My Easy Granola

This is my recipe for basic granola.

It has none of the things I dislike in granola. 

It only has the ingredients I like; 

Oatmeal, Nuts, Honey, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Oil

 Mix it up in a bowl.

 Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake
until golden and dry to the touch, stirring once.

 Let cool. Break it up and store in an airtight container.

It's nice and crunchy.

Enjoy for breakfast or grab a handful for a snack.

Here you can add what you like;

 sliced bananas, raisins, dried fruit, etc.

Jar some up and give as a gift too.

 My Granola

3C oatmeal

1 C sliced almonds

1 C chopped pecans

1/2 C vegetable/canola oil

1/4 C honey

1/4 C packed light brown sugar

1t cinnamon

1t vanilla extract

Combine in a large bowl. Spread on baking sheet.

Bake @300 for 35-45 minutes, until golden and dry,
 stirring once. Let cool and break apart.

Store in an airtight container.

(You can use any 2 C combination of add-ins,
like the almonds, pecans, or pistachios,
walnuts, dried cranberries, raisins, etc.) 

Enjoy!

Links: Dittle Dattle, Designs By Gollum,
Funky Junk

Read More

SUPER EASY CHERRY STRUDEL

This strudel is made with Pepperidge Farm Puff Pasty (from the freezer section) and it couldn't be easier. It slices beautifully and it is delicious served warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it is also excellent at room temperature. It is a huge hit at our house!!

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (thawed)
(1) 14½ oz. can red tart pie cherries packed in water
¾ cup granulated sugar (divided)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon corn starch
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Drain the cherries (but save the juice).  Mix ½ cup of the juice from the cherries, with half of the sugar and all of the cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

Cook (constantly stirring) the juice mixture on medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes or until it gets ULTRA thick.  Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the sugar, the drained cherries and almond extract. Mix well and lay some plastic wrap on the surface of the hot mixture and chill for an hour (or until really cold).

CRUST
You can either let one sheet of puff pastry (a box comes with 2 sheets) thaw in the refrigerator overnight (thats the best) or you can speed thaw on the kitchen counter (I wrap it in plastic wrap) for about an hour. The box says 40 minutes, but it really is a lot easier to work with if you let it sit for an hour.

Dust your counter with a little flour and roll out the dough to a 12" x 16" rectangle.  Spread the cherry filling on one half (keep it about an inch away from the sides) like this:

Starting with the fruit end, just roll it up and crimp the ends.  Lay it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or spray with vegetable spray). and brush it all over with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water). Sprinkle generously with granulated sugar and then cut a few slash marks across the top of the strudel (for venting) but don't cut too deep.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.  Makes one 12" strudel. Enjoy!!

NOTE: For those who aren't familiar with it, Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry is found in the freezer section of your grocery store, near the Cool Whip etc., it comes in a 17.3 ounce package that contains 2 sheets.

Read More

Tilapia Meuniere

I love Sole Meuniere. 

It was one of my first French dinners at a wonderful restaurant in Chicago.

It's such a simple recipe that I have adapted it to use with tilapia.

Meuniere basically means dredged in flour and sauteed in butter with lemon and parsley.
It's very basic, quick and easy.
It's my favorite way to cook fish.

Start with fresh tilapia filets. One per person.
Season each side with salt and pepper.

Flour, butter, fresh parsley are all you need.
No exact measuring.

 Dredge the filets in about 1/3 C flour, or
shake in a bag. Shake off excess flour.

 Heat a large skillet over medium high and add the butter,
 about 1 T per filet. Let the butter melt and get bubbly hot.

 Add the fish and saute until golden one one side,
about 2 minutes.

 Carefully turn and cook another
2 minutes until golden.

 Remove the filets to plates and
keep warm in a 200 oven.

 Add the remaining butter to the skillet,
another 1 T per filet.
Let it melt and turn golden while stirring.
Watch carefully and do not let the butter burn.

Remove the pan from the heat and add
 the lemon juice, about 1/2 large lemon squeezed
or 2-3 T juice.

Whisk the sauce to combine well,
 them pour this sauce over the fish and
sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

 I like to serve this with fresh steamed
green beans and gold potatoes.

The lemon butter sauce enhances the vegetables.

