Homemade Granola

I've tried a lot of homemade granola recipes in my time. Most of them were not very good. This recipe is a combination of my neighbor's recipe which she gave out at Christmas, and I got the powdered milk idea from We Eat. I really like both recipes on their own, but I need all the extra calcium I can get and I have a sweet tooth too (We Eat's has no sugar so it's not quite as crunchy)...so I prefer this combo. If you don't have powdered milk, well, maybe your mom will go pack some for you at the cannery for your birthday. Mine did!

4 C rolled oats
1 C wheat germ (I was out today so I didn't use it--I buy it from The Good Earth)
1/3 C powdered milk
1/4 C brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 salt
1 C chopped walnuts
1/2 C chopped almonds
1/4 C roasted sunflower seeds (if salted, omit the salt in the recipe)
1/4 C whatever nuts...today I did pine nuts, other times I might mix walnuts and pecans. . .

1/3 C vegetable oil (you might try doing half olive oil if you like but I don't like canola)
1/3 C honey
1/3 C water

1 C dried fruit (I like craisins and golden raisins, or just raisins will do)

Stir dry ingredients until well mixed. Combine wet. Fold in the wet ingredients until combined. Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes. I don't stir until the last five or ten minutes so that it doesn't stick to the pan, but gets clumps of crunchy goodness. Let cool completely, add the dried fruit.

Y-U-M.

Roasted Vegetable & Orzo Salad

Vegetables:
4-6 smallish zucchini
yellow, red and orange peppers (1 of each)
1 red onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/3 C olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

chop vegetables, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a foil lined baking sheet and roast in oven at 425 for 40-50 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook orzo (1 lb.)

Toss cooked vegetables and orzo together with:

Dressing:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper

drizzle over salad and add:

1/2 c toasted pine nuts
8 oz. crumbled feta cheese
15 fresh basil leaves - chopped.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Dear Friends,

I'm sorry I haven't been a good recipe blogger.

Love,

Jayne

P.S. Katie is worse.

Peach and Brie Quesadillas with Lime-Honey Dipping Sauce

I've been so lazy lately. I haven't been to the grocery store for quite some time. We are living off meat from the freezer, garden produce, artisan dough, and gifts from our sweet neighbor--she has been bringing us a bag of Allred's peaches and a sack of corn each week. I love peach season. I was trying to think of all the things I used to do with peaches before I got so lazy, and this yummy lunch or appetizer came to mind (Jayne, you could still try it even if it contains cheese):

Peach and Brie Quesadillas with Lime-Honey Dipping Sauce

This intriguing appetizer is savory-sweet. Ripe—but firm—peaches work best; if they're too soft, they'll make the tortillas soggy. Placing the fillings on one side of the tortilla and folding the other half over (like a taco) makes the quesadillas easier to handle. Whole wheat tortillas would also be great, offering a sweet, nutty taste. The lime-honey dipping sauce balances the richness of the buttery filling.

Sauce:
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind

Quesadillas:
1 cup thinly sliced peeled firm ripe peaches (about 2 large)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 ounces Brie cheese, thinly sliced
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
Cooking spray
Chive strips (optional)

To prepare sauce, combine first 3 ingredients, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

To prepare quesadillas, combine peaches, 1 tablespoon chives, and sugar, tossing gently to coat. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange one-fourth of cheese and one-fourth of peach mixture over half of each tortilla; fold tortillas in half. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 2 quesadillas in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until tortillas are lightly browned and crisp. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into 3 wedges; serve with sauce. Garnish with chive strips, if desired.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 quesadilla wedges and about 1 teaspoon sauce)
CALORIES 157 (23% from fat); FAT 4g (sat 2.5g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.1g); IRON 0.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 30mg; CARBOHYDRATE 25.5g; SODIUM 316mg; PROTEIN 5.3g; FIBER 0.7g
Cooking Light, JUNE 2005

Zucchini Bread

Tis' the season. Today I went to my mom's, her house smelt so good, she was making Zucchini bread.

1 Cup vegetable oil

2 C. sugar

3 eggs

3 tea. vanilla

2 cups zucchini

3 C. flour

1 tea. soda

1 tea. salt

3 tea. cinnamon

1/4 tea. baking powder

*combine oil, sugar, eggs, beat well.

