granola

I use to make granola for my kids all the time but hadn't made any  since they moved out.    Yes you can buy granola but making it,  you can customize what you put in to your taste, control the sugar and leave out the preservatives.  This recipe is just a guideline feel free to add whatever fruit, nuts and seeds you like.
3C oats not the instant kind
1/4C oil
3T maple syrup
3T brown sugar
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp salt
1tsp vanilla
Mix this together and place on a parchment lined sheet pan in a thin layer, bake 350 15 min.  Add 2C walnuts and 1C almonds and bake 15-20min longer until the mix is crisp, let cool completely.  Add 2C dried fruit, I used diced apricots and cherries.  You can also add sunflower or pumpkin seeds with the nuts.  Store in an air tight container and freeze if you aren't going to use it up in 2 weeks.
AH pours warm milk over his and eats it for breakfast.  I like mine mixed with yogurt for a meal or snack.  You could also use it as a topping for pudding or ice cream and it's tasty by the handful.

white chicken chilli

We have just had our first cool snap of the season.  When the cold air hits it's soup time around here.  This chili is full of flavor and a nice alternative to regular chili without the high acid of a tomato based dish.

1# cooked chicken use a rotisserie chicken from the store or left overs
1 onion diced
1 garlic clove chopped
1 jalapeno or poblano diced
2 cans white beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onion, garlic and pepper in 2T oil until soft.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until heated through 20-30min.  Serve with tortilla chips, additional chopped pepper and cheese if desired.  we ate it plain and loved it.

pumpkin bread time

The calendar says it's fall even if the temperatures are still in the 80's.  It's time to think about cool weather foods. We love warm quick breads as a snack or desert when it gets cool.  I could make breads from scratch, sometimes I do.  Many times I use a mix and jazz it up.  To this pumpkin bread I added walnuts, dried cherries and chocolate chips, then baked it according to the package directions.  It was ready in less than an hour, just in time for a mid movie snack. YUM!

country time dinner

Summertime food with all the goodies fresh from the garden are a big hit around here.  Add in some fried food and AH is in heaven.  A meal of fried chicken, fresh corn and tomatoes along with fresh baked cookies gets me lots of brownie points.  He always says he doesn't think anyone else he knows is eating this good.

french toast cups

I like breakfast foods you can make ahead of time.  I found this on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try when we had company here last week.  Here's what you need:
1 loaf french bread
11/2C milk
1/3C sugar
4eggs
1tsp cinnamon
2tsp vanilla
cut the brad into 1'cubes
in a large bowl mix together the remaining ingredients then add bread cubes.  drop into a well buttered cup cake pan.
Mix together the following:
1/2C each  flour, brown sugar and butter with 1tsp cinnamon.  Crumble over the top of bread mixture.  Refrigerate several hours or over night.  Bake 350 for 25min.  Let them sit for about 5 minutes to firm up then remove from pan.  Great with butter and maple syrup.  I'm thinking chopped pecan would be good on top next time.

tub tea

I'm always looking for new ideas and products for VCB.  Last year we had good success with a milk bath.  The bottle were glass and expensive so I wanted to come up with an alternative.  I started with the same base of Epsom salts, corn starch, baking soda, dry milk and oatmeal.  I added dry lavender and lavender oils to the mix for the  aroma therapy benefits.  I fashioned the bags from coffee filters with a couple drops of glue to hold them together.  I added 3T to each bag and  sealed them with a spot of hot glue.  I haven't gotten any reports on how they work yet but I'll let you know.

Two weeks later the reports on the tub tea are in.  The general consensus is the ingredients, scent and relaxation properties are great, the packaging needs some work, as they fell apart and left a lavender and oatmeal mess in the tub.  I'll have to look a heat sealed tea bags or maybe a burrito wrap of the coffee filters.  Back to the drawing board.

panzanella chicken salad

Now that the kitchen redo is winding down and I can find things again I'm feeling to urge to experiment with new recipes more.  You can make this on the grill or because it was raining, inside like I did.

1# cooked chicken or grill it  remove skin and bones cut in large chunks
1 onion cut in 1/2 slices
4-6 mini peppers or 1 large pepper seeded and cut the same way as onion
1/4 loaf French or Italian bread cut in 1" slices
1# tomatoes cored and cut in chunks add to bowl with dressing
2T chopped fresh basil
dressing
2T olive oil
2T cider or red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
additional oil to brush on bread and veggies

Prepare dressing first mixing it in the bowl you will serve salad in
Grill chicken or warm cooked chicken in the microwave or a skillet
Brush peppers and onion and grill or saute until tender and golden brown, set aside
Brush  the bread with oil and grill or toast in skillet
To assemble
cut the chicken in large chunks and the peppers, onions and bread in bite size pieces and add to the bowl with the tomatoes and dressing add basil and  toss to mix.
This serves 4.  Next time I would add everything except the bread and add that after it was plated.  The bread the next day was very soggy.

brownie brittle

I picked up a bag of brownie brittle at the grocery store and loved it, but at $3.99 for 5oz it was not going to be a regular thing.  I Googled a few recipes and made my own from a mix.  Crispy, chocolaty and crunchy, YUM.
1 box brownie mix that fits a 9X13 pan
1/4C water and oil
1 egg
Nuts or chocolate chips optional I used 1C of chips
Mix together then spread as thin as possible in a parchment lined cookie sheet
Bake at 350 30-40 minutes until the edges start to feel crisp.  Turn off the oven and let the pan sit in there for 2-3 hours.  Remove from parchment and break into chunks.  At 1 Carb for 1 oz and 120 calories it makes a great snack, unless you crumble it on ice cream then it goes higher. Store in an air tight bag.

Potato cakes

What do you do with that little dab of leftover mashed potatoes?  You make potato cakes.  Here's what you need:
1C mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/4C each Parmesan and cheddar cheese
Panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything together except the bread crumbs, form into patties then dip them in the bread crumbs on each side.  Fry in a small amount of olive oil until brown and crispy.
YUM!!!
I served this with baked chicken and green beans but they would be great with just about anything.

reruns

That's what we call left overs.  Already made meals reimagined into something else.  This was left over pulled pork.  Pork, toasted corn tortillas, grated cheese and a chopped salad of leftover vegetables.  Fast, free and easy.  Your family may be more receptive to reruns if you change them up a little.

cranberry goodness

I try to find a couple of different things to make for the holidays each year.  When I saw this cranberry liqueur I though of a few friends that would love it.  It can be sipped straight, mixed with orange juice and champagne for a mimosas, and  poured over pound cake, fruit or ice cream.
Here's what you need:
3 bags fresh cranberries
3C sugar
3C water
zest of 1 orange
Mix all together and cook on med until the berries are soft, remove from heat and let cool
Pour into a glass gallon jar and cover with 8C of vodka, cover.  You can divide this into smaller jars if you need to, leave out part of the vodka if you don't have enough room in the jar.  Be sure to use glass not plastic.  Let it sit for 4-5 days shaking 1-2 times a day.  When the liqueur is done, strain through a fine mesh strainer or a regular strainer with a coffee filter added.  Add in the extra vodka if you didn't have room for it before.  Decant into 1 liter bottles.  I used these cute bottles I found on clearance but you could also use wine bottles.  Keep well chilled.  I don't know how long this will keep, it has enough alcohol in it that it should be fine, but just in case you might want to use it quickly.  if your'e giving it away add a cute tag with serving suggestions.

cheat bread

I'm known for not following rules or directions, but usually when I bake I do follow the recipe.  Not this time.  I opened a box of Libby pumpkin bread mix, substituted apple cider for water then added dried cranberries and walnuts to the mix and baked as directed.  I served it for dessert on Thanksgiving with a smear of home made apple butter but cream cheese or butter would have worked too.

lasagna soup

Fall and winter are soup time around here and I'm always on the look out for new recipes.  This one is definitely a keeper.

1# Italian sausage
1 onion chopped 2 cloves garlic chopped
2 cans fire roasted tomatoes
2 tsp oregano
3/4# wide noodles cooked and drained but you could use any pasta
6C chicken broth
2T olive oil
Brown the sausage in the olive oil, cook onion and garlic until translucent
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook through about 20 minutes
In the meantime make the cheesy topping
2C ricotta cheese
1/2C Parmesan cheese
1T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Serve the soup with a big dollop of the topping and fresh chopped basil add a big piece of garlic bread and you are set.
I think the next time I make this I may add some mushrooms just cause we like them

cider pumpkin bread

It's not very hard to take a basic box mix and make it even better with the addition of just a couple of different ingredients.  I took a pumpkin bread box mix, used apple cider instead of water and added a cup of chopped pecans.  When the bread was ready to serve I made up a bowl of honey butter to slather on top. Just soften a stick of butter and add 2T of honey.  YUM with some redeeming nutritional value, the pumpkin is full of fiber and vitamins after all.

cream cheese fruit salad

My DIL Brandi and grand daughter made this wonderful salad for dessert this last weekend.  It's surprisingly light and tastes great.

1 box jello cheese cake mix, remove the crumb crust mix and use it for something else
16oz vanilla yogurt
1 container Cool Whip
3C mini marshmallows
1qt strawberries sliced
3 bananas sliced
Just mix every thing together and chill
I'm not sure if you can buy cheese cake instant pudding mix but if so that would work also.  You could switch out the fruit if you like something else, I'm thinking blue berries and peaches.

did you know?

I love sweet corn in season.  What I don't like is the silks that remain that make me feel like I'm flossing as I eat.  My friend Kathy told me to cook each ear of corn in the microwave silks, husks and all for 4 minutes on high.  When it's done cooking pull back the husks and everything including the silks just slides right off,  Just add butter and salt and feast away.

Drunken mousse

I don't care for instant pudding but the sugar free cooked kind is hard to find sometimes.  I picked up a box of instant and wanted to jazz it up a little.
1 box instant chocolate sugar free pudding made according to package directions except replace 1/4C of the milk with chocolate liquor, you could also use rum or coffee liquor.
1/2 of a container of sugar free Cool Whip mixed into the pudding before it sets up.  let it set up and enjoy.  For and extra kick I crushed Oreo s into ours before serving. You could also add chocolate chips, cherry pie filling or more whip cream.   Kind of defeats the purpose of using all that sugar free stuff doesn't it?

Sweet garlic chicken

For each boneless skinless chicken breast you want to bake use 2T olive oil, 1T brown sugar and 1 clove garlic saute for 2 minutes in the olive oil.  Preheat oven to 450.
Line a cookie pan with foil and lay your chicken on it salt and pepper and drizzle on olive oil on each side.  Make a paste of the cooked garlic, oil and sugar and spread on one side of the chicken.  Bake for 15-20 min until the juice runs clear and the chicken is cooked through.  I think this would be great with boneless pork chops too.

cannoli strawberries

I love cannoli so when I saw this recipe I had to give it a try.  It was easier to make and a lot more healthy.
  3/4C ricotta cheese
2-4T powdered sugar to taste
1/2tsp vanilla
1 qt strawberries, washed, dried, stems and core removed
Mix everything but the strawberries and chips and put into a small plastic bag.  Cut off the tip of the bag and pipe mix into the hole you made when you cored the berries. Sprinkle with a few chocolate chips.
Note:  These were pretty and tasted great but the filling was skimpy and started oozing out before I served them.  You could fill them just before serving or just make the mix and use it as a dip.  I would also use mini chocolate chips next time.

Swiss steak

Easy prep then leave it alone to simmer.  Add mashed potatoes and a green vegie for the perfect comfort food meal.

11/2# round steak if the butcher will run it through the cuber it will be even more tender
1 onion diced
1 egg + 2T water mixed
3/4C flour, salt pepper, garlic powder to taste mixed together
2C beef stock
1/4C vegetable oil heated in a large skillet
Cut the meat into serving size pieces, dip in egg wash and dredge in flour.  Put into hot skillet and brown both sides, add stock and onion cover with lid, let simmer until fork tender about 1 hour.  Check it couple of times and if it seems to be getting dry add a little water, stock or red wine.

Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this one, but it was very good.