My Favorite Granola Recipe

Granola

I got this recipe from my sister years ago and have never tried another recipe since.  It makes a ton, but we go through it fast.

Erin's Granola

Ingredients

2/3 cup water
3 cups brown sugar

2 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional)

9 cups rolled oats (I don't like quick oats)
3 cups puffed rice cereal
2 tsp. salt
1 cup slivered almonds or sunflower seeds

You can also add additional things like dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut, or anything really!

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  First mix the oats, puffed rice, salt, and almonds or seeds in a giant bowl.  Set aside.

Stir the water and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Boil for two minutes stirring to dissolve the brown sugar.

Add the vegetable oil and chosen extracts.

Add this liquid to the dry ingredients in the bowl.  Stir and make sure to get the bottom mixed in.

Pour into two large cookie sheets like jelly roll pans.

Bake for an hour stirring throughout at least twice.

Once the granola is nice and crunchy pull out of the oven and cool on parchment or wax paper.  I just spread it out on my kitchen table.  Then I put it in a big container like an old ice cream bucket.

We eat it on yogurt, in milk like normal cereal, and plain.  My daughter likes to mix in things and call her creations "trail mix".

Chicken, Kale, Quinoa Soup

One day we had people coming over I had completely forgotten about.  It was a Sunday and I don't go to the store on Sunday so I had to come up with something I already had.  We had chicken, kale, carrots from our garden, and some home made chicken broth.  I looked around and found a recipe with a of the things I had and we created magic.

Chicken, Kale, Quinoa Soup

Adapted from here

1 chicken breast (cooked any way you want but shredded or cut up small)
4 carrots (diced)
1 medium chopped onion
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. crushed garlic
6 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup quinoa (uncooked and rinsed)
1 tsp. thyme
a bunch of kale cut up small (about a cup)

    First cook the chicken breast then shred it or cut it up small.  Then in a saucepan heat up a couple of tbsp of olive oil.  When hot, add carrots and onions.  Season with salt and pepper.  When they are almost done add the garlic and cook for one more minute.  Place all of this in a large pot.  Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, and quinoa.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes on medium or medium low.  Add the kale and the thyme and cook for 5 more minutes.  Add the chicken to the pot.  Discard the bay leaves or make it a game to find them.  We always thought we got a wish if we found one.

     We ate our soup with fresh, hot rolls.  I also think that Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top could be amazing.

Button Art

Had fun with the kids playing with buttons today.  

Mississippi Mud

Mississippi Mud

I made this for Family Home Evening tonight. Its one of my fall-back recipes when I can't think of anything to make. Its delicious and really bad for you. My husband likes to brag to people about how many cubes of butter are in them.


Mississippi Mud
(by my mom-Norma Jensen)

First, preheat oven to 350. Put two cubes of margarine or butter in 13x9-inch pan and put in oven for the margarine to melt while the oven preheats.

Meanwhile, mix 2 cups of sugar and 2 eggs.

Then add:
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour

Mixture should be pretty crumby.

When the margarine is melted, should take about five minutes, add 4 tbl. cocoa to the margarine. Mix until a chocolatey syrup in pan.  Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of the chocolate mixture.

Bake at 350 for 27 minutes.

Rasp. Cheese Danish

Rasp. Cheese Danish

Raspberry Cheese Danish
 I discovered this recipe a while back and its one of my husband's favorites.

It makes four loafs and it also freezes well so its easy to store. I recommend making the whole recipe and then freezing the leftovers.

Raspberry Cheese Loaves

Adapted from a Taste of Home magazine
What you need:

2 packages yeast (about 2 tbsp.)
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter or margarine cubed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour

For the filling:
One 8 oz. package of cream cheese and one 3 oz. package
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can (21 ounces) raspberry pie filling

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

I do the dough in the bread machines but you could use a mixer or do it by hand.

In a large bowl (or bread machine) dissolve yeast in warm water.

In a saucepan mix the sour cream and cubed butter over medium heat to about 110 degrees. I used my candy thermometer. Stir often or the entire time.

Add this to the yeast mixture. Then add sugar and eggs. Mix well. (If you are using the bread machine put it on the pizza dough setting and start mixing.)

Gradually add flour and mix well. Do not knead. (In the bread machine let it mix until dough becomes a well formed ball then stop and take it out.)

Cover and refrigerate overnight. I only put it in the fridge for four hours and it turned out fine.

For the filling: beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and extract until it is smooth.

Take the dough out and divide it into four equal sized balls. Roll onto a floured surface to make a 12x8 inch rectangle.

Spread a fourth of the cream cheese mixture into middle and then 1/4 of the pie filing on top of that.

 Fold over the edges.
Then fold it into thirds by folding over one flap.
 And then the next.
Pinch the seems together and flip over onto on a well-greased cookie sheet or a Silpat. Cut with scissors or a knife to make diagonal cuts into the loaf.
 Repeat three more times. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. I put mine in the oven without the heat on. Then bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Careful that you don't burn it. They seem to brown quickly.
 Then drizzle on the glaze while its still warm. Cool and refrigerate leftovers or freeze it in aluminum foil when completely cool. Enjoy!

 You can make 1 or two big Danish or lots of little ones.

Trifle

I made English Trifle for mutual tonight. We're having a cultural night and I'm doing mine on New Zealand. They eat a lot of old fashioned English stuff there. It is so good and so easy!

English Trifle

Here's how you do it. Bake a cake or use an old, stale cake. Its actually meant to use an old cake, but I usually just bake mine that day. Allow the cake to cool and then cut it into strips. Place those on the bottom of a dish. Make some vanilla pudding ahead of time and put a layer of that on top of the cake. The pudding re-hydrates the cake. That's why you can use a stale cake.

Then add some fruit. I used raspberries here, but you can use anything. Fresh is best but not vital. Use raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or bananas... Then whip some cream or use cool whip and put that on top of the fruit. You can then add another layer of cake and start all over again until you feel like stopping. I always finish with some whipped cream on top and then a few pieces of fruit.


Then you're supposed to put it in your fridge overnight to let the pudding sink in but I rarely do this. I sometimes make it just before serving it. If you are using fresh strawberries or bananas this is a must or they get brown and soggy.

Homemade Gummy Candies... the Bad Kind

We had a fun time making gummies together the other day.  Its hard to find a recipe that is not healthy so here you go... 

You need:

2 packets of unflavored gelatin

1 big box of jello (any flavor)

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup corn syrup

(We did two batches)

First stir the corn syrup into the cold water.  When it looks well blended like this:

add the two packets of gelatin and the box of jello.

Stir until clear like above, not below.

Cook on medium low for about 10 minutes.  If it still isn't as well blended as you would like then pour it into a tall heat proof cup and let sit.

Then spoon off the top layer.

Then pour into any molds you like.

Be careful not to over fill.  It takes a few hours to set up.

Then enjoy!