"Chicken" Fried Dinner Patties

I got this recipe from an old ward we were in. I really wish I remembered the name of the woman who gave it to me. Maybe I'll be able to find a note around here somewhere. Anyway, this is a pretty good recipe for using up food storage items. It's also pretty tasty. I will say that I didn't think it tasted much like chicken, but for oats, I imagine it's about as close as I could get!

I will also say that I liked this recipe a little different from the way outlined here, so I'll give the directions to make the patties and then I'll tell you the alternate directions to make a "chicken" fried dinner.

"Chicken Fried" Dinner Patties
Servings: Approx. six "chicken" patties

Ingredients:
Patties:
3/4 c. finely chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, mince
3/4 c. quick oats
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1/2 tsp. ground sage

Sauce:
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. milk or yogurt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. garlic salt

For frying:
3 Tbsp. oil

Gravy:
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 packet chicken gravy mix or some other form of gravy mix.

Directions:
Mix finely chopped onions, garlic, quick oats, eggs, seasonings. In large fry-pan, heat oil on medium high. Using a large spoon place a large spoonful of mixture at a time into hot oil and smooth mixture with back of spoon to create a patty. You could also your hands to try to create a patty before putting the mixture into the pan. This is kind of messy and sometimes the patties won't hold together very well {this is where I found my alternate method helpful}.
Brown well on both sides, turning only once {the more often you turn them, the more likely they are to fall apart}. Patties will be lightweight at this point.
Turn heat to lowest simmer. Mix soup, milk or yogurt and garlic salt in a medium sized bowl; spoon over patties, turning to coat both sides. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. {Carefully turn patties a time or two while they are simmering/absorbing liquids.}
Serve with rice or pasta and gravy.

Gravy:
Combine the soup, milk, and chicken gravy mix together. Bring to a boil in a medium sauce pan then turn down heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until thickened. If the gravy doesn't thicken enough, add about a tablespoon of flour and mix until fully incorporated.

Alternate Cooking Method:
Place the entire oat mixture into the pan with hot oil. Cook as if browning ground beef, just not quite as long. It only takes a couple of minutes. Then add the sauce to it and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the oat/sauce mixture is simmering, make some rice. When both the rice and the "chicken" fried dinner are finished, combine them together and top with gravy. 
Enjoy!

Nutri-Grain Bars

Dan and I are pretty big fans of Nutri-Grain Bars. We don’t buy them very often, though because we’re cheap and figure we can live without them. And we’re probably right.
We have friends that don’t like Nutri-Grain Bars. They bought a whole box at Sam’s Club {or some other bulk foods store place, I don’t remember} and they decided after they bought the huge box that they didn’t like them. So they gave them to us. We were happy.
Now, all those bars are gone. Told ya we liked ‘em!
But you know what’s even better than Nutri-Grain bars? Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars! I was a little nervous to try this out not being sure what it would taste like. They are so yummy! They make a great snack and are really pretty quick.
The only problems with this recipe:
1 – They’re really messy to eat. We decided that next time we make them we’ll store them in the fridge to hopefully help them set up more. I will also probably put more crust on the bottom
2 – These are super super sweet. I’m the kind of person that likes sweet things to an extent – if it’s too sweet, I probably won’t eat it. For that dilemma, I’ll probably add a few more oats or take some of the cake mix out and possibly use less jam {which may also help with problem #1}
3 – They make a whole 9x13 pan full! This was a little too much for us, especially because they are so sweet! However, you could probably refrigerate them and make sure they are set up and then wrap some individual bars into waxed paper, put into freezer baggies and freeze for a yummy treat any day of the week.
Even with these problems, the recipe is still so delicious! And heck, I think I solved the problems anyway so we’ll be making them again for sure.

Nutri-Grain Bars
Ingredients:
1 pkg yellow cake mix
¾ cup butter
2-1/2 cups quick oats
12 oz preserves or jam
1 Tbsp. water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter; combine cake mix and oats in large bowl. Stir in melted butter until mixture is crumbly.
Measure half the mixture into greased 9x13 pan. Press firmly into bottom of pan. Combine preserves and water; spoon over crumb mixture and spread evenly. Cover with remaining crumb mixture. Pat firmly to make even. Make at 375 for 20 minutes. Top should be a light brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars.