Spiced Orange Granola

I absolutely love granola. I eat it for breakfast with almond milk, on top of Greek yogurt with honey and blueberries for lunch, and even dry as a quick snack (not all in one day, mind you!). Bagged granola can be yummy, but nothing, absolutely nothing, beats homemade granola. It takes minimal time and very little effort to throw a batch of granola together.

I make my own granola all the time without a recipe - it's really hard to mess it up - oats, nuts, seeds, oil, honey....it always seems to come together. But I was inspired by a recipe I saw on the blog Cookie & Kate to add orange zest to my usual batch. I also added cloves because well, oranges and cloves are always a good idea. The addition of the orange rind was so delicious I had to share it with you. This, of course, required me actually making a recipe for you - but really, I just eyeball it when I'm making this - so don't get too worried about exact amounts.

**One thing I am particular about when it comes to granola is NOT cooking the raisins and Craisins in the oven along with the rest of the ingredients - this will turn your dried fruits into super hard, chewy pellets that will really give your jaw a workout and who wants that!!? I like my dried fruits super soft....and for this reason I always soak them in hot water for ten minutes before incorporating them (I do this for cookies, in salads, etc....always soak your dried fruits in hot water before adding them to any dish - it will plump them up and take away that hard fruit texture).  So place them in a dish, add hot water, let soak for about 10 minutes and then drain completely.

I hope you enjoy this granola recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbl orange zest (about two oranges)
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (you can sub brown or white)
• 5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups of seeds and/or nuts (I use 1/2 cup each of the following - sunflower, pepitas, sliced almonds, chopped walnuts. Use any combo you like)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground cloves (depending on your taste for cloves)
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 Tbl vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds, optional
• 3/4 cup raisins, soaked and drained** (see note above about soaking)
• 3/4 cup Craisins, soaked and drained**

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil if you do not have parchment.
3. In a small bowl, combine the orange zest and coconut sugar. This is the tip I got from the blog Cookie & Kate - while you are stirring the zest and the sugar together press the orange into the sugar with the back of a spoon until you can smell the orange. This will ensure the granola is infused with that lovely orange flavor.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and seeds & nuts of your choice.
5. In another bowl combine the olive oil, honey, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, vanilla, and orange zest sugar and whisk until blended.
6. Pour the granola onto your prepared baking sheet. Spread the granola in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes and then stir well. Bake for another 8-ish minutes and check again. I like to slightly under-cook my granola- I do not care for hard crunchy oats. So my preferred baking time is about 18 to 20 minutes total - and I'm always checking to make sure it isn't getting too brown. The granola will crisp up a bit as it cools on the baking sheet, as well.
7. After the granola is cool stir in the hemp seeds, if using, plus soaked and drained raisins and Craisins.  And that's it! This granola will keep for a week on the counter in an air tight container or two weeks in the refrigerator. 
8. Eat like cereal with milk or almond milk; sprinkle on top of Greek yogurt and top with berries or just eat it by the handful as a delicious, hearty snack. Enjoy!

Creamy Vegetarian White Chili

Delicious! This was really just a delicious, hearty, flavorful chili that hit the spot on a cold winter night. The meal was easy to prepare - I love cooking everything in one simple pot. The kids loved it, my husband did, as well.  I served this chili with am amazing skillet cornbread (recipe to come) and a side salad.

If you want to add meat to this chili, I would recommend cooked, shredded chicken. 

This recipes comes from one of my favorite blogs, Vegetarian Ventures. I blogged her 3-Bean Chocolate Chili a few months back. Super Yum!!

