Granola

This is a really addictive and delicious granola recipe we got from Cook's Illustrated. We made it before bed and it made the house smell amazing. There are a lot of really great variations too (we first made the pecan-orange with dried cranberries). This tastes great with just plain milk, almond milk or icecream.  One batch makes about 9 cups. Sorry there's no picture.

1/3 c maple syrup
1/3 c packed light brown sugar
4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c vegetable oil (I used coconut oil and olive oil)
5 c old-fashioned rolled oats (do not use instant)
2 c raw almonds, chopped course
2 c raisins or other dried fruit, chopped

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Fold in oats and almonds until thoroughly coated.

3. Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread across sheet into thin, even layer. Press oat mixture down with spatula until compact. Bake until lightly browned 40 - 45 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through baking. Remove granola from oven and cool on wire rack at room temperature about 1 hour. Break cooled granola pieces into desired size. Stir in dried fruit. Can be stored for up to two weeks.

Pecan-Orange with Dried Cranberries
Add 2 T of finely grated orange zest and 2.5 tsp ground cinnamon to maple syrup mixture in step 2. Substitute pecans for almonds (I did one cup of each). After baked granola is cool, add 2 c dried cranberries.

Spiced Walnut with Dried Apple
Add 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1.5 tsp ground ginger, 3/4 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 freshly grated nutmeg and 1/2 tsp black pepper to maple syrup mixture in step 2. Substitute coarsely chopped walnuts for almonds. After granola is broken into pieces, stir in 2 c chopped dried apples.

Tropical Granola with Dried Mango
Reduce vanilla extract to 2 tsp and add 1.5 tsp ground gingern ad 2/4 tsp grated nutmeg to maple syrup mixture in step 2. Substitutue coarsely chopped macadamias for almonds and 1.5 cups unsweetened coconut for 1c oats. After granola is broken into pieces, stir in 2 c chopped dried mango or pineapple.

Breakfast Sandwiches Paul Style

Ok, so these things are freaking good, however, i don't know if any of you are daring enough to eat them. I hope you are, because they'll change your life. I made them up, so that should make you want to try them...

Ingredients:

English McMuffin
Egg
Sausage (if you want)
Pancake batter
Cheese (if you want)
Syrup

Procedure:

Fry egg to your liking.
fry sausage to your liking (the size of the english mcmuffin)
now here's the cool part....dip mcmuffin into pancake batter (with added syrup so it's a little sweet), then put it on the skillet until it looks exactly like the picture.
Pile it all up so it's a breakfast sandwich.

Eat it, and become a champion.

Zucchini bread

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.

One suggestion that was in the comments was to substitute applesauce for half of the oil...which I was planning on doing but totally forgot. Still delicious though! :)

Best Poor Man's Meal

This meal is without a doubt one of my favorites....but I will probably say that about each of the recipes I post on here. This is delicious Shepherds Pie. It is a nice easy meal that just gets thrown together. This is a recipe from our Enumclaw Tri-Ward cookbook by Carla Jarman.

Shepherd's Pie
1lb. ground beef
1/4 C onions, chopped
1/4 C celery, chopped
1 C cream of mushroom soup
1-2 C green beans
cheddar cheese, slice or grated
2 C mashed potatoes

I don't ever add in the celery, onions, or cheese. You cook the meat and boil the potatoes. Mash the potatoes and season with anything of your choice. I typically do butter, a little sour cream, a little cream cheese and garlic salt and pepper. Layer the in the following order: meat, green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and then mashed potatoes. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and cook the pan uncovered.

I know those directions were not the clearest but the meal is easy enough and I'm sure most everyone has made it anyway. I just LOVE it so much.

Peanut Butter Cookies

SO GOOD. If you like peanut butter and soft cookies, this is the recipe to use! 

(this is a picture from the blog i got the recipe from)

1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped (any kind, but Maria used Caramel Kisses and Hugs)


Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Combine ingredients. Roll into 1" balls, roll balls in sugar. Bake on cookie sheet for about 10-12 minutes. Top with chocolate Kiss immediately upon removal from oven

Thai Lettuce Wraps

For the first post in this blog, I'll put down what we had this afternoon for lunch. The lettuce wraps that Caitlyn makes are one of my favorite dishes of hers. They have a little Thai kick to them, being flavored with peanut sauce and also a little hoisin sauce. She simply sautéed the squash and zucchini, added the sauce, and then we stuff it all into lettuce. We added some crushed peanuts, i put on some coconut, and we ate the little guys. Try it...you won't be disappointed.

Bean Brownies - sounds disgusting but its good

 


Amazing Brownies - taken from 101cookbooks.com (the picture is hers too but since this is a private blog I thought it would be okay to repost it)

Our can of black beans only equaled 1.5 cups - so I made a smaller batch of this and put it in a 11x9 pan. I'll put those measurements in parenthesis on the side. We kept these in the refrigerator and they never really cut into neat squares but they are very dense and fudge-like.

4 (3) ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 (3/4) cup unsalted butter
2 (1.5) cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (hs: canned is fine)
1 (3/4) cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 (3) large eggs
1½ (1 cup plus a little) cups light agave nectar (can use honey)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan (hs note: or jellyroll pan) with parchment paper and lightly oil with canola oil spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. (I just melted them together over the stove on low heat). Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute (we used Pero), and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well.

Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares. (They will be soft until refrigerated.)
Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.