour Cream and Avocado Slices. Print Recipe

And here are what the other bloggers brought to the table. 

• Apple Pie Overnight Oats / Wallflour Girl
• Bacon Whole Grain Granola Bars / Pantry Friendly Cooking
• Berry Oatmeal Super Smoothie / Keep Moving Forward With Me
• Brown Sugar Barbecue Meatballs / Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Chickpea Veggie Soup / Food Lust People Love
• Homemade Cranberry Almond Granola / Rhubarb and Honey
• Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies / Making Miracles
• Mango Poppyseed Oat Muffins / The Sweet {Tooth} Life
• Mini Meatball Subs / The Freshman Cook
• Monster Cookie Granola / From Gate to Plate
• Mushroom Ginger Oat Congee / Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Oat Cinnamon Rolls / Passion Kneaded
• Oatmeal Pancakes / Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Peanut Butter Oat Snack Balls / Mrs. Penguin
• Vanilla Salted Oatmeal Cookies / Baking in Pyjamas
• Lemon Ginger Oat Porridge/The Joyful Foodie

Terms & Conditions: This giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada only, age 18 and older. The OATragous Oatmeals Cookbook giveaway runs from Wednesday, January 7, 2015 12:00am ET through Thursday, January 15, 2015 12:00am ET. Winners will be randomly chosen and announced on January 16, 2015. Winners will also be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond to the email. If a winner does not respond in that time a new winner will be chosen. For more information, see the full terms and conditions in the Rafflecopter widget.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linking up with Wednesday Whatsits so more folks get an opportunity to win this great book!