Maple Syrup Oatmeal Breakfast Squares

These are very dense, filling breakfast squares. One of these is an alternative to a bowl of morning oatmeal, and certainly a lot tastier! They are full of oats, oat bran and low glycemic whole wheat flour. For interest, peanut butter morsels, cranberries or walnuts may be added, depending on your taste. The recipe yields only 6 squares but they freeze well if wrapped in foil and stored in a freezer bag. I warm them up by thawing in the fridge overnight, and reheating in a microwave. To reheat, cover with a damp paper towel and warm up in the microwave at about 30% power for 5 minutes. One square keeps you full until lunchtime, and are a lot better than the ones you buy in the store.

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

    ½ cup oat bran

    ½ cup whole wheat flour

    2 tablespoons Arrowroot flour (cornstarch may be substituted in a pinch. I prefer not to do so)

    1 1/4 cup milk or half and half (if diet conscious, use skimmed milk or non-dairy substitute)

    1/2 cup dark brown sugar

    1/4 cup pure maple syrup+ 1 Tablespoon Molasses

    1/4 cup vegetable oil

    1 egg

    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    ½ teaspoon allspice

    ½ teaspoon nutmeg

    1 teaspoon vanilla

    1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped walnuts OR Cranberries OR peanut butter morsels (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Let the paper overhang around the pan edges.

In a medium bowl, mix oats, oat bran, flour, arrowroot flour, (morsels, or cranberries or walnuts, if using), baking powder, salt and spices together.

In a medium saucepan, combine half and half, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla, and brown sugar. Heat over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool

In a large bowl, mix oil, egg, and whisk to combine. Add half and half mixture.

Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and let sit for about 10 minutes so that the oats can soak up some of the liquid.

Bake in oven until edges are golden brown and center has set, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before slicing into squares and serving. I got 6 breakfast size portions. Enjoy!

Easy Oven Baked Jamaican Brown Stew Fish Fillets

This is the easiest way of doing Jamaican Style Brown Stew Fish that I know. All thanks to the Spur Tree brand of seasonings on the market. With the other recipes in which I have used these seasoning sauces, this one requires nothing added to it at all. The secret however is the overnight marinating of the fish fillets with the seasoning sauces.
1 lb firm fish filet (Snapper would be best but I used Orange Roughy)
2 tablespoons Spur Tree Jerk Sauce
2 tablespoons Spur Tree Brown Stew Seasoning
Directions
Cut each filet in half. Mix in an oven proof baking dish with the seasoning sauces. Make sure there is enough sauce mixture to coat and cover the fillets. Rub the sauces all over, cover and marinate in the fridge overnight.
Bake in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 15-20 minutes until the fish flakes easily. Eat with white rice or roasted plantain (or both).

Easy Slow Cooker Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken

With the addition of some new seasoning sauces on the market by Spur Tree manufacturing, making Jamaican homestyle dishes have become a lot easier. These sauces, available in most Jamaican stores and ethnic markets,  are so well-balanced for flavor that the addition of more spices is not at all necessary. This is an easy recipe for Jamaican Brown Stew or Fricassee Chicken. It uses 2 types of Spur Tree sauces and a few additional ingredients. Once in the slow cooker, you can relax and come back to a cooked meal 4-6 hours later.

2 lbs Chicken meat (thighs are best)

1/4 cup Spur Tree Brown Stew Seasoning

¼ cup Spur Tree Jerk Seasoning (make sure to remove any bits of thyme stems you see in the seasoning)

2 tablespoons oil

1 10 ozs can diced tomatoes and chilis

1 medium yellow onion, cut into large pieces

½ cup Chicken Broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1.      Marinate the chicken pieces overnight, in the fridge, with the Spur Tree seasoning sauces.

2.      Place the marinated chicken and the onions in separate baking dishes and mix in 1 tablespoon oil into each of them. Bake both at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the onions for about 20 minutes, the chicken for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven.

3.      Puree the onion to a paste.

4.      Mix all ingredients in an 8-quart slow cooker i.e chicken pieces, tinned tomatoes, pureed onions, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Place a Scotch Bonnet pepper on top, if desired, and cook for 4-6 hours on high. Thicken gravy if needed with a little cornstarch mixed with water.

Easy Slow Cooker Jamaican Stew Beef

I like to do things the easy way and was very happy when I recently discovered this trio of Jamaican seasonings by Spur Tree that would allow me to make my favorite Jamaican dishes with minimum effort. More importantly is the fact that the sauces are so perfectly balanced, that they really do not need much done to them to make them better. I still like to add my own personal touch to them so that the flavor I end of with, reminds me of my own family type cooking. Just to be clear, I have not received any monetary reimbursement from the company. I just happen to like their seasonings!

With this in mind, I decided to use the Oxtail seasoning sauce to make stew beef (same beef but just a different part of the cow). This recipe is a result of that need. Yes, it does take some preparation but once all the ingredients are put in the slow cooker, the rest of the day is yours to enjoy. The best part is that at the end of the day you will end up with a hearty stew with the taste of home. I plan to experiment using these seasonings to develop more recipes as well as explore the other seasonings that the company markets. Be sure to search the marinade for pieces of Thyme stems, just like you would if your were using Thyme in your own seasoning!

3 lbs stew meat cut into chunks (choose a mixture with a few fatty pieces)

2 tablespoon oil

6 fluid ozs (3/4 cup) Spur Tree Oxtail Seasoning (make sure to remove any pieces of Thyme stems you may find)

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces

3 stalks of celery OR 3 Chayote (Cho-Cho, Christophene) Squash, peeled and cut into chunks

1 medium sized onion

1 small tin (10ozs) diced tomato and chilis

1 small tin (140zs) Swanson beef broth

1 medium tin large butter or broad beans

1 Scotch Bonnet Chili (optional)

1.      Marinate the beef with the Oxtail Seasoning sauce in the fridge overnight. As you would if you were using fresh thyme in the seasoning, search carefully to find and remove any pieces of Thyme stem from the marinade.

2.      Mix the meat with 1 tablespoon oil and place in an oven proof baking dish

3.      Peel and cut the onion into large chunks. Mix with 1 tablespoon oil

4.      Bake the beef and the onion pieces in separate baking dishes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the beef is browned and the onions appear wilted. Stir the meat a couple of times so that all sides can be browned. Much of the water from the meat will evaporate at the high temperature. Remove from oven. The idea is to sear the meat and brown the marinade in the oil since that is the “carrier” for the flavor.

5.      Place the carrots, celery or Chayote squash in the bottom of an 8 quart slow cooker. Add the tinned tomatoes, the oven baked beef chunks with any remaining liquid. Puree the onion pieces to a paste and add to the mixture. Add the tin of beef broth, mix everything together in the slow cooker,  and put the scotch bonnet pepper on top.

6.      Cover and cook at high for about 4-6 hours. Add the tinned butter beans an hour before finishing. Thicken the gravy either by adding flour dumpling spinners, and cooking till they are done or use 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with a little water to do the same thing.