Help! I need to use up a TON of oatmeal!

[Danika]

Unless the oats are being stored somewhere humid*, I suspect they'll be good for a while.

Oh, good point! When I said I'd kept my oats over a year and a half past the expiration date, I totally didn't think to mention that I live in a very dry climate.

Crisp sounds yummy as well. Unfortunately fruit is out of season and thus SO pricey here right now. Maybe I'll take my chances on one of the bags staying good for awhile.

I've learned that I prefer canned fruits for making crisp. I've spent a ton of money on fresh apples, and then taken the time to peel them and slice them and they ended up too dry in the crisp. Here are some of the canned fruits that I prefer. No preservatives, just fruit and water in the cans. Less expensive and far less work than making them from fresh fruit. With the berries, I add a little corn starch just to thicken them up a bit.

[doodlemor]

I can't believe that I forgot to mention one of my favorites that we have at Christmas time.  It is Swedish chocolate balls, or chokladbollar.

Here is a link:

http://www.food.com/recipe/swedish-chocolate-balls-31658

You can use either rolled or quick oats in them, and vary the amount of chocolate.  You can also roll them in whatever you want - Christmas sprinkles, sugar, cocoa, nuts, coconut, and so forth.

[cicero]

here are asome recipes i've used successfully:

oatmeal bread

granola bars - I make these with rolled oats or a combination of rolled and quick. I also usually don't have wheat germ so i just substitute an extra 1/2 cup of oats. And you can play around with the additions - i usually add pecans, dark chocolate and cranberries instead of the walnuts and raisins. these freeze well.

[Jape]

Do you have young children in your life?  Could they use some to make reindeer food for their friends for Christmas?  My children always gave little bags of it to their friends when they gave out their Christmas cards at school.

There's no fixed recipe, you just mix oats with choc chips and any little coloured candy or sprinkles and mini marshmallows.  Just anythng to brighten it up a bit really.  We then put it in little clear zip-lock bags so it doesn't make a mess and then pop it into coloured Christmas drawstring bags or some other decorative packaging and attach this poem (I'm sure there are other versions out there):

Make a wish and close your eyes tight,
Then sprinkle on your lawn at night.
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam,
This food will guide them to your home.

[Redsoil]

Would it be possible to make use of them to feed the birds?  You could even make seed balls.  http://www.ehow.com/how_6080088_homemade-bird-seed-ball.html

[Shopaholic]

I was going to suggest to make granola to give as a holiday gift, packaged in a nice tin or jar.
It can be kept in the freezer for a long, long time.

[wx4caster]

Instead of buying granola-type bars for school snacks, I bake a double batch of muffins (i.e. 24) every week and substitute half the flour with oatmeal.  I've used both quick oats and the steel cut,  whatever happened to be cheaper when I need to stock up.

FYI: banana and chocolate chip is very good combination for muffins.

[PurpleFrog]

3 pages and no one has suggested you use it to make the scent of poverty.....

[Outdoor Girl]

Do you have kids or know an organization that does crafty things with kids?  There is a recipe that uses oatmeal and glitter to make 'reindeer food' for kids to put out for Santa's reindeer.

My nephew did this one year and at my Dad's place, real deer came and ate it all!  The adults were all amazed but nephew was very matter of fact, 'Well, of course they ate it!'

[Barb3000]

Unless the oats are being stored somewhere humid*, I suspect they'll be good for a while.

Oh, good point! When I said I'd kept my oats over a year and a half past the expiration date, I totally didn't think to mention that I live in a very dry climate.

Crisp sounds yummy as well. Unfortunately fruit is out of season and thus SO pricey here right now. Maybe I'll take my chances on one of the bags staying good for awhile.

I've learned that I prefer canned fruits for making crisp. I've spent a ton of money on fresh apples, and then taken the time to peel them and slice them and they ended up too dry in the crisp. Here are some of the canned fruits that I prefer. No preservatives, just fruit and water in the cans. Less expensive and far less work than making them from fresh fruit. With the berries, I add a little corn starch just to thicken them up a bit.

Danika - if you LOAD the top of the crisp with the topping (going right to the edges of the pan), so that no fruit is showing through, it acts like a top crust and seals in the moisture. Bonus- more crispy topping goodness to enjoy!!

[RebeccainGA]

I would second the granola and the bath stuff - in fact, you can make granola, put it in nice containers, give it away, and make bath stuff and give it away too.

If you grind oatmeal/put it in the food processor and mix in some vanilla/other essential oil, and a little neutral oil (like grapeseed/canola) it makes a lovely scrub. Just experiment to get your preferred consistency. Keeps rather well, too, but best kept in the fridge (but this makes it a really invigorating morning scrub).

[CakeBeret]

Thanks! I think I'll make granola for stocking stuffers for the family this year. I'm also making homemade Burt's Bees style lip balm, so I might as well go full DIY.

RebeccainGA, that scrub sounds really nice!

[RebeccainGA]

A little fresh mint, with the oatmeal and oils, cold, will wake the dead. LOL

[magicdomino]

3 pages and no one has suggested you use it to make the scent of poverty.....

So appropriate for January.   

[RebeccainGA]

OK, so I had to go back and reread the whole oatmeal = poverty thread. Thanks, guys... so much for getting work done this morning! ;-)