I was telling a friend of mine that I had wanted to find a granola recipe that I could do regularly as it’s so expensive in the store. And I really don’t want all the nuts and fruits that go with it. I’d rather put what I want with it.

So today when I went grocery shopping I purchased the ingredients I didn’t have specifically honey, cinnamon and vanilla. (I also picked up flour which I ran out of the last time I made pizza which was probably a month a go lol.)

I have a few things that I need to change with but I think it’s a working recipe.

Recipe

Preheat the oven at 325 degrees.
Combine 2 cups rolled oats, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl.
Combine 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1/4 cup hone, 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk until blended well.
Pour dry mixture over wet and mix well. Using your hands to mix if necessary.
Pour mixture on to a baking sheet (I used a cooking spray on the pan before hand.)
Bake for 10 miniutes and flip.
Bake for an additional 5 miniutes and flip.
Bake for an additional 10 minutes. (This is where I went wrong, I think this is too long for this recipe with out any nuts in it the granola got a bit too dark for my taste. So I would watch it from the 5 miniute flip and you may not even need it.)
Cool and store in air tight container.

After I took it out of the oven I added some additional honey as it wasn’t sticking together like I wanted. I didn’t want loose oats, I wanted more clumps. I put the mixture in a bowl and put it in the freeze. That was probably a mistake as it solidified pretty quickly. But knowing it was the honey that was making things stick together I filled a bowl with hot water and put the bowl with the granola in it to melt the honey a little on the sides so I could get it out of the bowl.

I then crumbled the granola onto the baking sheet and used my meat mallet to break it up a little more. I probably did it a bit too much as it’s a bit too loose, but it isn’t as bad as it was before.

I then put three heaping tablespoons into snack sized Ziploc bags. It yielded 11 servings at about 136 Calories.

Even though it’s a bit burnt it’s still good. I’m happy with the recipe and will try again when this batch is gone for a less time.

One of Shea’s favorite caffeinated drinks is an ice coffee with an extra shot of espresso. $8 for an iced coffee? Um, yeah, we don’t get them that often and we are always saying we should find a way to make it at home. Well I did some research.

We had our first homemade iced coffee last night.

Shea’s had a stomach bug for two days and yesterday I started his coffee as usual, but he decided he still wasn’t feeling well, so the coffee sat in the pot the remainder of the morning and well into the afternoon. So I decided I’d ask if Shea wanted to try one while I had some coffee, that was just going to go to waste if I didn’t find a use for it.

So the following recipe was what I used:

Regular Strength Iced Coffee

1c regularly brewed coffee
2c 2% milk
6T sugar
1T vanilla creamer
3c ice

Mix it all in a blender and let it whirl till ice is crushed well.

You’ll never get the ice as fine as you can in the coffee shop but it’s all good.

Today I bought a gourmet dark roast coffee and some sugar free (only one they had) vanilla syrup. So when I get a chance I’ll be making the following recipe.

Double Strength Iced Coffee

.5 c double strength coffee (2X what you’d normally brew)
2.5 c 2% milk
6T sugar
1T vanilla syrup
3c ice

Mix it all in a blender and let it whirl till ice is crushed well.

I will probably go light on the sugar and test the vanilla at first but this is the basis of it. I’ll post that final recipe once I get it down.

I was thinking of trying a chocolate syrup iced coffee sometime too (as I still have some left over regular strength coffee in the fridge).

I read alot of blogs. A new blog called The Hedonist Cook wrote an article called Why American Cheese is Evil. Basically it’s an article about her preference for cheese and the conversion of her friend to see the her point behind the cheese issue.
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My Mom sent me two different types of bran when I couldn’t find any here – wheat bran and oat bran. I’ve used most of the wheat bran up in my last blueberry muffins.

Today I think I will try this receipe for Oat Bran Blueberry Muffins. It doesn’t look nearly as good as the other ones, but then again I don’t have all those ingredients either, so we will try this one:
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INGREDIENTS

* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
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I’ve got three low cal recipes to try, now just to do some pricing on these things so I don’t blow my budget.

Shrimp Tamale Casserole

Shea loves tamale’s we’ve never had good luck with them. THIS we might have luck with. I am going to definitely try this one but instead with a chicken “chili” filling and probably throw some corn in for added veggies. And maybe have a pico de galo topping for me, Shea won’t eat it but I love it. It’s kinda similar to my Mexican casserole so it might do real well or it might bomb lol. It’s 273 caloriess per serving so not too bad.

Quick Shrimp Enchilada bake

I have a low cal enchillada recipe, I’ll have to pull it out again and combare what the calorie intake is compared to this. I can probably throw some corn into this as well, but probably won’t. Why ruin a good thing with that kind of experiment.

Sausage Gumbo

Gumbo what more can I say, we’ve been looking for a good recipe that is easy to make, so why not try this one. I’ll attempt to try the okra in it, but we’ll see how things go. It’s not much different form Shea’s grandmother’s recipe, but the portions are much more reasonable for me lol. So I will definitely be trying this out too.

So two definite and one possibility but it’s also an old recipe so we’ll see.

Well our Turkey Dinner went over well, not as well as it could have. My turkey wasn’t completely thawed out so I had to do the water method before throwing it in the oven. I couldn’t find the potato peeler so my mashed potatoes had the skins in there too. I food process them so it’s not such a big deal just something I don’t care for.

The girls must not have been hungry cause they didn’t touch their corn. I bought six ears just for them.

The yeast rolls were eh. They were edible, but they were flat, more like biscuits. They rose nicely the first time, maybe it’s cause I spaced them too far apart they rose out instead of up, dunno. It was also kinda damp outside so I’m sure that didn’t help. A do again but have to see about doing something different.

The pecan pie on the other hand was a major hit! The only thing Shea said could be better was the nuts a little softer, not sure what I can do about that but he loves it so it’s all good. Nothing to change, I can make one more pie with the stuff I bought, so we’ll try again to make sure it’s “perfection” lol.

Whole Wheat Pizza dough

NGREDIENTS

* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

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DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 1/2 cups wheat bran
* 1 cup nonfat milk
* 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
* 1 egg
* 2/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup blueberries

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What to Drink?
Hot Non-Alcoholic Coffee
DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or use paper muffin liners. Mix together wheat bran and milk, and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in bran mixture. Sift together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into bran mixture until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Scoop into muffin cups.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped.

I’ll let ya know how they turn out next week. I need to buy ingredients.