Here is her recipe word for word:

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 white onion , diced
• 1 green bell pepper , diced small
• 1 jalapeno , diced
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 3 15- ounce cans Great Northern beans , drained and rinsed
• 1 4- ounce can chopped green chilies
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 2 cups warmed whole milk (use non-dairy if wanting to make the recipe vegan)
• Salt / Pepper , to taste
• Lime juice , to taste
• garnish options: cilantro , avocado, tortilla chips, pickled jalapenos, radish slices, hot sauce

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over medium in a large stock pot.
2. Add onion, pepper, and jalapeno and saute for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and onions translucent.
3. Add garlic and cumin and saute for another 30 seconds.
4. Next, add flour and toss until the vegetables are coated. Slowly add in vegetable stock, while stirring, and then add in beans, green chilies, and corn.
5. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and let simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Stir in warm milk and let simmer for another 2 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and lime juice. Divide between serving bowls and garnish before serving.

West African Peanut Soup

My friend (and fellow foodie), Elle, shared this delicious recipe she found in our local newspaper with me last week. I have always loved African Peanut Stew, but I have yet to blog a recipe! This one is worth blogging as it's quite easy to make with minimal ingredients. I took the original recipe, halved it, and added my own flare, including blending the majority of the ingredients to make it a smooth soup instead of a chunky stew (which I know my kids wouldn't eat). The chicken, chickpeas or brown rice is added after the blending (I chose brown rice). I also added crushed peanuts as a garnish. The results were a tasty, hearty peanut butter soup that warmed us thoroughly on a frigidly cold Monday night.

I served the soup with homemade biscuits and a side kale salad. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbl olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 Tbl garlic, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tbl fresh ginger, grated
1 1/2 teaspoons of curry powder
1 15oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth, plus more broth or water to thin
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
Salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 lb of chicken, cooked and cubed OR  1 -15oz can of chickpea OR brown rice, cooked
A couple Tbl of crushed peanuts for garnish, optional

Directions:
Add olive oil to a large soup pot on low/medium heat. Add onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, fresh ginger and curry powder and continue to cook while you gather up the rest of your ingredients. Add the tomatoes, broth and peanut butter. Stir everything until mostly combined (the peanut butter will thin as it heats). Bring soup to a simmer and cook on low for about thirty minutes or until the sweet potatoes are thoroughly cooked through.

Turn heat off and let the soup cool a bit. I just left my soup sitting for an hour and then came back to blend it. If you do not have time to wait for the soup to cool be very careful when you blend in the blender. Please make sure the center piece is taken out of the blender lid so the heat can escape as it purees (place a clean towel over the open center piece to catch any soup that might escape as it blends). Pour blended soup back into the pot. Take inventory on the thickness now - how thick or thin does your family like soup? I ended up adding a good 2 cups of water/broth back into the blended soup because we prefer a thinner soup. Just add liquid according to taste.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Also add chicken OR chickpeas OR rice OR nothing at all if you like it as is! Heat until desired temperature and serve. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts, if you like. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Mac 'n Cheese

This meal was fast and really delicious. My husband loved it, the kids loved it, I liked how easy it was to put together....great weeknight dinner. I think it would taste great with some cooked crumbled chicken sausage, too, if you would like to add some protein.

I served it with an amazing savory caprese bread (blog post on this one to come) and a side salad.

This recipe was inspired by one I found on Pinterest from the blog Pip & Ebby.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. of orecchiette "little ear" pasta
• 1 small/medium head of cauliflower, core & leaves removed, cut into florets
• 2 cups shredded Italian mix cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Water, milk or broth to thin the sauce
• Shredded Parmesan
• Fresh basil, chopped
• Crumbled chicken sausage, cooked (this is an optional addition if you want to bulk up the protein on this meal - we eat mostly vegetarian in my house, so I didn't personally try it with the sausage - I do think it would be tasty, though. If you want to add this, do so at the same time you combine the cooked pasta noodles and the cauliflower sauce together)

Directions:

Cook the pasta for 1 or 2 minutes less than the al dente time given on the box. You will cook the pasta again in the oven - so you want to slightly undercook the pasta on the first go 'round to prevent mushy pasta as the finished product.

Steam cauliflower florets for 6-8 minutes until soft when pierced with a fork.

