What do you mean we're out of instant oatmeal?

Growing up, this iconic paper canister was always in the cabinet. I don't recall ever using it as a cereal though, an ingredient in meatloaf and cookies, yes, cereal??? Nope






If I actually did eat oatmeal, it was out of a box/packet. All I had to do was add hot water, wait a few minutes and there you have it, breakfast.

I got a little older however and the instant oatmeal I was familiar with was just too sweet. My kids loved it (except that one who only ate Cream of Wheat, some peoples kids) anyway, I just didn't eat it any more. I began making oatmeal from scratch, you know on the stove, in a pot, way too much for one person to eat, but if you cook less than the recipe it never comes out right oatmeal. Yeah, that kind. I could put whatever I wanted in it, make it as sweet as I like, but the mess is always daunting, so I made it only on weekends, once a month, maybe.

I did find an oatmeal that was a bit more my speed, not as sweet, had flax seed in it, the fruit was real (not apples dyed to look like strawberries or peaches), yes sir, I like this brand better.




Now, just what does this have to do with being out of oatmeal? Well, like I said we are big oatmeal eaters, him 2 packets per meal, me 1 packet, 10 packets per box, 3 days of instant oatmeal. (there I go with that math again) Needless to say we run out fast. Also, my most favorite flavor in the world is getting harder and harder to find. Neither store near my home carries it (slow mover). So, the only recourse I have is to make my own, but just how does one go about making instant oatmeal packets at home? Ah, the internet, it can be a blessing.

I found several recipes, but decided to go with Monica Matheny's recipe as my base. I did leave out the chia seeds, just didn't have any, or flax or any seeds for that matter (I don't believe celery seeds would have worked). Then I had to find the "spices" in Raisins & Spice and Cinnamon & Spice. I did find them eventually, every recipe had cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice but quantities differed...a lot. It's all a matter of taste I suppose, anyway this is my adapted recipe that I used for the "spices"

Oatmeal Spices
2 tsp ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground Allspice
1/2 tsp Cardamom (optional)

Mix all spices together. Use 1/2 - 3/4 tsp per individual packet. Store as you would any spices. (don't forget to label it) Makes 8 packets worth.

*Don't have any pumpkin pie spice in your cupboard, never fear...

Pumpkin Pie Spice

4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

I expected more

 

I like to think I'm an observant person. I like to think I read nutrition labels and choose the right foods for my family. I like to think I save money and time (eventually) by purchasing items on sale and preserving them in a fashion that means it will be available to use weeks or months later. I like to think all that, but then *slap* something happens to wipe that smug look right off my face. 

 

The other day I got what I thought was a great deal on 93/7 ground turkey (Foster Farms). Normally $5.00 at Safeway for 20 oz., but with my club card and Just for U pricing, I picked it up for $3.56 per package. I was excited, let me tell you. I grabbed a dozen. I also picked up some bulk breakfast and Italian sausage (1lb tubes) for substantially less than I normally pay.

In the past, I usually came home and popped the packages that I didn't plan on using in the next few days straight into the freezer. Then in a week or three I would forget to take it out of the freezer and call out for pizza. So the plan was to can the meat so that it was ready to use when it was time to cook dinner.

 

I popped over to the National Center for Home Food Preservation and found the instructions for canning ground meat. So, I get out my big fry pan and brown up the bulk sausage (separately of course). Out of each 16 oz. of raw bulk sausage, I got 12 oz. of cooked bulk sausage. Each 12 oz. filled one pint jar. Since pork has a good bit of fat in it, this was an expected result.

Using my fantastic math skills, 240 oz. of ground turkey should fill 16 pint jars. This is of course making the assumption that I will lose 4 oz. per lb.

(12 pkg.*20 oz. = 240 oz. - 48 oz. water/fat=

192 oz. /12 oz. per jar=16 pint jars)

So I start the browning process and cook half the meat, my canner only holds 9 pints. I brown up 120 oz. which by my calculations should fill 8 jars. What it actually filled was only 6 jars. WHAT???? Yes you heard me correctly, 6 jars. After cooking up the meat in the fry pan, for every 20 oz. of raw ground turkey, I got only 12 oz. of cooked ground turkey. So I asked myself, was there really 8 oz. of water and fat in 20 oz. of ground turkey? Ah...maybe it was the way I cooked it. So I get out my handy dandy microwave dish that I use for cooking ground meat and pop 20 oz. in the microwave, cook it for 5 minutes and got...wait for it...12 oz. of cooked ground turkey. Huh? In the end I got only 11 pints or 132 oz. (8 oz. didn't make it into a jar) of canned ground turkey. That is correct, out of 240 oz.  (15 lbs.) I ended up with 140 oz. (8 3/4 lbs.) That is 100 oz. (6 1/4 lbs.) of water and fat in the ground turkey.

Figuring that it may be the brand; I purchased 3 - 20 oz. packages of Jennie-O. Again, using my marvelous math skills:

 

(3*20 oz.=60 oz.-12 oz. water/fat =

48 oz./12 oz. per jar = 4 pint jars.)

Out of this batch of ground turkey, I lost 23 oz. to water/fat. Can we say 38% loss? Seriously??? 

Of course I had to compare it with 93/7 ground beef.
Guess what? I only lost 3-4 oz. per lb. All the meat was cooked the same way (except for my little microwave experiment) and drained the same way and weighed before putting it in the jar and man am I disappointed.

 So here's the breakdown.

20 oz. raw ground turkey cost $5.00, after cooking 12 oz., $0.42 per ounce

20 oz. raw ground beef cost $5.10, after cooking 16 oz., $0.25 per ounce

20 oz. raw bulk sausage cost $4.98, after cooking 16 oz., $0.24 per ounce

 

After figuring this part out, I got out all the nutrition labels and compared them...there are as many grams of fat in turkey as there is in ground beef (1 g of trans fat). There are higher sodium and cholesterol levels in the turkey than the beef. There is more iron in beef than turkey. So, by my understanding, with the exception of the 1 g of trans fat in the beef, the ground beef is actually better for you than ground turkey, guess I'm not buying ground turkey anymore, my husband will probably be glad to hear that.

I encourage you to investigate the nutritional value of anything you eat, sometimes what we've been told is "bad" for us may not be as "bad" as those things which are supposed to be "good" for us. This whole thing started because I wanted to save some time and money. Guess you can't believe everything you hear.