This was a recipe I found on Pinterest for Winter Granola. I changed the recipe up slightly, and voila! Fall Granola! :) You should try it. It's very good! And you can change it up to suite your tastes.
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups oats
1 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup pecans – coarsely chopped***
1/4 cup packed brown sugar or sucanat
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 Craisins (optional)***
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
***NOTES: Instead of pecans, I used peanuts, and I didn't chop them. And instead of craisins, I used dried mango, cut into small, bite sized pieces. I also added a few Halloween sprinkles (black spiders and orange and greens sprinkles). You could also substitute dried cherries, which I've used in homemade granola before, and they are very good. (Much prefered over raisins!)
Instructions:
1.In a large bowl combine oats, coconut and nuts.
2.In a saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, honey and cinnamon; bring to a boil.
3.Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4.Pour over oat mixture; stir to coat. Spread on a large shallow baking pan.
5.Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6.Cool completely. Add craisins*** (or mango, or cherries) and chocolate chips
BREAKFAST COOKIES......
Okay, I will be the FIRST to admit, that these breakfast cookies aren't all that tantalizing to look at. Not only that, but I can't STAND cranberries. But I will tell you, these things are DELICIOUS. And a bonus, they are nutritious too! BOTH of my picky sons (ages 16 and 7) like these! Have a hot cup of coffee ready when you take these out of the oven....they are GREAT with a cup of coffee. Enjoy!
Cranberry Breakfast Cookies
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. canola oil
3 eggs (or 6 egg whites)
1 c. chopped cranberries
3 tsp vanilla
2 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
1 c. bran flakes*
1/2 c. ground flax seed meal*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (or a little more if you like)
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 to 3/4 c. chopped almonds
Directions:
1. Combine sugar, oil & eggs in large bowl. Stir in cranberries and vanilla.
2. Add flours, bran flakes, baking soda, flax seed meal, and spices. Fold in almonds.
3. Drop by spoonful onto baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350* for 12-14 minutes.
*Bran flakes----I use bran flake cereal. Any kind is fine. Just make sure they are some what small. You could also substitute oat meal if you needed to.
*Flax seed meal.......you can substitute oat bran, or wheat germ if you don't have flax seed.
(Adapted from The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, by Tosca Reno)
====================================
More cookies, but these aren't for breakfast (or at least they probably shouldn't be....)
Here's what looks like a plain, ole cookie. But this is actually one of my all time favorite cookie recipes. (And I make incredible chocolate chip cookies, if I do say so myself! But I like these even more!) And I am not a "nut in a cookie" type of gal. But in this recipe, they're good. Something about the oats, along with the coconut and nuts, they're just really yummy!
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. crisco
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. sweetened, shredded coconut
1 c. chopped pecans (or almonds)
2 c. oatmeal
2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
1. Cream sugars & crisco. Add egg & vanilla.
2. Mix dry ingredients together, then add to the sugar mixture.
3. Stir in coconut, oats and pecans.
4. Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375* for 10-12 minutes.
The secret to soft, chewy cookies is to take them out early. Don't overcook these.
VARIATIONS: You could also add any one of the following and they'd be even better:
cranberries, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or substitute macadamia nuts for the pecans.
(Adapted from Ringing the Dinner Bell, by GreenBriar bed and breakfast)
==========================================================
Well, as much as I love to cook for my family, I'm surprised it hasn't occured to me to add recipes to my blog before now. But today, I made some homemade pizza crust, that just happens to be THE BEST homemade version I've come across yet, and I realized I just HAD to post it to my blog. It's SO good! And what's nice about it, you can make an extra large batch, roll it into whatever size round crust you want, and the freeze it between sheets of wax paper. Then whenever you get a craving for pizza, you can throw one together super fast.
Tonight, I made the crust, and then used it to make BBQ Chicken Calzones, which were a big hit with the whole family. First, I'll give you the pizza crust recipe, then the calzone recipe.
Now, I DID use a bread machine today, but I have made pizza crust plenty of times by just kneading it, covering it up to let it rise, and it did just fine. (The bread machine is fabulous though!)
Garlic Pizza Crust
===================
3 tsp yeast
4 c. white flour
4 TB whole wheat flour
3 TB sugar
1.5 tsp salt
2 TB minced garlic
13 oz water (luke warm)
2.5 TB olive oil
If using a bread machine, put all ingredients, in order, into machine. Choose dough cycle, 2 lb (loaf) and start machine. When done, take out onto a floured surface (you may need to add a little flour as you work with it) and shape into desired shape.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If not using a bread machine, mix ingredients, and knead well, usually about 8-10 minutes, in large bowl. Cover, set in a warm area, and let it rise for an hour. Punch down, cover, and let it rise again. Then take it out, and work with it on a floured surface and shape into desired shape.
If making pizza, top with desired toppings and Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes.
BBQ Chicken Calzones
====================
1 recipe pizza dough
2 c. cooked, chopped chicken
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. bbq sauce
1/2 c. ranch dressing
1/2 c. chopped bacon (I used the really good, authentic bacon bits)
3/4 c. shredded cheese
Directions: Preheat oven to 450*.
In a bowl, mix all ingredients. Roll out individual circles (whatever size you want to make) of the dough, then cover one half of the circle with the filling. Fold over other half, and using a fork, crimp the edges. Spray a pizza stone or cookie sheet with cooking spray, and place each calzone on. Make sure you pierce the tops of the calzones a few times with your fork so it won't burst while cooking. Spray the tops with a light shot of the cooking spray, and then bake for 10-12 minutes til golden brown. You can use extra bbq-ranch sauce for dipping.
***These freeze well. Let them cool after baking, and then wrap each one in wax paper, then with foil or saran wrap. Place into a freezer bag, and you'll have a nice meal individually wrapped for another time.
This recipe made 11 decent sized calzones for me tonight. Some were bigger than others, but overall, fairly large.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment