Almond Granola

Before we get started, let me remind you that granola is not diet food. It is not low in calories, and it's really not all that low in fat, even though the fats in this recipe are good fats. I will probably play with and tweak a granola recipe to get something that somewhat lower-calorie than this one, but I was craving granola with almonds and coconut. That's about half the calories of this recipe in just those two items! That having been said, don't pig out on this stuff.

Because I like to sprinkle granola in my yogurt I didn't make this with any dried fruit, such as raisins. However, if I'm having a bowl of granola with milk on it, I do like to add 1-2 tablespoons of dried cranberries or raisins for flavor and that extra little something that fruit adds to a good bowl of granola.


Almond Granola
(305 calories per 3/4 c. serving. Recipe makes 6 cups/8 servings.)

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 c. wheat germ or milled flax seed
1 c. flaked coconut
1/4 c. canola or olive oil
1/4 c. honey
1 Tbsp molasses

Combine oatmeal, almonds, wheat germ/flax seed, and coconut in a large bowl. Mix well.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine honey, oil, and molasses. Mix as much as possible.

Drizzle about half of the oil mixture on top of the oatmeal mixture and mix until you've coated as much of the oatmeal as possible. Drizzle the rest and repeat. By the time you've got it all drizzled on and mixed, all of the oatmeal mixture should have a light coating of the oil mixture.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread the uncooked granola on the sheet as evenly as possible.

Bake in a preheated oven at 250 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven and let cool. Store at room temperature in a sealed plastic container.

Hey, Good Lookin'... Whatcha Been Cookin'?

Many things, but not all of them edible. Tomorrow I return to posting about food and all things yummy, but today I just have to tell you what I did with my weekend. A month ago we bought a new house. It was built in the 1960's and the couple who originally owned it had passed away. Another young couple owned it for the past year but never got it updated the way they wanted to. When we bought the house, the main bathroom needed a serious makeover - it even had brown carpet. So on a whim I bought an inexpensive vanity top and matching vanity and proceeded to rip out the old stuff, including the wallpaper.

This what I started with (sans the carpet):

I spent a day working on the bathroom before we moved in, and only got as far as stripping the wallpaper (kind of), priming, painting, removing molding, and taking up the floor. Someone else was going to do the vanity for us and teach The Honey how to lay tile. As my sister-in-law pointed out, it's good that I'm not afraid of color, but it's bad that I don't know how to use it. (I can't be good at everything, right?)

So in case you were blinded by my first attempt and are wondering what in the world this has to do with my weekend... I will tell you.

In the four weeks that we have lived here, we have not yet had the bathroom done. We did eventually have a vanity installed that we could use, but no floor, no trim, and nothing livable. And the vanity has had its own problems. This of course has made it hard for me to focus on anything much. Cooking, decorating, normal daily life, exercise, etc. So I called my sister-in-law this past Monday to decide how to fix this situation, and what do you think happened? My brother and sister-in-law came up from Louisiana with their family to save us. They got here on Friday evening - 2 adults, 3 kids, and 1 dog. It was chaotic, noisy, and the dogs dug up my back yard (bad doggies!), but by the time they left this morning, we had this:

As you can see it's not quite done yet. I'm still painting some trim and have to put up the mirror and such, but it is beautiful and relaxing and now goes with the rest of my house. Just what a bathroom should be! It's amazing how good I feel having it almost done. And to celebrate? I'm making almond granola! Stay tuned for the recipe...

Fun Fridays: Sausage Dip

If I could only but take a picture that could truly show just how good this stuff tastes... of course, I'd need a much better camera to start with. Maybe Christmas?

In the meantime, the credit for this recipe I think goes to my cousin, Bonnie, who lives in Virginia Beach. My family moved to South Carolina from upstate NY when I was ten. Since we still had a lot of family still in New York, every summer we would drive to NY and back, visiting family and friends all along the way - including my uncle's family in Virginia Beach. One particular summer, some of us stayed with my cousin, Bonnie. She made us stuffed shells and this sausage dip. I've had the recipe ever since. And boy is it F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. It's also E-A-S-Y. My other favorite word.

A word of caution: when I make this for a large group, I buy the mild sausage and mild Rotel tomatoes. I've made this using the can of original flavor Rotel tomatoes, and it's a wee bit too spicy for me, but then I'm a baby when it comes to spicy things. You make it the way you want it based on how you like your spicy.


Sausage Dip

1 lb. ground sausage
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese OR neufchatel cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes

Corn chips (i.e. Tostitos) for dipping





In a large pan, brown ground sausage.




While cooking, be sure to crumble meat as much as possible so the sausage can be spread evenly throughout the dip. Drain ground sausage. (I also like to rinse with hot water to get as much extra grease off as possible.


While the sausage is still hot, mix together in a bowl with softened cream cheese. This makes it so much easier to blend well because the heat from the sausage melts the cream cheese and makes it easier to stir.


Once the cream cheese and sausage are mixed, dump the whole can of Rotel tomatoes in - juice and all. Mix well.



