Homemade Vanilla Granola

photo from favfamilyrecipes.com

I am going all granola-ey!  Okay, that was lame.  I love making granola lately.  This makes such a huge batch, it's really moist, and super tasty!

Homemade Vanilla Granola
Recipe from favfamilyrecipes.com

8 c. oats
2 c. sliced almonds
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon
craisins or raisins, to taste (optional)
3/4 c. canola oil
1 c. honey
3 Tbsp. vanilla (use the real stuff if you have it-- it tastes much better)

Preheat oven to 300-degrees. Combine first 8 ingredients (dry ingredients) in a large bowl. In a saucepan combine oil, honey, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute then pour over oat mixture. Mix until all ingredients are moistened. Divide and spread mixture over 2 large cookie sheets and bake at 300-degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave on pans until the granola hardens (it may be a little chewy and that's ok.. if you prefer it not to be chewy at all, allow to dry completely). Break up granola and store in large Ziploc bags or containers. Serve plain, with yogurt, or with milk.

Kettle Corn

Pic courtesy of allrecipes.com

Christian decided about a week ago that he eats too much candy and dessert so he decided to go on a candy and dessert fast after Valentine's Day. I thought I'd try it with him. I made it til 7pm on the first day. And then my body was screaming for chocolate. Anyway, so we had some friends over for games and treats last night and I couldn't very well have all these tempting treats out without something for Christian to munch on. We both love kettle corn, but I've only ever made the microwave bags. I looked on allrecipes.com to see if they had a recipe and of course they did. So, I made it last night and it was seriously so good- it was even gone before the yummy cookies I made! I found what I call Christian's "cheat treat." :) Enjoy!

Kettle Corn
from allrecipes.com

1/4 c veg oil (I used EVOO)
1/4 white or brown sugar (using brown will make it taste more caramel-y)
1/2 c unpopped popcorn kernels
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan. Put 3 kernels in the pan and when they pop, dump the remaining kernels in. Sprinkle with the sugar and cover with a lid. Let it pop, shaking intermittently to avoid burning the sugar. When there's 2-3 seconds between a pop, it's done. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

I made this loaf/cake over the weekend and thought it was really delicious- tart, flavorful and different from your run-of-the-mill breakfast cake. Really though, you could eat this anytime of the day as a delicious and satisfying snack.

courtesy

Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

Recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

For the loaf:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 Tbs. flour, divided

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup plain (not low-fat) yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp. grated lemon zest (approx. 2 lemons)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups blueberries (can use frozen, but thaw first), rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup:

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2-3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a 9X5 loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 c. flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a small, separate bowl, gently toss the remaining 1 Tbs. flour with the blueberries until coated. Gently fold blueberries into batter. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 50-65 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it to a wire rack placed over a cookie sheet (important!). While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup. In a small saucepan, stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to cook for 3 more minutes and then remove from heat. Poke holes with a toothpick all over top and sides of loaf and pour lemon syrup slowly over the top. Allow loaf to cool completely before making the lemon glaze. To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the sugar and lemon juice. Mixture should be thick, but pourable. Add more lemon juice, if needed. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of the loaf and allow to harden before serving.

Fruit Leather

Here's an idea for that getting-too-old-to-eat fruit that you'll probably throw out....make fruit leather! It's super easy and fun and makes a healthy snack!

Fruit Leather

Fruit(s) of your choice (I used peaches)

2-3 Tbs. honey

1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice

Set oven to lowest temperature possible. Fill your blender about 2/3 full with the fruit (pits removed, skins are okay). Add honey and lemon juice (give or take a little, depending on your taste) and puree the mixture. Place plastic wrap to cover the inside of a jelly roll pan, and pour the puree mixture onto the plastic wrap. Spread evenly to desired thickness. Put pan in oven and bake for 7-10 hours, depending on thickness of fruit leather and temperature of oven. I baked mine on convection for about 8 hours. Be sure the plastic wrap does not touch the hot oven racks. You can eat it all right away like we did, or roll it up in the plastic wrap to save it.

Easy Homemade Microwave Popcorn

I love it! I love it! I love it!

Easy Homemade Microwave Popcorn

From Makes and Takes Blog

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Put 1/4 cup popcorn in a brown paper bag. Fold top over a few times and tape it.
2. Place in microwave folded side upfor 2 to 3 minutes or until there is 5 seconds between pops.
3. Eat plain or add flavors (such as salt, butter, sugar, etc.)

With this system of microwave popping, you can:

• control the amount of salt and butter
• reuse the paper bag again and again
• save money from buying the corn kernels, which yields a lot more popcorn
• pop popcorn fast, without getting out the heavy machinery

Caramel Popcorn

I know that we all love the caramel popcorn recipe in the family cookbook....however, this one is almost as good and a whole lot easier. I totally recommend it when you need a quick, delicious treat.

Caramel Popcorn
From Or So She Says Blog
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups marshmallows
2 bags microwave popcorn

Pop 2 bags of microwave popcorn. Melt 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar in the microwave. Stir until caramelized. Add 2 cups of marshmallows and microwave for 2 more minutes. Stir and add to popped popcorn. Enjoy!