*Blend in vanilla and zucchini

*add all dry ingredients

Pour into 2 well greased and floured bread pans and bake for 1 hour @ 350.

Dear Jayne

We need your Tomato Soup recipe!

Love,

Lori

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

3/4 C. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 T. olive oil

2 chicken breasts cubed

Brown above ingredients in pan then add 3/4 C. wine and cook down. yes wine, (you could use apple juice our pineapple juice instead.)

Add 1 1/2 Lbs. cooked shrimp

In a sauce pan combine

3/4 C. chicken broth

1 1/2 C. whipping cream

2-3 t. flour

1 1/2 T. creole seasoning

3 T. tomato paste

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

Slightly cook

1 1/2 green pepper

1 1/2 red pepper

and during last minute add

1 Lb. sliced mushrooms

combine everything in sauce and serve over linguini.

Rotisserie Chicken enchiladas

2 (10 oz.) green enchilada sauce

1 1/4 cup fresh cilantro

3 cups rotisserie chicken

2 1/2 c. shredded mexican cheese blend

salt and pepper

12 corn tortillas

* center oven rack to middle and heat @ 400. Grease 9X13 baking dish. Puree enchilada sauce and 1 cup cilantro in blender.

* combine 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, chicken and 1 1/2 cup cheese in large bowl and mix. Spray tops lightly with cooking spray then top with additional 1 cup enchilada sauce and cheese.

*Bake 15-20 min.

I have yet to make these but they look pretty easy and sound good to me. ( by the way we are starving at our house, I need more ideas!!!)

Summer Pasta

Brown 3/4 Lb. Italian sausage with 3 cloves garlic

add 1/2 C. Chicken broth &

1 Lb. Broccoli

cover with lid and let broccoli steam a bit

Boil noodles separately (i used penne)

*toss everything in a large bowl and add 1/2 c. - 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese and toss some more.

Soft American-Style White Bread

This, for those who weren't at playgroup today, is following the same method from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. And for Lori, who I never offered a taste to. Sorry, Lori.

Makes three 1 1/2 pound loaves.
(I made a 2 pound loaf in a 9x5 loaf pan instead of the 9x4x3 they call for. It had to bake an extra 5 min)

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt (I've started only using 1 T in every kind of these breads)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (I used salted but since I cut back the salt it don't matter), melted, plus additional for brushing the top crust
7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Neutral-tasting oil or softened butter for greasing baking pan

1. Mix the same way as the boule dough (for anyone who wants more instruction, leave a comment) in your bucket.
2. Rise on counter, covered with lid, for approx. 2 hours, until dough rises and flattens on top.
3. Refrigerate for up to 7 days.
4. On baking day, cut off a 1 1/2 pound (cantaloupe size) piece (I weighed my whole bucket on my kitchen scale and cut off enough until it was -2 pounds from the bucket). Dust with flour, and shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Elongate the ball into an oval.
5. Drop the dough into the prepared pan. You want to fill the pan slightly more than half-full (I kind of squashed it flat so it would rise into the corners better b/c last time I used one of these doughs in a loaf pan it was huge in the middle, and not on the edges).
6. Let rest in pan for 1 hour and 40 min (or just 40 min if using fresh dough).
7. Dust the loaf with flour and slash the top, using the tip of a sharp knife. Brush the top surface with melted butter.
8. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350 F. If you are not using a stone in the oven, 5 min is adequate. A baking stone is not essential when using a loaf pan.
9. Bake the bread near the center of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
10. Allow to cool completely before slicing, or it will be nearly impossible to achieve reasonable sandwich slices.

found on page 204 of the book, but I didn't copy it exactly. Just so I am covered for not plagerizing for giving credit :)

Easiest Home Made Salsa Ever

Here is the recipe for the salsa that I brought a couple weeks ago, Casey had asked for the recipe, so I thought I would post it on here.

