Golden Granola

 

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There are a few foods for which everyone claims to have the "absolute best" recipe.  Homemade salads, guacamole, quesadillas, and oatmeal cookies are a few.  Any search for those recipes will turn up results such as: "world's best," "best EVER," "downright best."  Well, when looking at homemade granola recipes, I ran into dozens of recipes claiming to be "the world's best" and they are all comprised of about the same ingredients in different proportions.

At long last, I just went with a recipe and now I'm sticking to it (I'll adapt it each time I make it and hopefully like all the variations equally well).  I'm not claiming this is the best recipe on earth, but I will claim that hubby and I really like it.  Our preferred way of consuming aforementioned delight is as a cereal with bananas and milk and/or with blueberries.  But it also goes wonderfully just straight and dry as a snack, on yogurt, or on ice cream.

 Golden Granola
Adapted from: Abigale Detweiler

• 4 c. oatmeal (uncooked)
• 1 c. coarsely chopped nuts
• 1 c. coconut
• 1/2 cup wheat bran (optional, it adds fiber)
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/4 c. melted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. raisins

 Combine all ingredients except raisins in a bowl and mix well. Spread evenly on an ungreased large rimmed cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven (350°) 15 minutes, stir, and bake 10 minutes more. Stir in raisins, cool thoroughly, and store in a tightly covered container in a cool dry place.

What are you cooking?

TT~slow cooker jambalaya~

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes   
1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
2 cups cooked rice In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.
Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Stir in the thawed shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

 Do yourself a favor and visit Jennifer (Hope Studios) to see more tutorials, and maybe even share yours~

Comfort Foods - Chicken Soup 2 Ways

We've had a little cold running through our family this week, and nothing says comfort food more to me than chicken soup - especially when I'm a little sick. Today I'm going to share two chicken soup recipes. The first is my favorite one to make lately and is modified from a recipe I had found in Cooking Light. For the second recipe, I am grateful for this contribution from Kimi Harris, author of The Nourishing Gourmet. Thank you Kimi ~ I can't wait to try this one. I have a weakness for anything with turkey in it!


Chicken Orzo Soup

6 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 cup uncooked orzo

2 Tbs olive oil

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 to 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups water

6 fresh parsley sprigs

2 fresh thyme sprigs

8 cups fresh baby spinach (about half a bag of baby spinach salad mix)

juice of 1 lemon

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

• ·      Cook orzo according to package directions.
• ·      Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
• ·      Add carrot, celery, onion, and chicken. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• ·      Stir in broth, water, parsley, and thyme.
• ·      Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• ·      Discard herb sprigs.
• ·      Add cooked orzo, spinach, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• ·      Simmer for 1 more minute.

Serves 8.

 

Note: I use the 32-oz boxes of chicken broth. I store the remainder in the fridge and add it to any leftover soup when I reheat it since the orzo absorbs a lot of the liquid in the soup.

Chicken Noodle soup, with Ground Turkey “Sausage” 
by Kimi Harris 

3 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
2 celery sticks, sliced thinly
1 onion, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of brown rice noodles, spiral, or other favorite shape
A handful of minced parsley, minced
Salt and pepper
Turkey sausage
1/2 pound of ground turkey (I use dark ground turkey meat)
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of garlic or one clove
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of thyme or sage
freshly ground pepper
1-Heat oil in pot over medium high heat. When hot, add chopped veggies, stirring frequently. Cook until vegetables are soft
2 -Add broth and bring to a boil. Add noodles, return to a boil, lower heat and let simmer until noodles are soft (check package for time allotment).

Meanwhile prepare turkey sausage:
3-In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the turkey with seasoning until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, drain off any fat, and add to soup when the noodles are done.
4-Add some minced parsley and cook for a few minutes. Check the taste. If using homemade broth, salt and pepper liberally to taste.
Serve with a green salad with Everyday Dressing and Millet Biscuits and you have a complete meal!

SWEET THAI FRIED RICE

Servings: 4-6

2-3 medium carrots
1 green bell pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups broccoli
20 ounces canned pineapple chunks
2-3 stalks celery
2 cups long grain brown rice
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 large onion

Begin by putting the rice on to cook, either in a pan or rice cooker.

Cut carrots in half, then cut into matchstick pieces, about 2 inches long and ¼ to 1/8 inch thick. Cut bell peppers into ½ inch squares. Chop onion into ¼ inch pieces. Slice celery lengthwise, then into 1/8 inch thick slices. Chop broccoli into bite sized pieces, like mini trees. Set all the vegetables aside in one bowl.

Drain the pineapple and reserve the liquid.

Combine ¼ cup of the reserved pineapple juice with the soy sauce and the vegetable broth. Set aside.

When the rice is within 5-10 minutes of finishing cooking, preheat a large sauté pan or wok until very hot. Add the liquid mixture (it should instantly steam and boil). Pour all of the vegetables into the pan and sauté on high, stirring frequently. When onion starts to become clear and less pungent, the vegetables are done. Add the hot cooked rice to the vegetables and mix well. Stir in the drained pineapple chunks. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for about 5-10 minutes, adding a bit more soy sauce and/or pineapple juice to taste as desired. Serve hot from the pan.

Hints: The rice should be hot when added to the pan, so it needs to cook while you are preparing the vegetables. Tamari may be used in place of the soy sauce. Mushroom broth or water may be used instead of the vegetable broth. The vegetables need to be cut into pieces that will all cook in about the same amount of time, since they are all added to the pan at once. You may want to experiment with your own best sized pieces to use in this dish.

Apple Pie w/o the Oven

I have been reading a stockpile about raw food and a lot of Raw Food books.  Saw some pie recipes and was intrigued.  Since it is Winter and I love apples I decided to try a Raw apple pie.  And I am gleefully surprised. 

Apple Raspberry Pie Recipe ( raw)
Crust:2 cups pecans
1 cup walnuts
¾ cup pitted and packed, medjool dates
1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients until they become crumbly. Press half of the mixture into a 9” pie plate.
Filling:2 cups raspberries
6 medium sized apples, separated
½ cup pitted and packed, medjool dates
¼ cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1. Sprinkle the raspberries over the pie crust.2. Peel and core all apples.
3. In a food processor, puree 2 of the apples, and remaining ingredients, until smooth. Pour this mixture into a bowl.
4. Chop the other 4 apples into large chunks and then process into small chunks in a food processor, making sure NOT to puree it into applesauce! Add to the puree.
5. Spread this filling into the pie crust.
6. Top with the remaining pie crust, sprinkling it over the tip like crumble.

Random thoughts-
*******Is a Raw Food Cookbook a "cookbook?"*****