Granola

I love making homemade Granola because I can add whatever dried fruits and nuts/seeds that I want. So while this is just the base recipe, you can add lots too it!

10 cups of rolled oats

1 cup wheat germ

2/3 cup dry milk

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups honey or brown sugar (or a combination of the 2)

1 tbs vanilla

1 large can frozen apple juice (15oz)

Mix it all together. Put in a baking pan and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Stir. Lower heat to 300 and bake for another 20 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool and eat!

Grilled Chx & Angele Hair Pasta

Had this for lunch/dinner today... SOOO TASTY! And relatively easy... mostly just prep work! This is tailored for just 2 people... but we have PLENTY of leftovers!

Grilled Chicken and Angel Hair Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes
Marinade time: 30 minutes to 2 hours

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon ginger, minced
6 ounces angel hair pasta
1/2 red bell pepper , cored, seeded and diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper , cored, seeded and diced
1/8 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 green onion , chopped

[1] Place the chicken in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and ginger. Pour about 1⁄4-cup of the mixture over chicken, reserving the rest in the bowl. Refrigerate the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

[2] Heat the grill to medium heat.

[3] Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard. Grill the chicken for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked through, turning once. Remove to a cutting board and when cool, cut into 1-inch slices

[4] Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salt water, cook the pasta until cooked but still firm to the bite, about 4-6 minutes. Drain the pasta and run cold water over it, drain again.

[5] In a large bowl, combine the pasta, reserved lime juice mixture, chicken, bell peppers, parsley, and crushed red pepper flakes; mix to coat. Sprinkle with green onions as a garnish to serve.

***Note: I didn't think 1/4 of the mixture was enough to go over the breasts for a marinade, so I used all of the sauce and then made the batch again for the "dressing".

I served it with "English Muffin Garlic Toast". English muffins with butter, garlic salt and mozzarella cheese... broil til brown and bubbly. Jeremy kept calling it pizza... I kept correcting him... I don't know why I try! ;) In any case, we both loved them!

Ultra Healthy Mexican Chili

So Ben and I are revamping our diets. Going semi vegitarian (think just eating less meat, not no meat), and just going for better natural (non-processed) foods even more than we already do. I found this one and its great!

• ½ medium sized onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ red pepper, chopped
• ¼ yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 small can pureed tomatoes
• ½ zucchini, chopped
• ¼ pound ground turkey breast (omit if vegetarian)
• ¼ cup canned red pinto beans

1. Sauté onions over medium/high heat in nonstick pan with nonstick spray and add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, minced garlic, red pepper, yellow pepper (one color is fine)
2. When vegetables are soft, add pureed tomatoes (can says tomato sauce but the only ingredients are unseasoned pureed tomatoes).
3. Add zucchini.
4. When vegetables are cooked, add either ground turkey breast (cooked) and red pinto beans. For vegetarian version, skip the turkey. It is even delicious without the red beans!
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

COOKIE SALAD... now that's MY kind of salad!

Okay... so this weekend, Julia, Mary Ann and I were introduced to a tasty little dish called "Cookie Salad"... It was AWESOME!!! We've all decided that the next time we get asked to bring a salad to something this is what we're making!

FUDGE STRIPED COOKIE SALAD

1 c. buttermilk
3 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
8 oz. carton Cool Whip
15 oz. can mandarin oranges (drained)
2 sections fudge striped cookies (crushed) (about 10-14 cookies)

Mix together pudding and buttermilk. Fold in Cool Whip, oranges and one section of crushed fudge stripe cookies. Sprinkle remaining crushed cookies on top of salad.

***A note of caution - Kristi, Jeremy's cousin who made this dish, reiterated the importance of MAKING the pudding before putting it in... I repeat... don't just dump the package in.... MAKE the pudding*** :)

***And another note... I would not recommend adding the cookies until just before serving... if not they get a little soggy***

***And one more note - In looking for the recipe online I found a few variations I thought I'd mention... One added pineapple in addition to the mandarin oranges... One used chopped Twix bars instead of the cookies...YUMMY!!!!***

Beef Stroganoff

This is in no way healthy. But it sure is tasty and very easy!

Beef Stroganoff

1lb ground beef or beef chunks
1 onion, cut up
1 pkg mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom
1 c sour cream
1/2 c milk
1 pkg onion and mushroom soup mix
Garlic, salt and pepper to taste
Pasta

Cook pasta as directed. Cook beef and onion. Add mushrooms. Cook until tender. In separate bowl combine cream of mushroom, sour cream, and soup mix. Add the milk. Add more if the soup is still goopy. The milk makes it nice and creamy. it should be the consistancy of yogurt. Add soup mixture to the beef. Stir and heat until just bubbling. Add salt, pepper and garlic to taste. Serve over pasta! YUM!

Brazilian Lemonade

Great for a hot summer's day.

Ingredients:
4 juicy limes (washed with soap thoroughly. choose ones with a thinner, smooth skin.), cut ends off and cut into 8ths
6 cups of cold water
1 cup of sugar
6 tblsps of sweetened condensed milk

Mix the cold water and the sugar together well and put into the refrigerator to chill until ready to use.
Place half the limes into the blender along with half the sugar water mixture. Cover and pulse 5 times.
Place a fine mesh strainer over the serving pitcher and pour the contents of the blender in. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp out. Repeat the process with the other half of limes and sugar water.
Add the sweetened condensed milk to the pitcher and mix well.
Test taste it. If its too bitter (tends to happen if you use thick skinned limes), add more sugar or sweetened condensed milk.
Serve immediately over ice. It doesn't keep well, so be sure to drink it all within 24 hours.

Serves 4...but I say it only serves two. If you are serving more than two guests, I recommend doubling the recipe, at least. It's good. Be prepared to pee once every hour.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This was the best way I could sneak vegetables into food so that all three of my boys would eat them.

Ingredients:
6 strips of bacon, chopped
1 chicken breast
2 cans of chicken broth
1 large onion, diced
2 heads of broccoli
2 carrots
4 cups of milk
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp pepper
1 cup grated swiss cheese
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Season chicken breast with salt and pepper. Cook. Then dice.
Cook the bacon. Then chop.
Steam broccoli. Afterwards, cut half into chunks and finely chop the other half.
Simmer the chicken broth and onion for 15-20 minutes.
Warm up the milk for about 3 minutes in the microwave.
Melt the butter in a large pot. Add flour and pepper and whisk together.
Whisk in the warm milk, slowly.
Let simmer for a few minutes until thickened.
Add chicken broth and onion mixture. Let it simmer
Add broccoli, carrots, diced chicken, bacon, and the cheeses.
Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

Serves 8