Homemade Granola

Homemade Granola

I love the granola recipe that Ina Garten uses for Fruit Crunch Sundaes. I use a few more oats and change up the nuts, but her method is great. We eat this plain for snack, with milk and dried fruit as a breakfast cereal, or with yogurt and fruit.

Homemade Granola
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
6 Tablespoons canola oil
4 Tablespoons honey

• Preheat the oven to 350*.
• Toss the oats, coconut, nuts, oil, and honey together in a bowl until they are completely combined.
• Pour onto a greased sheet pan.
• Bake about 20 minutes, until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring once.
• Store in an airtight container.

 Notes: A trick for measuring the honey is to measure the oil first; then the honey slips right out of the measuring spoon.
 

Granola with yogurt and bananas

Bean and Salsa Chili

Bean and Salsa Chili

Our chili is a little different each time we make it depending on what we have in the pantry. A friend once told me that recipes are made to be adapted. That is so true, and this recipe is one you can change to suit your taste and ingredients on-hand. This ratio of meat, beans, tomatoes, and salsa is a very loose guide, just a place to start. Add hot sauce and cayenne if you like it spicy. 

Bean and Salsa Chili
1.5 lbs cooked meat (pulled pork or beef, ground beef or turkey)
2 cups chopped onions
1 28 oz jar salsa
1 14 oz can tomatoes
1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 27 oz can chili beans with sauce
1-2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt

• Mix all ingredients in a crock pot. 
• Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
• Top with cheese, onions, sour cream, crackers, etc.

Notes: Can be assembled in the crock pot in the evening, refrigerated overnight, and cooked during the day to be ready for supper.

Question: What is your chili secret?

Roasted Smashed Potoatoes

Roasted Smashed Potatoes

I found this smashed potato recipe in an Everyday Food magazine. These boiled and roasted potatoes make an excellent side dish. The kids enjoy smashing and eating them. We serve smashed potatoes with ketchup, but they'd also be really tasty with baked potato toppings (cheese, sour cream, chives, bacon, etc.).

Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Small red potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Herbs (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 450*.
• Wash the potatoes, place in a pot, and cover with salted water.
• Boil until fork tender, 15-20 minutes.
• Drain the potatoes and place on a cookie sheet.
• Smash the potatoes with a spatula or potato masher until they are 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
• Drizzle or brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper (and herbs if you're using them).
• Roast until crispy about 30-35 minutes, flipping half way through the cooking time.

Notes: Smaller potatoes work best, but you can substitute larger ones-just cut them in half before crushing them.

Pie Crust (cookies)

Pie Crust Cookies

It seemed appropriate on Pi day, March 14 (3/14), to post on something "pie" related. The place to start with pie is the crust. This crust recipe is from my grandma. However, as with many recipes from Grandma, I have a list of ingredients but not many instructions. So, the ratio is Grandma's, but the method is not. If you don't like my method, give Grandma a call; I'm sure she'd love to talk you through it.

Pie Crust (makes one double or two single crusts)
3 cups flour
dash salt
1 cup lard
1 cup or less ice water

• Use a pastry blender to cut the lard into the flour and salt until the texture is consistent, mealy with pea sized balls.
• Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together in a ball.
• Flatten the ball into a disk.
• Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• On a floured board, cut the dough disk in half. Set one half aside.
• Roll out the other half into a long rectangle. 
• Fold the dough over on itself so that you have a squarish shape.
• Roll out into a circle large enough to fit in your pie pan, about 12 inches for a 9 inch pan.
• Repeat with the second half of the dough for the top crust, pie crust cookies, or another single crust pie.

Pie Crust Cookies

• Use the dough trimmings leftover from your pie or make a whole batch of crust into cookies.
• Follow the above method for making and rolling the dough.
• Cut out into squares or cookie cutter shapes.
• Place on a cookie sheet.
• Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar.
• Bake at 400* until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
• Remove from the pan and cool before eating.

Notes:  Make sure to add more flour when rolling the dough if it starts to stick. The rolled dough should end up about 1/8 inch thick.

Question: Which part of the pie do you like the best, the filling or the crust?

Sweet and Salty Rainbow Popcorn

Sweet and Salty Rainbow Popcorn

This sweet and salty popcorn is a favorite of ours. My recipe is based on one from a book that came with our stove top popper. The best feature of this popcorn is that it's easy to make it in different colors. Each of my kids has a favorite color, or sometimes we make Packer or Brewer colors. Very fun!

