BAKED (APPLE CINNAMON) OATMEAL from Taste of Home

This is very good and comes from Taste of Home. It's basically cake that's made with oats and no flour. I made half in a 1.5 qt. stoneware baking dish. I baked it 35 minutes but I think it could have taken a few minutes less as the edges browned more than I wanted. I added one peeled and finely chopped apple and added 1/4 c. finely ground toasted pecans and 1/2 t. vanilla extract. In place of butter I used Blue Bonnet spread, which is salted. Because of that the salt level is perfect.

I give this 5 stars.

FAVORITE OATMEAL PANCAKES from Quaker Oats

This recipe's from Quaker Oats and I'm not impressed with it. We could use quick cooking oats or rolled oats so I used quick cooking. For the optional stir-ins I used apple, pecans and a dash of cinnamon. These were dry and the batter was a little too thick to suit me. I wouldn't make these again and don't recommend them.

I give these three stars.

BAKED CHOCOLATE CUSTARD from Very Best Baking

This recipe is from Very Best Baking, home to Nestle, Carnation, and Libby's. I've been making this custard for probably at least 13 years. After the first time or two I made it I decided to add melted chocolate to it. I add 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips, which I melt in part of the evaporated milk, which I heat first. Adding that amount of chocolate doesn't affect the consistency at all. I've tried using unsweetened cocoa powder as well as melted semi-sweet chocolate in this and they're all very bitter, so I stick with milk chocolate. The chocolate is mild. For some reason the tops of the custard is always a darker brown than the rest. I used less salt, too.

I divide my mixture into five small bowls, each using almost 3/4 c. of mixture, and they baked in exactly 30 minutes but I think they were slightly overcooked. My knife came out with a few bits of firm custard on it. If you follow their recipe and use six dishes, since you have less mixture in each than if you used just five like I do, yours should take less than the 30 minutes mine took, but they tell you 35 minutes for six dishes. For some reason the tops of these are always a darker brown than the custard, which is a pale brown.

I grade the original and my version of this an A.

BEST HOT FUDGE SAUCE by The Stay at Home Chef

This comes from The Stay at Home Chef. It's made with both unsweetened cocoa powder and milk chocolate chips (but you can use any kind) and is very good. I made half and used 2% milk instead of evaporated milk since I didn't want to waste half of a can since I only needed half of it. It made exactly 2 cups. I used unsalted butter, it called for salted, and added close to 1/8 teaspoon salt for half the recipe. At room temperature this stayed thin and ran off the ice cream. It thickens slightly in the refrigerator and clings to the ice cream when poured on it without heating it first. I will make this again, definitely, but will use a little less milk and cook it a few minutes longer in hopes of it being thicker than this time.

I grade this an A- for the thin consistency.

OREO ICE CREAM BARS

This is more of a method than recipe and I came up with it on my own. You'll only need two ingredients- a standard size pack of any flavor Oreo sandwich cookies, not double stuff, and a 1.5-2 quart container of vanilla ice cream, or any flavor you want to go with the flavor of Oreos. I only use Breyer's Natural Vanilla, 1.5 qt. and I used regular flavor Oreos.

Grind up an entire pack of Oreo cookies in a food processor, creme and all. You can grind them finely or leave them in very small pieces. Large chunks won't work as well because they want to fall off the ice cream. Set aside. 

Line a 9" or 10" x 2" square baking dish with plastic cling wrap, overlapping it on all sides. I used a 9" one. You'll need two very long overlapping strips for this. Spoon the entire container of ice cream into the dish. Your ice cream doesn't need to be very soft for this. Spread it around with your spoon to make an even layer. Cover it with two more long overlapping strips of plastic wrap. Press down on the ice cream with your hands or flat bottom of a measuring cup to smooth the layer. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap. Sprinkle half of your ground Oreo crumbs over the top. With clean hands, spread the crumbs evenly over the ice cream, pressing down firmly to embed the crumbs. Place the plastic wrap back over it and press down firmly. Place a cooling rack or cutting board on top of the dish, flip the dish over, sit it on the counter, then carefully lift the dish off. Quickly pick up the ice cream mixture no matter how soft if may be, and place it back in the dish so that the Oreo side is now in the bottom of the dish. Peel the plastic wrap off the top of the ice cream and dump the remaining Oreo crumbs on top, spreading around evenly like you did before. Cover the top with two more long strips of plastic wrap, press down firmly on the crumbs, and place in the freezer for many hours, until it hardens up completely, preferably overnight. 

Remove dish from freezer, loosen up the plastic wrap from the sides, lift out the ice cream by the plastic wrap, place it on a cutting board, carefully peel the plastic wrap off the top. With a long sharp knife, cut the ice cream in half straight down the center by pressing straight down with the knife. Cut each of the two strips into four pieces. You'll now have eight bars that are 4.5" long by a little over 2" wide and 1.5" thick. Use a 10 or 11" square pan if you want them less thick. You could cut them smaller if you'd like. Place them in an airtight storage container and place in the freezer. These are easiest to eat if you put each bar in a plastic sandwich baggie and eat it that way since the baggie will catch the crumbs.

I grade these an A+. It cost about $7.50 to make. Next time I make these I think I'll remove and discard the creme from the cookies before I grind them up because these are pretty sweet, or just add some salt, which would be the easier option.

DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE from America's Test Kitchen

This ice cream sauce comes from America's Test Kitchen and is made with both unsweetened cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate and it makes 2 cups. It's pretty bitter but the ice cream mellows that out some, thankfully. This tastes like nothing more than bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate that has been melted and poured over ice cream. I do love the consistency. They say you can reheat it in the microwave but once you've done that more than a couple times, it crystallizes and nobody wants or needs that. You'll have to watch the video to get the recipe. I saw this twice on their PBS television show before I made it.

I grade this a D for damned disappointing.