Tilapia Meuniere
4 tilapia filets
salt & pepper
1/4-1/2 C flour
1/2 C butter (1 stick)
3 T lemon juice
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Season the fish with salt and pepper. 

Dredge in flour, shaking off excess.

Saute in half the melted hot butter 

until golden on both sides-about 5 minutes.

Remove to plate and keep warm in a 200 oven.

Add the remaining butter to the skillet, 

whisking until melted and golden.

Remove the pan from the heat and

 whisk in the lemon juice.

Pour the butter sauce over the fish

 and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Bon Appetit!

 Sole Meuniere is the first dish Julia Child had for lunch in France. That is when she fell in love with French cooking. I remember the scene in the movie. She wrote about that experience in her book My Life In France.

It arrived whole: a large, flat Dover sole that was perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley on top. The waiter carefully placed the platter in front of us, stepped back, and said: “Bon appètit!

I closed my eyes and inhaled the rising perfume. Then I lifted a forkful of fish to my mouth, took a bite, and chewed slowly. The flesh of the sole was delicate, with a light but distinct taste of the ocean that blended marvelously with the browned butter. I chewed slowly and swallowed. It was a morsel of perfection.

I'll have what she's having!

Links:Somewhat Simple, Lady Behind The Curtain,
Stone Gable

Click HERE to see another favorite tilapia recipe.

Read More

CROCKPOT LASAGNA

SERIOUS COMFORT FOOD

I guess this isn't technically lasagna, since it is cooked in the crock pot and uses rigatoni noodles, but it qualifies as serious comfort food and has all of the rich, familiar lasagna flavors.

1½ pounds lean ground beef (browned & drained well)
4 cups of beef broth (not bullion)
(1) 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
(1) 12 ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoons dry basil
½ teaspoon fennel seed (don't leave out)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons sugar (don't leave out)
½ teaspoon black pepper
small pinch of red chili flakes (optional)
¾ pound of rigatoni noodles
½ pound of mushrooms (thick sliced)
2 to 3 cups Colby jack cheese shredded
1 cup of ricotta cheese

Brown the ground beef and drain it very well. In a large crock pot (see note below), Mix the beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion and spices. Use a whisk to mix the sauce together well, then stir in the meat and mushrooms. Cook on high for 4 hours (see note). Stir once in a while during the 4 hours if possible (but not absolutely necessary.

After 4 hours, Stir in the DRY unboiled rigatoni, make sure you push them under the sauce (add a little extra hot water if necessary). Add the ricotta to the crock pot by spooning tablespoons of it in random spots and gently push down on the ricotta to submerge it as well (don't stir).

Continue to cook on low for 30 more minutes. Sprinkle the surface with shredded Colby jack cheese and put the lid back on for about 5 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted. Serve.

NOTE: My crock pot is a large oval and wide slow cooker, which works well for this recipe, as opposed to a small/tall one.  The main cooking time is 4 hours on high, but if you are going to be away from the house all day, just turn it down to LOW and cook for 8 hours before you add the noodles. If you are using one of those smaller/taller slow cookers, you may have to adjust the cooking time a little.

NOTE: My crock pot has a "low" setting, a "high" setting and a "warm" setting. Once this recipe is completely done (and ready to eat) you can leave it on "warm" for quite a while. Warning, "low" is not the same as "warm".

NOTE: Noodles tends to fall apart if you leave them in the crock pot for much more than 30 minutes, so don't be tempted to add them early. Thirty minutes is perfect.

NOTE: This recipe uses rigatoni noodles, which are large diameter tubular noodles that have ridges on them. However, any kind of thick walled (sturdy) noodle will work for this recipe. Just make sure you do NOT BOIL THEM before you add them to the sauce. They cook in the sauce and soak up all of that extra liquid. Regular elbow noodles work well if you are serving this to a crowd of kids.

NOTE: I like dehydrated onion in this recipe, but if you don't have that, just saute a small chopped onion along with the ground beef.

NOTE: You can use your favorite cheese. We happen to like Colby jack cheese, but mozzarella works well too.

NOTE: This reheats very well.

Read More

BUTTERSCOTCH CHEESECAKE FOR TWO

This recipe makes the perfect amount for two perfect size desserts. It is smooth, creamy, rich and it has a serious butterscotch flavor. I will definitely be making this one often.