If not serving right away, refrigerate until ready to serve. To soften the dip a little prior to serving, microwave for about 30 -60 seconds and stir well. Serve with corn chips.

Cinnamon Biscuits

My kids have been begging for my cinnamon rolls lately. Unfortunately, since we've moved I haven't had the focus or foresight to make my usual fare since it requires making yeast bread. So a couple of nights ago I finally broke down and decided to make breakfast for dinner with a side of no-yeast cinnamon rolls. I found a recipe online that I could use as a starting point. After making it, I realized that most no-rise cinnamon rolls recipes are really nothing more than cinnamon biscuits. I can live with that, but they won't replace my yeast cinnamon rolls any time soon. Here's the recipe with my changes.


Cinnamon Biscuits
(I didn't count the calories on this one, folks. In situations like these, I just know they are going to be high so I make a point of not eating too many!)

Dough
3 c. flour (white, wheat, or a mixture)
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 1/4 c. milk

Filling
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Icing
2 c. powdered sugar
Milk



In a large mixing bowl, combine flour (I used 2 c. wheat, 1 c. white), baking soda, salt, and soda. Cut butter into cubes and add to bowl.






Using your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.





Add milk and stir as much as you can with a spoon.






Dump mixture out on a floured surface and knead it together until completely combined.





Roll out dough into a large rectangle. If sides are too rounded, fold them in to make a straight edge and roll flat again.




When you've got a large rectangle (about 10x16 inches), melt your butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.




Spread melted butter out on the dough, and sprinkle with cinnamon mixture, getting as close to the edges as you can.



Roll the dough into a tube for slicing. Using a ruler, score the top of the roll at inch-intervals so you know where to slice. Then, taking a piece of thin string or dental floss, cut off the cinnamon biscuits by wrapping the string around the tube and pulling it tight.



Place cinnamon biscuits on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.






Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. While baking, prepare your icing by placing the powdered sugar in a bowl and adding milk, a tablespoon at a time, until icing has reached desired consistency. Ice cinnamon biscuits while still warm.

Freezing Fresh Veggies

This picture may not look like anything to be proud of, but in a sad, sorry little way, I am! So what are they? Well, the bag on the left is some broccoli and the the bag on the right is a pepper and onion mix I froze a few weeks ago. I've also done carrots and green beans. Is it hard? Nope! Does it take long? Would I be so gung-ho about it if it did? Of course not!

I have only recently tried my hand at freezing and it's so easy I can't believe I didn't begin it years ago. There are two benefits to freezing veggies like this. First, it keeps fresh veggies from being wasted when we just don't get an opportunity to cook them for dinner as planned. Second, it makes food prep time that much quicker and easier. Your veggies have already been washed and cut, and because they've been blanched they don't take as long to cook. And if you are freezing the vegetables that you don't want to waste, then you are saving money as well by not having to buy frozen veggies as the store.

So what is "blanching" anyway? It's what you do to prepare your veggies for freezing. It's basically a 2-step process of boiling your veggies for about 2-3 minutes, then dousing them in ice-cold water for an equal amount of time. What's the big deal about blanching?

When you blanch vegetables, you accomplish 2 things. First, It makes the vegetable look pretty. It brightens the colors and makes them look appetizing - just like when you're steaming them for dinner. For example, this first picture is the raw carrot before blanching.
This second picture is after blanching. See the difference?

The second and more important reason we want to blanch veggies before freezing is that it helps destroy the enzymes that cause the vegetables to rot, therefore helping them to stay fresher longer. This is a good thing.

So, let's get started. First you need to wash and trim your vegetables. As you can see, I was doing green beans.

Next, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the vegetable to the water all at once and start the timer immediately. Green beans and broccoli only need to be boiled for 3 minutes. Diced carrots and peppers were 2 minutes.

Many general cookbooks (such as the Better Homes and Gardens) have a more thorough list of blanching times if you are going to try different vegetables.

While the veggies are boiling, prepare your ice water. Put a cup or two of ice cubes in a large mixing bowl and add water until it is about half full. Set aside.

As soon as the timer goes off, drain the vegetables in a colander in the sink.
Then dump the veggies into the ice water and set the timer for the same amount of time you had the veggies in the boiling water. This stops the cooking process.

Drain the veggies again, then spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in freezer for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the exterior of the vegetables is frozen.

Once the vegetables are frozen enough that they are no longer wet, use a spatula to loosen them from the cookie sheet and divide into freezer bags. This will yield a loose-pack frozen vegetable similar to what you buy in the freezer section at your grocery store. You can prepare them the same way.

Quick and Easy Chicken Fajitas

I realized the other day that I have not yet talked about one of my favorite dinners to make of all time: chicken fajitas. It's one of my favorites because it is easy, yummy, healthy, and it is a crowd-pleaser with the natives. All except The Monkey, who is pickiest of all. And even she likes it when I make fajitas because she gets a cheese quesadilla with her chicken and peppers on the side. See? Everyone is happy. Especially mom.

