Swiss Muesli: an easy overnight oats recipe that the whole family will love

Do you want a breakfast that's easy,  hearty, and healthy, and the whole family will love?  Well this might just be it.  

Have you seen all the buzz lately about these overnight refrigerator oats recipes? Seems like some new way to make oats?  Nope, not new.  The Swiss have been doing it this way for over 100 years.  They call it Muesli, or Swiss Muesli, or Bircher Muesli (named from the doctor that created the recipe for the health benefits of his patients).  This is not the "muesli" that you've seen in a cereal box.  That is a granola like cereal that has some oats and dried fruit and somebody decided to give it the name because some of the ingredients are similar. No, this is a totally different thing - it's a way of preparing oats that's like nothing you've probably ever tasted. I love it, it's one of my favorite breakfasts. I first learned about Swiss Muesli almost 30 years ago, when my older sister came home from being an exchange student in Switzerland.  She introduced us to the way the Swiss do oats, and I've loved it ever since.  In the summer I like to make up a huge bowl and eat it for breakfast all week long.  It's cool and refreshing, but hearty and filling.  And you can dress it up however you like. 

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Homemade "instant" oatmeal

Homemade "instant" oatmeal

It totally kills me that my kids prefer those instant oatmeal packets over real cooked oats.  But lately I'm really trying to focus on choosing my battles, and trying to force people to learn to like oatmeal with some texture over the creamy, mushy stuff, just seems like a fight that's not worth fighting at this stage, especially on an already manic school day morning.  But instant oatmeal packets have all kinds of strikes against them, and I just can't bring myself to buy them any more.  The artificial flavorings in so many of the mainstream brands, the amount of sugar, and the cost - with 4 kids eating two packets each, we would use whole box at one meal.  I have bought some organic ones before, which are a little better, but they still have so much sugar and are even more expensive. I had seen several mentions on various food blogs and pinterest boards about making your own, so I thought I'd give it a try. 

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How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth

How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth

Once you've had good homemade stock you'll really never want to go back.  The store bought stuff tastes so bland, or sometimes tastes like nothing but salt.  I love good chicken broth.  I love it so much that sometimes it doesn't survive long enough to make it into soup.  When someone in the house is sick, I make up a big pot of it and drink as much as I can.  I think it's the definition of classic comfort food, and it's so good for you.  Just do a quick google on the benefits of bone broth and you'll find pages and pages of info.

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