Sweet and Salty Rainbow Popcorn
1/3 cup popcorn
1/4 cup sugar
3 T canola oil
2 drops food coloring

• Add ingredients to a stove top popper.
• Place the popper over a burner heated to medium (an electric burner requires preheating, a gas range does not).
• Turn the crank to mix the ingredients. Continue to turn occasionally as the popper heats up.
• Once the popping starts, make sure to keep turning the crank until the popping stops.
• Remove from heat and empty the popper onto a cookie sheet. Season with salt.
• Repeat with the next color.
• When finished, take the popper to the sink and fill with hot water and dish soap for easy clean up.

Notes: For rainbow popcorn I usually start with yellow, then orange, red, purple, blue and green. More food coloring might be needed, depending on the brand you're using.

Question: What is your favorite type of popcorn (buttered, kettle, cheesy, etc.)?

Snowman Buns

Snowman Buns

Seeing as this might be the last snowstorm of the season, I figured it was about time to get around to sharing our little snowmen. The kids love to help with this one because they each get to make their own snowman. I help with the hats and scarves, but they like to roll the snowballs. This isn't a recipe as much as a how-to article. I use my basic bread recipe, but you could probably even use frozen bread dough.

Snowman Buns

• Let the dough rise for an hour, then punch it down.
• Set aside a chunk of dough about the size of a tennis ball.
• Divide the rest of dough into golf ball size pieces, making some pieces smaller for the heads.
• Roll pieces into balls and, on a greased baking sheet, lay them out to look snowmen. (Two balls high make enough of a bun for supper, but three high help to give a feel of height difference between adults and kids and babies). 
• Take the chunk of dough you set aside and cut off pieces for hats and scarves. 
• To attach a scarf, roll out a long skinny piece. Lift the head a little to tuck the scarf behind. Then wrap the scarf around the front.
• To make a top hat, cut a square and a skinny rectangle. Lay the pieces at the top of the head so that they are tight together.
• Use a triangle piece for a stocking hat. 
• Two tiny balls and a super skinny piece make cute little earmuffs. Be creative.
• Use a kitchen shears to snip and poke extra details like eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons.
• Brush with oil and let them rest while your oven preheats to 400*.
• Bake for 25 minutes. Brush with oil and serve warm or cool.

Notes: The snowman idea also works well for one large snowman loaf instead of several buns.

 
Question: What do you like to do on a snow day?

Baked Chicken Enchiladas

Baked Chicken Enchiladas

These baked chicken enchiladas are not traditional, but they get a 5 out of 6 something good rating at our house. I find it easier to make a pan of enchiladas and bake them instead of serving them individually after dipping the tortillas in the sauce. This way they are all ready at the same time, and we have a good stash of leftovers. I usually make a batch of spicy and a batch of mild to accommodate our different tastes.

Baked Chicken Enchiladas
1 Tablespoon oil
1 onion, minced
1 lb. chicken, cooked and diced
1/2 cup salsa
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (divided)
8-10 flour tortillas
3 1/2 cups homemade enchilada sauce or 1 28 oz can enchilada sauce

• Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
• Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add the chicken, salsa, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
• Remove the frying pan from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.
• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Oil a 9x13 baking pan and spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce over the bottom of the pan.
• Fill each tortilla with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the filling, roll, and place in the pan seam-side down.
• Spread the rest of the enchilada sauce over to completely cover the tortillas in the pan.
• Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes.

Notes:  We like flour tortillas, but you could use the traditional corn tortillas, frying them in oil to soften them before filling and rolling. Sometimes we substitute black beans for some of the chicken. To make them dairy free, leave out the cheese.

Question: What is your favorite enchilada filling?

Chipotle Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada sauce is normally made with powdered chiles (not to be confused with chili powder). I started trying to make some homemade enchilada sauce with chipotle peppers when I had a partial can of chipotle in adobo to use up. It was delicious but much too bold and spicy for my kids. I've tweaked the recipe, creating a mild version for the kids and a bold version for the adults. Even making two kinds of sauce wasn't enough to use up the can of chipotle in adobo, so, because I hate to throw anything out, I quadrupled my recipe and froze it in quart freezer bags. The mild version uses such a small amount of the chipotle sauce that it barely dents the can; the rest of the chipotles and sauce was the perfect amount for 4 batches of bold enchilada sauce. The recipes below each make a single batch, about 3 1/2 cups, enough for a 9x13 pan of enchiladas.

Bold Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper

• Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
• Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until the onion is soft.
• Add the garlic, chipotles, and flour and cook for one minute.
• Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, oregano, and cumin and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and puree until smooth.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mild Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper

• Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
• Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until the onion is soft.
• Add the garlic, chipotle sauce, and flour and cook for one minute.
• Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, oregano, and cumin and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and puree until smooth.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Notes: Makes about 3 1/2 cups, enough for a 9x13 pan of enchiladas.

Question: How do you use up the leftovers from a can of chipotle in adobo?