I didn't realize I hadn't posted this recipe until I was partway into cooking dinner last night, so I don't have any lovely pictures of slicing the chicken and letting it marinate, but I'm sure you can figure out that part on your own. In fact, I didn't have to slice the chicken last night, because I had sliced it into fajita strips and froze it in a quart-sized freezer bag about 2 weeks ago. (I told you I love to make this - I wasn't kidding. It's a staple around here!) And then, there I was... didn't get home until 5:30, had things to do before I could start dinner, and a husband who was working late and couldn't help with dinner or the kids. So what did I do? I thawed the chicken in the microwave, dumped in the seasoning, oil, and water, and did my stuff that had to be done before dinner. Then, 15 minutes later I started cooking up a storm and taking pictures!

Chicken Fajitas
(Makes 4 adult servings, about 160 calories each for the filling only. Extra calories are added depending on how you serve this - tortillas, cheese, sour cream, etc.)

For the record, I eat one adult serving at a meal. My husband eats 2. If you have a large family, you may want to increase the recipe size.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 package Great Value Fajita Seasoning
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. water
2 bell peppers, any color
1 small onion

Slice chicken and place in a large ziplock bag. Add 1/2 package of the Great Value Brand (this is Wal-Mart, people!) of Fajita Seasoning. I know this is the off brand. I have tried the "on" brands. I like this one best, and lucky for me it's also one the cheapest. Lucky me! After adding the fajita seasoning, add oil and water. Massage bag gently to evenly distribute the seasoning mixture around the chicken. Let sit at least 15 minutes if you have the time! If you don't have the time, it's not the end of the world. Just slice your peppers and onion and move on.

While the chicken is marinating, slice the peppers and onion. If you really don't like onion you can leave it out, but Horsie Lovers gobbles this down, onion and all and doesn't even notice. The easiest way to slice peppers for fajitas is to slice the pepper in half lengthwise.

Using your knife, cut the seeded area out of each pepper half and discard.

Then slice your peppers into strips.

When you're ready to begin cooking, dump the entire contents of the bag into a preheated pan on the stove. Over medium heat, cook chicken until a little over half done. You should only see small patches of pink on the outside.

Add your sliced peppers and onion and continue cooking.

Cook until the chicken is done and juices have mostly cooked out of the pan. The peppers should not be limp, but should be crisp-tender.

Serve as desired. We usually eat ours on tortillas with cheese and salsa.

Fun Fridays: Shish-Ka-Bobs

Grilling is one of those things we talk about a lot in the summer, but my favorite time to grill is in the fall. Who wants to stand around a hot grill on a hot summer day? Not me. One of our favorite things off the grill is chicken & veggie shish-ka-bobs. One of the amazing things about this recipe is that almost everyone in my family will eat the zucchini and yellow squash when it's grilled like this. Not bad for a group of squash-haters. And for the kids, it's fun to be able to eat dinner off a stick, right?

One more thing I need to mention before we get started. I chose to make my own light dressing, which comes out to about 25 calories per tablespoon. This is typical of most light Italian-type dressings. If I can find it, my favorite to use with this recipe is the Ken's Light Caesar dressing (not the creamy Caesar!). However, you can also use light Italian, Sun-Dried Tomato or any other vinagrette-type dressing and get similar results and calorie content.

So, on to the recipe!


Chicken & Veggie Shish-ka-bobs
(Makes 4 adult servings, about 220 calories each)

Marinade:
1 recipe Good Seasons Italian dressing, prepared with less oil (instructions on back)
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Dash Worcestershire sauce

Chicken & Veggies
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 zucchini or yellow squash
2 bell peppers
8 oz. fresh, whole mushrooms


Prepare marinade and set aside.

Dice chicken into large chunks. (Tip: Cut your chicken when it's half-frozen - it's so much easier!)





Place chicken in a quart-sized bag. Pour 1/2 cup marinade over top and seal the bag. Then shake gently to make sure marinade is distributed evenly around the chicken.



Assemble your veggies and slice into chunks large enough to go onto a skewer.




























Place all veggies in a gallon-sized bag and pour remaining dressing over the top (about 3/4 cup). Seal bag and shake gently to evenly distribute the marinade around the veggies. Place the bag of chicken and the bag of veggies into the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours. I suggest putting them on a plate or in a bowl in case you have a leaky bag. It's happened to me before, and it's NOT fun to clean up!

Okay, so we're fast-forwarding to dinner time and you're ready to assemble these babies. If using wood skewers, it's a good idea to soak your skewers in water for about 20-30 minutes before assembling the shish-ka-bobs. They won't blacken quite as badly on the grill. Dump your chicken and veggies into a bowl together.


Assemble the shish-ka-bobs by putting the chicken and veggies in alternating order on the skewers. You can do this in any way you'd like, but I highly recommend putting a piece of chicken on each end. Veggies tend to soften and will fall off throughout cooking, but the chicken will shrink a little and keep everything on the skewer where it is supposed to be.

Finally, grill your shish-ka-bobs unto the chicken is no longer pink in the center, turning at least once during cooking. The time will vary based on your grill, but it took me about 15-20 minutes on my gas grill.