Granola

I love granola. I haven't made it in a long time, but now that I'm trying to figure out more ways to eat healthier and more local, I thought it would be a great addition into our household. This granola would make awesome cereal or sprinkled in yogurt. I have to dig out my all time favorite granola recipe since this batch of granola will be disappearing quickly! I used quick cooking oats since that's what I had in the pantry, but the original recipe calls for old-fashioned oats. You can also change up the dried fruit. Most premade granolas call for apricots and since I don't like them, I just added more cranberries.

5 cups oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried banana slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, sunflower kernels and flax. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil and cinnamon. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes or until brown sugar is dissolved and mixture is heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and toss to coat.

Transfer to a large jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 8 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cooled, stir in the dried fruits. Store in an airtight container to keep fresh. Enjoy! :)

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine

Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice

We love ordering shrimp fried rice when we order take out from our favorite Chinese restaurant. I wanted to make it healthier since I know how salty and bad for you fried rice can be. This was a fairly quick and easy recipe and would be good for a weeknight when you're pulled every which way.

2 eggs
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp canola oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cooked instant brown rice
1 can (20 oz) unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1 lb cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup edamame, thawed
3 green onions, sliced
3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add eggs; cook and stir until set. Remove from skillet and keep warm in a small bowl.

In the same skillet, saute onion in the oil until tender. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Stir in the rice, pineapple, shrimp, edamame, and green onions. Heat throughly.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil and pepper. Stir into the rice mixture and add eggs.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Magazine

Summer Squash & Corn Chowder

I'm not ready to leave summer behind but I'm so in the mood for some comfort food! I had originally planned to make this meatless, but decided to throw a little bacon top for some crunch. My husband and I liked it, but no luck with my daughter. I guess she's allowed to be picky every once in a while.

3/4 cup sliced green onions, divided
1/4 chopped celery
1 lb yellow summer squash, chopped
1 lb frozen white and yellow corn kernals, thawed and divided
2 1/4 cups low-fat milk, divided
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices of bacon, crumbled

In a large dutch oven, heat 2 tsp of olive oil. Add 1/2 cup onions, celery and squash and saute 8 minutes or until vegetable are tender over medium-high heat.

Reserve 1 cup of corn and set aside. In a blender, add the remaining corn and 1 cup of milk; process until smooth. Add the remaining milk, thyme, salt and pepper to blender and combine until smooth. Add the pureed mixture and reserved corn kernals to pot.

Reduce heat to medium and cook 5-7 minutes or until throughly heated, stirring constantly. Season with additional salt and pepper.

Ladle chowder into bowls and topped with crumbled bacon, cheese and remaining green onions.

Recipe adapted from August 2010 Cooking Light Magazine

Makeover Apple Bread

I am so ready for this summer to be over just because of the heat and humidity we’ve had to deal with. It’s been extremely hot in PA this year and everything and everyone is over summer! I’m ready for fall and to kick things off, I decided to make apple bread. I still want to tweak this recipe to make it a little cleaner and use different flours, but for now it’s really good. I’m expecting to get home from work this week and the entire top of my bread is going to be cut off and eaten by my husband. It really good and I wouldn’t blame him for doing it, but he’d still be in the doghouse!


3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups diced, peeled Granny Smith apples


Topping:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1/3 cup cold butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 x 4 in loaf pans.


In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the apples. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar and walnuts. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.


Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 30 minutes before removing bread from pans to finish cooling on wire racks.


Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Magazine

Two Bean Veggie Pizza

Now that my business trip and vacation are over, it's time to get back into a routine - meal planning, meatless mondays and working out! It all started yesterday. I took a me day, spent some time at the gym and watched a movie snuggling with my dog. I've been looking for new recipes to try for meatless Mondays since my last one was a disaster. Eggplant and I are never going to be friends.

This was so easy to make and so delicious. I'm eating leftovers for lunch as I type.

1 medium onion, sliced

2 tsp canola oil

1/2 can of canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 can of canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup salsa

1 Tbsp hickory smoke-flavored barbecue sauce

1 small garlic clove, peeled and halved

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp pepper

dash of hot sauce

1 prebaked 12-in thin pizza crust

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

8-10 grape tomatoes, diced

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a small nonstick skillet, cook onion in oil over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until onion is golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the beans, salsa, barbecue sauce, garlic, cumin, pepper and black pepper. Cover and process until pureed.

Place crust on a baking sheet, spread with bean mixture. Top with caramelized onions, corn, tomatoes and cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Recipe adapated from Taste of Home Magazine

Lemon Butter Cookies

I've been experimenting with different recipes using lemon and this is another keeper. It's a little different than the other lemon cookies I make, but they're just as good. They have a light butter lemon taste. My husband says they taste like shortbread cookies, but they're super soft!

1 cup butter, softened
1½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together with electric mixer, butter and powdered sugar. Then, add egg and lemon juice, beat until fluffy. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and lemon zest and beat at low speed until well combined.

Use a medium cookie scoop or a tablespoon full rounded into balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are starting to brown on the edges. Cool on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes, and then move to wire rack to finish cooling.

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Bruschetta

Tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes - enough said!

2.5 cups Tomato, Diced (about 4-5 Medium Sized Tomatoes)
2 Tbsp Fresh Basil, Chopped
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vingear
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper
Extra Salt And Pepper, To Taste

In a medium sized bowl, add the diced tomatoes and basil, along with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients together well. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve right away, or cover and refrigerate until needed.

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen