Fruit and Seed Granola Bars

26 March, 201425 March, 2014Marissa

My brother has been begging me to come up with some kind of healthy, filling snack that he can munch on when he feels hungry (which seems to be all the time). Enter the Healthy Homemade Granola Bars from Beth at redandhoney.com. They are amazing, though you do have to keep them chilled to prevent melting, which makes them a bad choice to stuffing in a backpack or purse … not that we would know this from experience.

Fruit and Seed Granola Bars marissabaker.wordpress.com — Granola bar add-ins

There are many variations on these bars depending on the nut butter and add-ins you choose, but the version I’m posting today is my favorite. I’ve decided dried cherries are an essential ingredient. So are pumpkin seeds — I like the flavor and the green color looks great with the red dried fruit.

As an added bonus, these granola bars are unleavened, so they will still be perfect for snacking once the Days of Unleavened Bread start next month.

Fruit and Seed Granola Bars

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2/3 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup honey
2 cups oats
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries and/or cherries)
1 cup seeds and nuts (peanuts, pumpkin, flax, chia and/or sunflower seeds)

Mix first three ingredients together, microwaving in 15 to 20 second bursts and stirring until the coconut oil is melted.

Stir-in the oats, dried fruit, seeds and nuts. Press the granola bar mixture into an ungreased 13×9-inch baking pan. Place granola bars in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

Once granola mixture is cooled and set, cut into bars. Wrap individually or package in snack bags. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Variations
You can replace the peanut butter with almond butter if you prefer the taste or have an allergy.

The two cups of dried fruit, seeds, and nuts can be substituted for a wide variety of add-ins, including chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and almonds. My sister prefers her add-ins to be 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup coconut flakes, and 1/2 cup peanuts. Just keep experimenting until you find a few mixtures that you love.

Crock-Pot Italian Roast

19 March, 201418 March, 2014Marissa

When we started raising our own beef, I decided it was time to experiment. So one time when I was putting a roast into the crock pot, I just started dumping spices in, added some of that red wine vinegar that was left over from a salad dressing, and thickened it to make a gravy. This is the result. My brother, who can single-handedly eat 1/3 to 1/2 of the roast by himself, tells me this is one of his favorite meals.

Crock-Pot Italian Roast

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1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

2 cups water

2 cups beef broth

3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1, 3-pound roast of beef, unthawed

4-5 potatoes, cut

4-6 carrots, cut

In crock-pot, whisk the tapioca starch with about ½ cup of the water. Add the remaining water, broth, and seasonings. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Place roast in the crock-pot. Cut enough potatoes and carrots to fill most of the remaining space in the crock-pot. Turn the crock pot on to cook at low or high heat (see below). Stir at least once in the first hour, to prevent starch from sticking to the bottom of the crock pot as it thickens.

Cooking times will vary between crock pots. As a general guide, cook on low heat for 6 to 7 hours, or until the meat is cooked through and falls apart. If speed is important, cook on high heat for about 4 hours. In this case, the roast will be less tender.

Lemon Quick Bread

12 March, 201412 March, 2014Marissa

I posted a form of this bread before — trying to turn it into a lemon-almond loaf — but it’s this version that I keep going back to when I want to make a lemony quick bread. This bread has a light lemon flavor — not too sweet, not too lemony. When you bake it, it almost develops a glaze on the top. The original recipe baked it in one loaf pan, but I was having trouble getting it to cook through without burning the edges, and then the center of the bread got squishy. Baking it in two pans, or four mini-loaf pans as I did here, or seems to do the trick.

Lemon Quick Bread

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3 cups flour

1, 3.5-ounce box lemon flavor instant pudding

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

Mix together flour, pudding mix, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. In large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and butter. Add vanilla and lemon and mix well. Add the flour mixture, along with poppy seeds. Mix until just combined.

Grease and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans, or four mini-loaf pans. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Allow loaves to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.

Lemon Quick Bread recipe, marissabaker.wordpress.com — ta-da!

No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls

26 February, 201425 February, 2014Marissa

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it’s the only cinnamon roll recipe I make now. It’s originally from a blog called pReCiouS MoMentS. I’ve changed measurements that were in grams to cups or tablespoons, to make it easier to American cooks to follow. I also changed the scalding instructions — I wanted an exact temperature to aim for so I didn’t scorch the milk or kill the yeast, and it takes much less than an hour for my milk to cool to the right temperature. My rolls also have less filling, and I’ve added a glaze.

No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls

No-Knead Cinnamon Roll recipe, marissabaker.wordpress.com — first round of ingredients ready

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Dough

1 cup milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon yeast

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

4 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon milk

Mix milk, sugar and vegetable oil in a pan. Scald by heating to 150°F. Leave to cool for about 20 minutes, or until the temperatures is between 105°F and 115°F. Sprinkle yeast over the scaled mixture and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Place 2 cups flour in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add scalded mixture. Stir with a spatula until it comes together to form a thick batter. Cover and let the batter sit for at least 1 hour.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until the mixture comes together. Rolls can be made now, or covered and chilled until needed. Dough will be easier to work with if chilled.

When ready to make the rolls, mix ground cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Dust the work surface and the top and bottom of dough freely with flour. Roll out the dough into a thin, rectangular shape. Dust the dough and work surface with flour when necessary.

Brush the rolled out dough with melted butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the surface. Roll the dough neatly in a line towards you, rolling as tightly as possible. Pinch the seams to seal.

Cut into 1-inch thick slices and arrange in a baking pan greased with butter. Use one 9×13-inch baking pan, or two 8×8-inch baking pans. Place the rolls close together so that they are almost touching.

Cover and leave to rise for 30 to 60 minutes, or until the rolls double in size. Rolls can be left to chill in the fridge over night and baked the next morning. If rolls have doubled in size in the refrigerator, bake right away. Otherwise leave to sit on counter until they double. Bake in preheated oven at 375°F for 12-16 minutes, or until golden brown.

Let rolls cool on the counter. Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over cooled rolls.

Chicken Divan

12 February, 201412 February, 2014Marissa

I wish I could tell you the name of the recipe book I found this in, but it’s old and the front and back covers have long since been lost. Regardless, it is an easy dish that has become a popular choice in our house. Evey time I say I’m not sure what to make for lunch, my brother tells me to bake chicken divan. There’s rarely left overs here, but it does heat up well the next day.

In other news, there’s a Scarlet Pimpernel Quotation Challenge and Giveaway running now until Feb. 14 on Musings of an Introvert for the Anthony Andrew’s blog hop. If you’re interested, make your way over there and see how many quotations you can complete.

Chicken Divan

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1 teaspoon olive oil

4 cups chicken, cut into small pieces

4 cups chopped carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 can cream of chicken soup

½ cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until done.

Meanwhile, place vegetables with water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Let cook for a couple minutes. Drain vegetables.

Place vegetables on the bottom of a 9×13-in. baking pan . Top with cooked chicken. Mix cream of chicken soup, curry powder, and mayonnaise. Spread over chicken mixture. Top with cheddar cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes at 350°F. Remove foil and book another 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting brown and sauce is bubbling around the edges. Serve with rice.

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Crunchy Chicken Breasts with Honey Garlic Sauce

5 February, 201415 November, 2014Marissa

I found this amazing recipe here: Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts. I thought it would be harder to make, but it’s really very simple. To make it even easier, I’ve found that you can just use chicken tenders instead of slicing chicken breasts in half or pounding them thin.

The original Honey Garlic Sauce was a bit too sweet for our tastes, so I amended the recipe slightly. That’s the version I’m posting here.

Crunchy Chicken Breasts with Honey Garlic Sauce

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2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut or pounded into half-inch thick pieces. (I typically use chicken tenders and cook two for each person.)

canola oil for frying

Breading

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons black peppercorns

3 Tablespoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground thyme

2 Tablespoons paprika

Wash

1 egg

2 Tablespoons water

Sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

¾ cup honey

¼ cup rice wine

¼ cup soy sauce-free

1 Tablespoon tapioca starch

1 teaspoon black pepper

Sift together the breading ingredients. (Note: This flour and spice mix is enough for two or three batches of this chicken. Leftover mix can be stored in a Ziploc bag in the freezer).

Whisk together the eggs and water. Dip chicken tenders in the flour and spice mixture. Dip chicken into the egg wash and then again into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. Carefully regulate the temperature so that the chicken does not brown too quickly (just below medium heat works well). Fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. The chicken is thin enough that this should cook it through. Once cooked, drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes.

In a medium saucepan add the 2 tbsp olive oil and minced garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. Add the honey, soy sauce and black pepper. Simmer the Honey Garlic sauce together for 5-10 minutes, being careful not to let it foam up over the edges. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Dip the cooked chicken in Honey Garlic Sauce and serve over rice or noodles.