Granola bars

These are the real deal. Both kids and adults love them, they're good for breakfast, a snack, or a desert, and most of all they are preservative free and made with LOVE!

Makes one 8″ square pan of granola bars – how many bars depends on how you cut them up!

Ingredients:

Oat mixture:
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 c shredded coconut 
1 cup dried fruit
optional: up to 1 cup seeds (sesame, flax, sunflower – any that strike your fancy, or all)

Binder:
1/2 c honey 
1/2 c brown sugar 
1/2 stick butter 
1/2 t salt

First start the granola – it will take a while to get really toasty.  Heat the oven to 350F. Toast the oats on their own for about 15 minutes, then add the nuts and coconut, and the seeds if you are using them, and toast for another 15 minutes or so.  Set the timer to remind you to stir/check the mixture every 5 minutes.  It tastes best if you get it really golden brown and toasty, but the coconut and nuts can burn if you forget and leave it for even a few minutes.  Add the fruit after you finish toasting the oat mixture. When the toasting is complete, put all into a large heatproof bowl.  Metal would be the safest, as we will be adding hot sugar syrup to the mixture.

While the granola is toasting in the oven, you can start cooking the honey butter to bind the bars together. In a medium sauce pan, stir together the ingredients for the binder (honey, brown sugar, butter, salt). Bring to a boil over low-medium heat, and allow to cook at a low boil, gently, for 5 minutes or so.  If it doesn’t boil long enough, the bars will still be delicious, but may fall apart a bit.
Take the honey mix off the heat and let it cool a little, 5 minutes or so. Pour the syrup onto the granola and turn and stir until it is well covered. Pour mixture into an 8 inch square greased pan.
Put a sheet of plastic wrap over the top, then press down firmly until the stuff is flat and packed into the pan. Pay special attention to pressing around the edges – it will be crumbly there when you cut them up if it is not pressed down well. Let the mixture cool for several hours or overnight.
Lift the whole slab out of the pan onto a cutting surface and cut the bars with a big heavy knife in whatever shapes you like!

Gazpacho

I'm sorry to be giving you this recipe at the end of summer but it's really a good one by Ina Garten who is known for her cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa.

Ingredients

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over process! After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Serves 4-6

Cauliflower pizza

Your life just got a whole lot better!!! I promise you this tastes like pizza. Dare you to try it...

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 egg beaten

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

pizza sauce, shredded cheese, & precooked toppings

 

To “Rice” the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes (some microwaves are more powerful than others, so you may need to reduce this cooking time). There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself. One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
-In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9″ round. -Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.
-Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
-Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).
 

Serves 2-3

 

 

Banana protein muffins

So easy, so tasty, and 100% guilt-free

Blend 2 bananas, 1 cup oats, 3/4 cup egg whites, 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 2 tbsp raw sugar, 1 tsps baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon

Bake for 18-20 minutes at 375. Makes 12 muffins (spray tins with coconut oil or oil/butter of your choice).

Let's just say I've made these twice in 4 days!

Good eats in ATX

My apologies for going MIA... between my computer crashing twice, my computer cord getting lost along with my duffel bag, a ton of travel, and my nephew being born three weeks ago there really has been one reason or another as to why I haven't been posting. Be assured, I have lots to share and plan to post a lot this week :)

Let's start with the food scene in Austin, TX. Adam and I absolutely love it there and thanks to this app called diptic I can now share many more pictures with you. Hope your mouth waters like mine does looking back at these culinary delights!!

Everything is bigger in Texas

.... enough said :)

...then comes a baby in a baby carriage

Last week Adam and I left the spring weather we having in Texarkana to go to 117 degree weather in Las Vegas. Despite the 30 degree difference, we couldn't be happier to head back to my hometown to celebrate with Melissa, Dave, their soon to be BBB (baby boy Barth), and the rest of the family. While the guys played golf, went shooting, BBQed/smoked all kinds of meat that is not pictured, and yes made this adorable fruit baby to the right-- the gals wined and dined on smoked salmon tea sandwiches, whipped feta tomato crostinis, beet salad with caramelized pecans, gazpacho, spicy tuna, coleslaw, shrimp skewers with peanut sauce, mimosas, Aunt Lynn's famous chocolate chip bundt cake, Michelle's baby in a carriage cookies and more! It was such a lovely afternoon (rain is lucky) and we are all super excited for Baby B's arrival. Melissa is glowing and will no doubt be the best mom! Love you sis!