1/4 cup purple onion chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro slightly chopped
1 jalepeno cut-up
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tbls lemon juice
1 can fire roasted green chilis
1 can italian style diced tomatoes
2 cans ro-tel mild tomatoes (if you like it extra hot use 1 can "hot," 1 can "mild")

Put 1st 6 ingredients into blender, and blend until cilantro is chopped up good. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until you get the consistency you want. Makes a ton and lasts up to 2 weeks (well, we've eaten it at 2 weeks old and didn't get sick, so I figured it was good).

Caramel Popcorn

We eat this for dinner all the time! Enjoy.

1 cup corn syrup

2 cups brown sugar

1 cube butter

1 can sweet & condensed milk

1/2 bag marshmallows

*tons of popped popcorn (seriously like two big bowls)

melt in sauce pan on medium low stirring occasionally until marshmallows melt.

P.S. I am wanting to make a meal for my neighbor sometime soon. I need some suggestions, with recipes! Thanks!!!

Clafouti

I am tired. I have been planting all day. I don't feel like making much for dinner so we are having spaghetti...yes, with store-bought sauce. But, I did see one last container of raspberries and a container of whip cream in the fridge just begging for something to be done with them. So... what else to do but raspberry clafouti?

Like an oven-baked puff pancake, countrified clafoutis are easy to make. The batter is poured into a buttered dish, sprinkled with fruit, and baked. Although originally made with cherries--it comes from the Limousin region, the cherry area of France--many fruits can be used. The ones at the left are Raspberry and Kiwi Clafouti. Peach Clafouti is another fruit possibility. (I also like blueberry).

Raspberry Clafouti

Clafoutis puff while they are baking, then fall slightly when they come from the oven. If you can't wait for raspberry season, thaw loose-pack frozen raspberries and serve this at any time--

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmet
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
whipped cream

In a small mixer bowl beat eggs with electric mixer until foamy. Add milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt; beat with electric mixer on low speed till smooth. Pour batter into buttered 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate. If desired, reserve a few raspberries for garnish. Sprinkle remaining raspberries over batter.

Bake in 350 oven for 40-45 minutes or until knife inseted off center comes out clean. Let stand 15 minutes. Garnish with whipped cream and reserved raspberries. Makes 8 servings.

For peach, keep nutmeg, brush reserved slices with lemon juice, omit raspberries (obviously)

For kiwi, it says to omit nutmeg and use a little rum instead. Go figure!

This recipe is worth making. My favorite is raspberry, but peach, blueberry, and cherry make good clafouti's too. I imagine that apricots would be delicious too. I've never tried the kiwi.

Enchilada flavored Chicken wraps (I kind of made that up)

This is so awesome you guys!! Well, I'm no gourmet cook like the rest of you, but I thought I would post anyway since I know Jayne is totally not a gourmet cook (j/k jayne). I'm all about fast and easy, here is one of mine (and Jason's, who is a very picky eater) favorite recipe for shredded chicken you can do in taco's or wraps/tortillas.

2 chicken breasts
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can El Pato (on the mexican isle)
3/4 cup brown sugar
Rice & beans
Tortillas/taco shells

Boil chicken for 30 minutes on stove top, shred and place in crock-pot.
Stir in enchilada sauce, el pato and brown sugar, put on low for about 4 hours (shorter is fine too).
Serve with rice and beans (I have a rice cooker, so I stir a can of beans in with my rice at the end for about 5 minutes). We love the costco un-cooked tortillas, so we just pile the chicken, rice & beans in a tortilla.

Comfort Food

Lori came by my house last night and sampled a little of our dinner and felt it was worth a post. So here is the recipe for Lori and anyone else who is interested. It is a really easy dinner and perfect for a gloomy day, my mom used to cook this so I have eaten it as long as I can remember.

Chili Macaroni

12 oz - 1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, choppped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2-3 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Throw the first four ingredients into a saute pan and cook until the hamburger is brown, and the onions are soft. Drain the fat, stir in tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta and garnish with cheese or sour cream... unless you are Jayne, in which case just serve it over pasta.

Very easy and I don't know about you but these are ingredients I almost always have in my cupboards and freezer.

Y-U-M.

What we had for dinner tonight:

Kalbi
(Korean Barbecue)

Marinade:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of your knife
2 inches ginger, peeled and smashed with the side of you knife
3 green onions, sliced
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil

You can just do a rough chop on the garlic, ginger and onions since it is just a marinade and will be strained later.

