Fresh Homemade Granola! Light and Easy!

Ingredients:
6 cups regular oats
2/3 cup wheat germ
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup raw almonds, chopped
1/3 cup flax seed meal
1/3 cup raw pepitas
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients together.  Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well coated.  Pour the mixture onto  a large greased cookie sheet that has sides and bake at 350 degrees for 24 minutes.  Stirring half way through.  Let cool and enjoy! Pin It

Rice Krispy Spiders

Remember when Heather introduced us to these little beauties? 

Ingredients:
5 1/4 cups coco krispies
10 ounce bag of miniature marshmallows, reserve 20 of so for the eyes
3 Tbsp. butter
pretzel sticks
candy eyes

First make the rice krispies like usual.  Melt the butter and marshmallows over low heat until smooth.  Take off the heat and add the coco krispies.  Pat into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Let cool a few minutes then take a circle cookie cutter and cut out the spider bodies.  Take a knife and poke a hole where you'd like the legs to go and then insert the pretzels into the spaces.  Flatten some marshmallows for the eyes and add candy eyes on top.

So adorable and perfect for Halloween!  Thanks again Heather!

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Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 - 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix

2 cups peanut butter chips

6 - 1.55 ounce Hershey Candy Bars, broken roughly

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Then set aside.  In another bowl cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer.  Next mix in the eggs and vanilla until well blended.  Add in the pudding mix and then the dry ingredients to the mixture. Add the peanut butter chips and candy bar pieces by hand.  Scoop out spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone pad.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.  They should be chewy, so don't over bake.

Makes about 3 dozen

This recipe was found over at Stephanie's Kitchen

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Sweet & Sour BBQ Chicken and Vermicelli Rice

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
juice of 1/2 a lime
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. mustard (regular or dijon)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 Tbsp. olive oil
8 chicken tenderloins

Directions:

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar, lime and lemon juices, brown sugar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper.  Whisk in the olive oil.  Reserve two portions of the mixture for basting and dipping.  Then add the chicken to the dish and turn it to coat.  Marinade the chicken for at least 2 hours.

Grill the chicken for about 4 minutes per side or until the juices run clear.  During the last minutes of cooking, baste the chicken with one portion of the reserved sauce to glaze.


Vermicelli Rice

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups vermicelli noodles, broken into small pieces
1 1/4 cups rice
2 cans of chicken broth
1/4 cup water
chicken flavoring to season

Directions:

Melt the butter in a 2 quart sauce pan.  Stir in the vermicelli noodles and cook until they turn golden brown.  Add in rice, chicken broth, water and seasoning.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

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Mango Grape Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 cups green grapes

1 banana, frozen

1 cup mango fresh or frozen

6 - 8 ice cubes

Directions:

Place the ingredients in the blender in the order above.  Blend until smooth.  Enjoy!

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Sugar Cookie Bars

Ingredients for Cookies:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Ingredients for Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. milk
4 Tbsp. strawberry puree
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

To make the cookies, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add in the eggs and vanilla.  Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl.  Add in wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  Spread into a greased 9x13 inch pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.  The cookies should be lightly golden and a toothpick should come out clean.

For the frosting, use an electric mixer to mix together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  In a small bowl mix the chocolate chips and milk.  Melt in the microwave for 30 second intervals until smooth and melted through.  Make sure you mix after each interval.  Add the chocolate mixture to the cream cheese mixture.  Start adding in the powdered sugar until you like the consistency.  Mix in the strawberry puree.


These are so yummy!  I love sugar cookies!

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Honey Corn Muffins and Baked Beans

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Mix the milk, eggs, butter, honey and vanilla in another bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Put into muffin tins and bake until cooked through and golden.

These were baked in mini muffin tins and took around 12 minutes.  Regular muffins would need more time.

Ingredients:

1 large can Pork N Beans, drained
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 tsp. mustard
1 onion (option)

Directions:

Cook all the ingredients in a sauce pan for about one hour so the flavor has time to set.  Enjoy!

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Homemade Rolls

Ingredients:

3 cups water

3 Tbsp (heaping) yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
2 cubes (1 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup powdered milk
1 Tbsp salt
12 cups flour
6 eggs

Directions:
Put 2 cups of water on to boil.  Mix together 1 cup warm water, 3 Tbsp. yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar and set aside.  Melt the butter and mix in 1 cup of sugar, powdered milk and salt.  Add in the 2 cups of boiling water.  Mix in 4 cups of flour, then the six eggs and the yeast mixture.  Add the remaining flour until you get a nice dough consistency (about 8 cups).

Knead the dough until nice and soft.  Let rise until double, about one hour.  Punch down and then form rolls.  Place on a greased pan and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 more hour).  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 60 rolls.


*If you don't want to bake all 60 rolls right away, it works great to divide the dough into quarters and freeze each portion in a gallon freezer bag.  Then when you want to bake it, let the bag of dough thaw on the counter until it reaches room temperature and is puffy.  Then you can form the rolls from there.

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Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (NEW!!!)

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

2 Tbsp. chicken "Better than Bouillon"

2 cups celery, chopped

2 cups carrots, sliced

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbsp. parsley

4 cans cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken

3 cups eggs noodles, cooked

Roux: 3 Tbsp. flour

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Cook the noodles according to the package and then set aside. Combine bouillon and chicken broth in a large pot. Add carrots, celery, onion and mushrooms. Cook until tender. Add cream of chicken soup and milk. Cook for 3 or 4 more minutes. Add in the roux to thicken and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the noodles, chicken and parsley. Salt and Pepper to taste.

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