Review of McCann's Imported Quick and Easy Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal

One of my favorite episodes of "Good Eats" is the "Oat Cuisine" show.  While I love the humor of the segment on how to make a haggis, the true value of the episode  is that they point out the wonders and joys of cooking with oats.

We enjoy oatmeal but let's face it, traditional instant oatmeal is hardly the best that this cuisine has to offer.  When we saw this fast version of steel cut oats at Costco, we had to try them and we are totally pleased.

This is definitely a hybrid product. It is not "instant oatmeal", it takes a few minutes to cook but it is vastly faster than making normal steel cut oats.  As for the taste and texture, as I said, we are totally pleased. They are definitely much heartier than you standard instant oatmeal with a very satisfying flavor.

They also take "kicking up" well with cranberries, cinnamon and vanilla.  I also plan on adding maple syrup, apples and other fruits and flavorings.

This product is an absolute winner and my wife and I recommend it with complete enthusiasm.

I have been asked for the nutritional information, here is a link to it.

A Quick Review of Nature'd Path Flax Plus Pumpkin Flax Granola

Generally, I tend to eat simple cereals like frosted shredded wheat, raisin bran and such. However, this granola looked pretty tasty so I thought I would give it a try. I have to say that I am very pleased with it.

It comes in a two pouches in one box. A lot of cereals seem to be doing that these days and if you don't eat the cereal fast, this helps it from going bad.  I suppose it is also makes it easier to work with than one big bag.

As for the cereal's nutritional profile, it had a good quantity of fiber at 20% of your daily requirement per serving. It also has low sodium if you are watching that. Finally, the only allergen mentioned on the label is soy, although they have the caveat that this is made in a facility that uses tree nuts, peanuts and wheat.

As for the taste and texture of the cereal, it is, being a granola, nice and crunchy. The pumpkin seeds make it more interesting that your typical granola in the area of taste. While the cereal is good just by itself, I have discovered it is absolutely delicious with dried cranberries.  My wife followed my lead on this and she definitely thinks that while the cereal is great plain, the craisins add a lovely touch.

My wife and I both give this cereal two big thumbs up and I highly recommend stocking up on it while it is on sale.  This is a flavorful cereal, low in sodium, with a good quantity of fiber and it is a great change of pace.

Amylu Chicken Sausage With Apple, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad

We are fond of those Amylu Apple and Smoked Gouda Chicken sausages.  We had one last pack of them in the freezer and so I pulled them out and cooked them on the Griddler and we had our meat course. For a side dish I made the following: Apple, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad. Here is the recipe:

• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled, (we buy our quinoa from Costco)
• 1 large Granny Smith Apple, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup Craisins (dried cranberries) from Costco
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt dip

My idea was to use tart fruits like the Craisins and the apple to make the salad more suitable as a side dish than as a desert. My wife and I both agreed that it worked okay, not brilliantly, but okay as a side dish and that I should make it again.

We also both agreed that adding walnuts would be a good idea. To sum up, it was a good side dish that took very little work and time, it was very healthy and it well with something less "heavy" like the chicken sausage.

Recipe: