God's Granola

Here's the official recipe for the granola from WCC this year. I ate at least 2 bowl fulls at breakfast everyday and plan on making myself a batch or seven to get me out of the breakfast dullddrums.

God's Granola

(makes 5lbs. also, the kitchen used a convection oven so if you don't have one, you may have to adjust the heat (25 degrees higher) and cook for slightly longer)

2c canola oil
2c honey
2.5 lb rolled oats
3/4 lb walnuts, halved
1/4 lb coconut
1/4 lb sunflower seeds
1c sliced almonds
2t cinnamon
1/2T cloves
1/2t nutmeg
1/2T allspice

1. place oil and honey in a sauce pan, heat up until it starts to come to a boil
2. in a large bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix well
3. once oil/honey is heated up, add to dry mix and incorporate until all dry ingredients are well mixed (no dry spots)
4. spread evenly onto several sheet pans lined with parchment
5. bake at 275 degrees for 30-40min
6. allow to cool for a couple hours before storing


NOTE: I made this today. It ended up being 3 sheet pans full. I used the convection setting on my oven (for the first time) and it turned out great. I didn't have 2c of honey, so I used 1c honey and 1c maple syrup. It turned out AMAZING! When I store it, I'll probably mix in some raisens, craisens or other dried fruit.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce

Here's a pantry raid meal for you that tastes much more sophisticated than a typical semi-homemade dinner. I got it from www.ourbestbites.com a favorite recipe/craft site.

12 oz bag tortellini, prepared according to package (i didn't have dry tortellini on hand so i used
some frozen ravioli that i had)
4 oz bacon chopped up and cooked (i used leftover easter ham that i had, and just added a bit of oil for the next step since i didn't have the rendered grease)
3 cloves garlic, pressed
(2 Tbsp oil/butter/bacon fat)
2 Tbsp flour
2 C milk
salt
pepper
1 1/2 t dried basil (i used a cube of frozen chopped basil from trader joes)
red pepper flakes
1 lemon, zest & juice
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
3/4 C grated mozzarrella cheese, divided (i used 1 cup cheese total)
3/4 C grated parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown bacon to a crisp in a skillet. remove bacon and drain. Reserve 2 Tbsp bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest (or add 2T fat to pan at this point). Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant. Add flour and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with a whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to sa simmer

While sauce is heating, use a grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 t zest and 1 T juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in pot. Add bacon to pasta. Add spinach, 1/2 cup of each cheese. Add sauce and stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

Cover pan with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melty.

Enjoy!

Bacon Tomato Cups

These are what I made this morning for Easter Brunch. 

8 slices bacon, cooked crisply ( I used Kirkland bacon bits)
4 roma tomatoes
1/2 small onion
6 oz. shredded swiss/baby swiss cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, jack...whatever)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 can refrigerated Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (it will say Flaky Layers somewhere on the can)

Preheat oven to 375.  Coarsely chop the bacon, tomato (don't use the seeds) and onion and mix with all the other ingredients except the biscuits.  Set aside.  Pop open the can of biscuits and separate each of the 8 biscuits into 3 thinner biscuits.  (Some may be a little thinner or thicker than others but this is OK)  Use a non-stick mini muffin pan and lay each of the separated biscuits over the mini muffin cup and press down to shape.  Fill each one with the above mixture.  Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown.  Makes 24

Baked Oatmeal

I thought I should add something before the year is up. This is my new steal from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I think the main complaint against oatmeal is that it is too mushy.  This takes care of that problem.  It is more like a giant oatmeal cookie.

6 cups oatmeal, either quick or old-fashioned
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I think less could be used)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups milk
4 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with milk and/or fresh fruit.
The recipe can be easily halved and baked in an 8X8-inch pan.

Chicken Parmesan Subs

This one is for those ones of you who roast two chickens each week and are looking for new ways to use the leftovers. If you don't roast two chickens, that's okay, just cook any kind of chicken for this recipe!

Cheater Chicken Parmesan Open-faced Subs

2 c (? depending on how many servings you're making) cooked chicken: shredded or cubed
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 c or so of bread crumbs
shredded mozzarella cheese
sandwich rolls (or loaf of french bread)

simmer the chicken in the pasta sauce until heated through. stir in the bread crumbs and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens a little bit.

split open the sandwich rolls and spoon the chicken mixture onto each half of the rolls. sprinkle with shredded cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese melts and turns a little bit brown. serve open-faced and enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken

I made this meat for the 5 de Mayo lunch at work and it was a HUGE hit and super easy. I got it from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (the same place the pb recipes came from for that April birthday party)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Coat the inside of your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until chicken shreds very easily with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Chicken will absorb liquid after it is shredded.) Serve in tacos or however your little heart desires.

Since I had to bring it to work with me I was a little nervous, but it worked perfectly. My mom cooked it for me (just dumped the things in the crock pot) then put it in the fridge - pre-shredding. When I got to work I turned it on high for a little bit to warm it up then literally just wiggled a fork around in it and it fell into shred. Then I left it on warm for a few hours until we were ready to eat. All of the juice was completely absorbed (but it wasn't dry at all) and, for those of you with non-tomato eating families, you can't even tell there are tomatoes.

French Dip Sandwiches

Bryana turned me onto a meal planning website called E-Mealz.com that has super easy, family friendly recipes and corresponding shopping lists. They even have specialized meals based on different grocery store sales (not Safeway yet) and meals based on diet points, etc. Although I haven't yet signed up for the service, they allow you to print 3 sample menus from each category- I think there are like 8 or 10 categories! The first meal that I tried was from the "Any Store" menu and it was these delicious French Dip Sandwiches....

1.5lb chuck roast
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can beef broth ( i only had chicken broth so i used that instead)
1 loaf french bread ( i had french sandwich rolls on hand)
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Combine beef broth and onion soup mix in crock pot. Add roast. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove meat to slice or shred. Slice bread in half lengthwise and add beef (and shredded cheese if you want*). Slice. Serve with bowls of au jus for dipping.

* if you choose to add cheese, wrap the sandwiches in foil and heat @ 375 for 25 min to melt everything together.

Now really, wasn't that the easiest recipe ever!