PREPARE PAN:  Preheat your oven to 325F. Line a mini-loaf pan (6" x 3" x2") with foil and spray with cooking spray. Leave the ends of the foil long enough that you can grab onto them. You will be using these "foil handles" to lift the chilled cheesecake out of the pan for easier serving.

CRUST
½ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoons butter (melted)

Mix all and pat into the bottom of a prepared  mini-loaf pan.

CHEESECAKE
½ cup butterscotch chips
4 ounces of cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon rum extract
1 egg (room temperature)

Melt the butterscotch chips and (using an electric mixer) beat them into the room temperature cream cheese until well mixed and smooth. Beat in the brown sugar and extracts until well mixed. Beat in the room temperature egg.

Pour over crumb crust.  Set the mini-loaf pan inside of a larger baking dish (I use a 9" cake pan). Put boiling hot water in the BIGGER pan (water should come about half way up the side of the mini-loaf pan).

Place in preheated 325F oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (my oven took 35 minutes). You will know the cheesecake is done when you tap the loaf pan and the cheesecake just jiggles a little bit.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes, then put it in the fridge for a few hours.

To serve, grab the ends of the foil  and lift it out of the loaf pan. Peel the foil back and cut in half.

Read More

Chocolate Meringue Pie

You can make this pie in about 10 minutes.

It's a basic custard recipe that I got from Marty.

It can be made into coconut cream or banana cream or

my favorite...chocolate.

 I still had a pie shell stored in the freezer. That's a good head start.

 Whenever I make pie crust, I always make two. 

I freeze one ready for whenever I need a pie fast.

Pecan pie, lemon, chocolate or even quiche can be made quickly.

 Gather basic ingredients.

 Dock (prick the bottom with a fork) the pie crust.

and pre-bake at 400 for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.

 Bring the filling ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly.

 Add the chocolate and boil, stirring for one minute 

until the chocolate is well blended.

 Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.

 Whist the egg whites with 1/3 C sugar.

 Whisk until glossy and stiff peaks form.

 Pour filling into crust.

 Top with meringue.

 Spread to the edge of the crust and swirl the top.

 Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Until golden.

 Let cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate.

 Serve chilled.

Serves 8

Chocolate Meringue Pie

9" pie shell

Dock the bottom of the pie shell. Pre-bake

at 400 for about 10 minutes until li

ghtly golden.

Meanwhile make the filling:

1 C sugar

1/2 C flour

3 egg yolks

3 C milk

Combine in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over med-hi heat

stirring constantly until thick. 

2 squared baking chocolate

Add the chocolate and boil one minute whisking until well blended.

remove from heat and whisk in

1 t vanilla extract

For the meringue

3 egg whites

1/3 C sugar

Beat with a mixer until glossy and stiff.

Fill the pie shell with the filling. Top with the meringue.

 Bake ate 350 for about 10 minutes, until golden.

Let cool on a wire rack then refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Links: Remodelaholic, Funky Junk

Read More

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins-Make Your Own Mix

You can have these warm freshly-baked muffins anytime.

They are so easy and quick to make once you have a few jars of
my muffin mix in your pantry.

I fill saved (Classico) Mason jars with my own
Cinnamon Pecan Muffin Mix.

Just fill the jars with flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
Shake to combine.

Layer the chopped pecans on top.

Use a saucer to cut a circle from a brown paper bag.
Write the directions in the center.

Tie with a bow or string.
A few for you and a few gifts.
 This is a great gift for your friends that don't bake and
 still have baking powder bought during  the Clinton administration.

To mix; beat the egg, milk and oil.

Add the jar ingredients and stir until moistened.

Spoon into sprayed muffin tins half full.

Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm with butter.

These freeze well.

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

1-1/2 C flour

1/2 C sugar

2 t baking powder

1 t cinnamon

pinch salt

Fill jar with ingredients. Put on lid and shake to combine.

1/2 C chopped pecans

Add to top of mixture in jar. Screw on lid

Directions

Whisk together in a large bowl;

1 egg

1/2 C milk

1/4 C vegetable oil

Add the mix from the jar and stir just until combined.

Spray muffin cups and fill 1/2 full.
(Half fill any remaining cups with water)

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until golden.
Makes about 9 muffins.

Enjoy!

also featured on my blog MAY DAYS
Links: Designs By Gollum, Ekats Kitchen

Read More