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

Greek Pasta Salad

My mom has made this salad on several occasions and I LOVE it! She actually found it in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Now is the season for yummy salads!!

Prep time: 40 minutes Chill: at least 2 hours
Ingredients:
12 oz. dried mostaccioli or penne (about 4 cups uncooked)
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
4 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tblsps snipped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil, crushed
2 tblsps snipped fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tblsp anchovy paste (optional)
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (4 oz.)
Fresh oregano leaves

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water; drain again.
In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, and olives
In a screw-top jar combine the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, the 2 tblsps oregano, anchovy paste (if using), garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and shake well. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss to coat.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, add feta cheese; toss. Sprinkle fresh oregano leaves.

Makes 12-16 side-dish servings

Caribbean Chicken Skewers

So, I made this recipe up after my fabulous meal on the movie set I was on. I have only made it once, but it turned out wonderful. I probably should try to make it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke, but I'll post it anyway. As a warning I didn't really measure anything, so here are the approximations of what I did.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into big cubes)
(Marinade ingredients)
2 ataulfo mangoes (otherwise known as Manila mangoes...the yellow ones) mashed
3-4 tblsps of pineapple apricot preserves (you can find it at Walmart)
2-3 teaspoons of minced garlic
1/4 of a lemon (juiced)
2-3 splashes of soy sauce
1-2 splashes of olive oil
2 dashes of red pepper flakes
about 5 parsley leaves, chopped
1 sprig of rosemary (leaves chopped)

Mix the marinade ingredients together well. If its too thick, add a little more soy sauce and oil. If its too thin, add a little more of the preserves and/or another mango.

Season the chicken with some salt and pepper. Put into a gallon zip lock bag. Pour the marinade in and seal the bag. Work everything in together. Put it into the refridgerator and let marinade for at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, you can chop up some vegetables to add to the skewers. I found the best combination is red bell pepper, red onion, and pineapple.

Once the chicken is done marinading, alternate the chicken onto the skewers with the vegetables and pineapple. Pour the remaining marinade over the skewered chicken and vegetables.

Note: I cut up a fresh pineapple to use on the skewers but canned will work too. With a fresh pineapple I did about 2 pieces per skewer and I still had plenty leftover to double the recipe if you want. The pattern that I did was 1 piece of pineapple, 1 piece of chicken, 2 pieces of onion, 2 pieces of chicken, 2 pieces of red bell pepper, 2 pieces of chicken, 2 pieces of onion, 1 piece of chicken, and 1 piece of pineapple. It grilled up nicely together and the flavor was delicious! Enjoy!

Maybe I'm going a little crazy with this blogging thing! :)

Claire and I were talking about recipes today... and I thought wouldn't it be fun to have a blog where we were all "owners" and could all write on it and share good recipes or fun kitchen tips and ideas. This way we will all be able to share and we'll all end up with a plethora of dinner ideas ALL the time! :) Just thought it might be fun...

To get the ball rolling I'll post one that has become one of our favorites. My boss gave me this recipe and I fell instantly in love with it. Just emailed it to Claire today! :)


Mexican Lasagna

1 lb. ground turkey (not lean)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 large bell pepper (chopped)
1-2 tbsp. crushed garlic
olive oil

1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can Mexican-style diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato soup

1 bag of Kraft shredded Mexican cheeses (4 cheese blend)
4 large tortillas

Use a very large skillet. Cover the bottom with olive oil. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Then add the meat until it browns.

Next add the taco seasoning mix, then the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and tortillas. Let simmer about 15 minutes.

Now layer a 9x13 or 10x14 glass pan with first a layer of the sauce, then two of the tortillas, then sauce, then cheese, then the other two tortillas, then sauce, then cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

**Note: I use ground beef and it's just as tasty! Hope you guys like this one!