Place the steamed cauliflower, 1 cup of cheese, sour cream, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a large food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Check for consistency. I added about 1/4 cup of water to thin it out a bit....add a little at a time until it is your desired consistency. You could also add broth or milk.

Set the oven to broil.

Combine the cooked pasta and cauliflower sauce in an large oven safe skillet or a large baking dish.  Stir until well combined. Smooth the top of the pasta mixture out on top so it is all even. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese. Sprinkle with more Parmesan and freshly cut basil.

Place the skillet under the broiler for two minutes at a time - keep checking to make sure it doesn't burn. I think I broiled mine for about 6 minutes total, checking on it every two minutes.

Serve immediately.

Monster Cookies

Oh me, oh my......these cookies are heavenly! They are incredible! Delicious! Scrumptious! WOW!!

Okay, so a few days ago we had a snow day - and my kids wanted to bake - and to this I never ever say no! My daughter wanted Rice Krispie Treats (yawn!) and my boys wanted chocolate chip cookies (getting warmer, but still yawn)....I just wanted to try something new! I knew the Pioneer Woman would have just what we were all looking for.  She has this recipe for Monster cookies that has chocolate chips, M&Ms, pb chips AND Rice Krispies in them.....we all looked at each other and said YES!!!! We all got what we wanted! The boys got chocolate, my daughter got Rice Krispies and I got to try a new recipe to blog.

Here is the Pioneer Woman's Monster Cookies recipe word for word:

• 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) Butter (salted) Softened
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 2 whole Large Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 1-1/2 cup Oats (either Quick Or Regular)
• 1/2 cup M & M's (more To Taste)
• 1/2 cup Pecans, Chopped (more To Taste)
• 3/4 cups Chocolate Chips (milk Or Semi-sweet)
• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter Chips <I used cinnamon chips>
• 2-1/4 cups Rice Krispies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter with sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add to mixing bowl and mix till combined. After that, add in remaining ingredients in whatever quantity you prefer. Add more nuts if you'd like, or more M & M's, more peanut butter chips or chocolate chips.

Add Rice Krispies at the very end, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix!

**<You guys know at this point I put my dough in the 'fridge for a couple hours>

Use a cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 8 or 9 minutes, then allow to cool on a rack.

Easy Skillet Bread

This bread is very very easy to make (and it's incredibly delicious!)! It's a great first bread for anyone who is concerned about making a yeasted bread that requires a rise.  In addition to the list of ingredients (which are minimal), all you need is an over-safe skillet (I love my Le Creuset 12" cast iron skillet) and a standing mixer with a dough hook (although, you can certainly put some elbow grease into it and knead the dough by hand if you don't have a mixer). 

I used Italian herbs in this bread to give it a savory flavor....but you can experiment with the herbs and spices and add whatever you like! Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg would make a delicious sweet bread, for example! 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 packet of yeast ( 2 1/4 tsp)
1 cup of warm water (about 110F)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
3 cups of all purpose flour
oil to coat the bowl
melted butter
coarse grain salt for sprinkling

Directions:

• Add warm water to the standing mixer's bowl (do not use hot water- test with your finger to make sure the water is just warm). Sprinkle the yeast on top. Leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes to let the yeast activate. Do not stir.

• Using your paddle attachment on the standing mixer, add the sugar, salt, spices, and flour to the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough, about three minutes.

• Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes to form a soft and smooth dough ball.

• Remove the dough and coat the bowl with oil. Place the dough back inside. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and keep it in warm place for about an hour and a half or until the dough ball has doubled in size.

• Place the dough ball into a well greased, oven safe, large skillet pan and use your hand to press the dough out to the edges. Using a knife score 3 to 4 cuts across the flattened dough intersecting through the center. I made a little circular pattern over the scores just to look pretty. Do whatever you like.

• Brush the top of the with generous amount of butter. Sprinkle coarse salt on the top of the butter.

• Bake at 350F for about 20 to 25 minutes or until it is golden in color.

• Brush the top with additional butter if you like. 
• ENJOY!