1. Combine all ingredients in a large ziploc bag,
   
2. smoosh until well mixed,
   
3. add meat of your choice (At the barbecue before last - the one at Katie's house, I made beef short ribs with this marinade, but it goes well with other cuts of beef, chicken, white fish or tofu. This marinade is generally enough for 2 1/2 - 3 lbs of meat.)
4. marinate at least 3 hours.
5. throw on the grill or roast under the broiler or in a grill pan or however you want to cook your meat.
6. Serve with rice.

After removing the meat, pour the remaining marinade into a sauce pan and boil/simmer until it thickens up a bit, strain it through a fine mesh sieve and serve it with your dinner. Very easy. And since everyone seems to be ending their post this way: Y-U-M!

This is how we cook...

So simple, this is something I have made in the past that I thought would be a real easy idea for dinner to share... (maybe too simple?)

Taco Pizza

2 crescent roll packages  

(i lay them out flat on a pan to make a crust, then cook it for however long it says on the package)

After it is done cooking I put warm refried beans and meat seasoned with taco seasoning on top, cheese and what ever else sounds good

tomatoes 

avocado

lettuce 

onions

sour cream

salsa

This is so simple and maybe something new to try. OR you could just go to el azteca and order a tostada, and then you could get a churro. Y-U-M!!!

What Happened to Naked Nick, and Other Questions

Alright sisters, I'm looking for easy and yummy crockpot recipes.  

I am also wanting some new ideas for lunch.  I can't take any more pbjs.

You may find that I'm not as much of a contributer to this blog as I am a taker.  Please help.

However, today I will give ou one yummy crockpot chicken recipe:

Crockpot Chicken Fettucini

Chicken (We usually use two large breasts) 

1 Can diced tomatoes

1 Lg. clove garlic, minced

(combine these ingredients in crockpot.)

  About 1/2 hour before you serve, add:

 about 1 cup half and half (I've used milk before if I don't have it), 

a bunch of grated parmesan

1 egg yolk

frozen peas (optional) 

mushrooms (optional)

Separate chicken with a fork.  Serve over fettucini.  Y-U-M.  

Easy.

Herb-Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa

So, I thought I better apologize for being such a crumb towards my sister when she called while we were at playgroup. I didn't answer because I thought she would ask me to tend for a made-up reason.... but I was wrong. That was a different phone call of the day. (I will try really hard to have a good attitude about doing it, today and from now on. And I won't say anything else bad about my sister.) Anyway, the reason she was calling was actually to get this recipe. So I am sorry I was mean and jumped to conclusions. I was glad for the reminder of the existence of this recipe--I am always forgetting them. I love this salmon. We will be having it tomorrow for dinner. We buy salmon at Costco, because it just tastes good, but Albertsons is your next best bet in my book. If the piece is too large, we freeze half. Ok, on with the recipe.

Herb-Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa
from Cooking Light, May 1997 (I'd have linked it but it is too old, so it's not there anymore)

You can substitute 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper for the hot pepper oil.

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick) (I just use a big enough fillet for our little family)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon hot pepper oil (such as Crisco Savory Seasonings)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cooking Spray
Mango Salsa (recipe below)
4 cups hot cooked rice

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal; shake gently to coat. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes.

Remove salmon from bag. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Prepare grill or broiler. Place salmon on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 5 minutes on each side or until salmon is done. Serve with Mango Salsa and rice.

Note: Halibut or Tuna can be substituted for salmon.


Mango Salsa
This salsa is best when made ahead. The serrano chile adds just the right amount of warmth to offset the sweetness of the pineapple, banana, and mango.

1 cup cubed peeled ripe mango
1 cup sliced banana
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint (I've got lots in my garden if you need any)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 (8-ounce) can unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped (I would add only a little at a time, or leave it out altogether, creating it to the taste your kids will eat.)

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well; cover and refrigerate.

Yield: 2 2/3 cups (serving size 2/3 cup)

I don't feel like typing the nutrition info for either recipe. If for some reason anyone cares, I can add it. :)

WELCOME

Here is our blog. Here are the rules:

1. No typos. realy guys.
2. Only good recipes
3. Just kidding - post whatever you want