Granola bars

If you an make Rice Krispie treats, you can make this recipe. We have a few different ways that we like to make granola bars, and this recipe is a modified version of my girl Heidi Swanson's Big Sur Power Bar recipe (which you can find at 101cookbooks.com). 

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar (I used organic Demerara)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/4 cups oats

1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies

1/4 cup choc chips

1/4 cup mixed dried fruit (I used golden raisins and cranberries)

1/4 cup nuts

1 tbsp flax seeds

Grease an 11x7 in pan and line with parchment.

Mix all berries, nuts, choc chips, flax seeds, Rice Krispies and oats in a large bowl.

In a saucepan, mix syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stirring constantly, let it boil for 4 min so that it thickens.

Mix the syrup mixture with the dry mixture. Spread into the pan and refrigerate so that it firms up a bit. Makes 24 bars:) 

SO much better homemade:)

Almond Poppyseed Muffins

It's overcast and 62 degrees...perfect baking weather! I adapted this recipe from joyofbaking.com's lemon poppyseed muffin recipe. I love adapting recipes to meet your needs! We always use organic eggs and unsalted butter.

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons canned poppy seed filling (we had this on hand, otherwise you can use regular poppyseeds)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup softened butter

4 large eggs

2 cups plain yogurt- do not use fat free! (I used 2% plain Greek yogurt)

2 teaspoons almond extract (3 if you want intense almond flavor)

Preheat oven to 400.

Whip up butter and sugar  until it is light and fluffy. Scrape sides as needed. Add eggs one at a time and mix in. Add poppyseeds and almond extract. Next add salt and bakin soda and mix in. Now add flour slowly and don't over mix. The dough will be thick. 

Using a scooper, portion into cupcake pan so that cups are about level but full. Bake 18-20 min until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. 

These muffins will be dense and almost pound cake-like. Perfect with coffee:)

Rigatoni Pie

My kids love 'ronis. They ask for noodles on a daily basis. I've been wanting to make this dish for a long time, and today seemed like a good time.

First, get some water boiling and preheat your oven to 400. And salt the water...a lot. Like, we're talking ocean water salty (it make tasty 'ronis). Cook a pound if rigatoni one or two minutes less than the package says.

While the pasta cooks, brown a pound of ground beef (we use the lean stuff). You could also do ground pork, chicken, or turkey. Make sure you break up the big chunks. Drain the grease and set it aside.

Butter a 9inch springform pan. After the pasta is done, drain it and give it a cold rinse. Then toss it with some oil and Parmesan cheese. Place the noodles in the springform so that one end is facing up. Do this until the pan is full.

Spread the beef and pasta sauce over the noodles. (I used a whole jar of sauce that was infused with veggie puree so my kids got an extra veg serving in for the day). You want it to go in the noodle openings. Then sprinkle mozzarella or any Italian cheese you'd like on top.

Bake for 15 min.

Hindsight is 20/20: I would have put onion, pepper, mushrooms and garlic cloves, maybe diced tomato in half of it (my kids get hostile when they see peppers).

Also would have put a drip pan under te springform...guess I will be cleaning the oven this weekend:(

Hard-boiled Eggs

I'm slightly obsessed with hard-boiled eggs. They are a great source of protein and are contained in their own shell, making them a great grab-and-go snack. But...I won't eat just any egg. They have to be perfect.

I steam my eggs in our veggie steamer pot. Get the water boiling- I'm talking a roaring boil. THEN put the steamer on (covered) and let them go for about 15 min. While they are boiling, get a large bowl and fill it with cold water and ice. When the eggs are done, you will take te steamer off and put it in the water to stop the eggs from cooking.

I use organic eggs. They are more expensive, but they taste soooo much better. In cooking them like this, you won't get that nasty gray coating around the yolk. That layer actually means they are overdone and it makes them smelly.

One of these egg snacks is 70 calories.

Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa

The very first meal of the "Cook our way through the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit" challenge:

I braved the snow and the crowds and decided to go grocery shopping on January 1st with the help of my little brother (although he's 6'3" so not really "little"). This recipe was perfect for the day I made it because I purchased one of the main ingredients and I didn't even have to prepare it- rotisserie chicken. Ohhh yes! The recipe actually suggests that you use one. Note: Ours turned out to be a little dry... I'd probably roast my own next time. Roaster chickens are easy to do and very inexpensive compared to the boneless, skinless chicken breasts that most people purchase.

Here is where the recipe can be found


I am not sure if I took a picture of this, but I will check our camera as there isn't one on my phone. Stay tuned for a photo:)

The beans turned out to be REALLY delish! We're always looking for new sides for Mexican dishes, and this is a great option. Personally, I've been looking for ways to incorporate more lean protein into my diet, and beans are a great way to do so!  I used roasted chipotle chili powder in place of normal chili powder, which kicked the spice level up a notch. I used 1/2 of what the recipe called for.

I made white rice because I was trying to make this on the fly, but I would have made brown instead if I had more time.

My kids loved the apple salsa! The beans were a bit too spicy for them, but overall it wasn't bad for a quick lunch dish!

Creamy Polenta with Sausage and Roasted Grapes

This recipe was our second in the "Cook our way through the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit" challenge.  I was a bit leery of it because it consisted of a few textures that I wasn't sure would "mesh" in my mouth. I love polenta, and I liked that it used turkey sausage (for the lean factor), and I like grapes. I've told my husband that I will try anything once, this included.

Here is where the recipe can be found.

The verdict? I'd eat it again:) Typically, I eat all of one item, then move on to another. I made sure to have a bite of sausage and onion with a grape and some polenta, and the texture was not weird at all.

Chicken with Wild Mushrooms

The day after Christmas, my husband was flipping through the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit with a friend of ours. I heard them ranting and raving and entered the room to hear them saying, "You start from the back, I'll start from the front, and we'll meet in the middle for a duck dinner!" They were pretty excited about it. After I flipped through it, I agreed- there were too many delish-sounding recipes to NOT cook through the entire magazine. Here is the first in a line of blog posts! I'll be sure to include all of the recipes.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/01/sauteed-chicken-with-wild-mushrooms

Doesn't look that impressive. I was in a hurry! My son told me he was "hungy" and was being very persistent about eating.

 Admittedly, I am not a chef. Not even close. This dish needed something...

I omitted the porcini powder (didn't have it in the house, although the recipe says that if you have dried porcinis, then you can grind them in your spice mill to make the powder) and I used truffle oil instead of truffle butter. I also probably should have let the mushrooms brown a bit more to give them more flavor (don't crowd the mushrooms!). My husband added a splash of lemon juice to add acidity and cut through the fattiness of the beans, and that helped a lot. It also needs more sauce and next time I will flavor the orzo, possibly with rosemary. Or just have Mike make it:)