Granola

I have been meaning to make granola for awhile. It's a good snack and can usually be made with ingredients you have on hand.

Adam ate most of the granola from this recipe. He loves it with yogurt and a sliced banana. I actually like to eat it plain. I have to make more very soon!

2 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup slivered almonds or chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dried fruit - I used golden raisin - cherries or crasins would be good
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and coated with non-stick spray.

Toast oats, almonds, cinnamon and salt together in a large skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 7-8 minutes.

Combine dried fruit, coconut and brown sugar in a large bowl; add toasted oat mixture.

Stir syrup into oat mixture and mix well.

Spread granola onto prepared baking sheet; bake 7 minutes, stir, bake 7 minutes more.

Let cool on baking sheet and store in air tight container.


This recipe is adapted from Cuisine at Home

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Cajun Lemon Tilapia & Rosted Cauliflower

Interesting photo, I know.

But this baked tilapia and roasted cauliflower was a wonderful dinner (I should have added a side of greens though - next time!)!

This tilapia recipe was so easy and full of flavor. I created it with the inspiration from this recipe.

4 tilapia fillets

3 tablespoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons of butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cajun seasoning

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line with foil a baking dish that will fit all the fish in one layer. Spray the foil with non stick cooking spray.

Rinse the tilapia fillets under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Place fish on a plate and sprinkle with cajun seasoning, salt and pepper on both sides of the fillets.

Place fish in prepared baking dish.

In a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter and then add the garlic and lemon juice. Saute garlic for 1 or 2 minutes.

Pour butter mixture over the fish.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until fish flakes apart with a fork. Fish cooks very quickly and you do not want to overcook the fish or it will be tough.

I have made this fish twice in the past 2 weeks!

As for the cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets and toss with oilive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 375 for about 10 minutes, flipping the cauliflower half way through.

Pepperoni Pizza Bites

During our quest to eat healthy we took a break and indulged in pepperoni pizza bites. And they were soooo worth it! This is such a fun idea. The exact same ingredients as a plain ole pizza but in reverse. Somehow, to me, it tastes kinda better!

We used pepperoni but you can use your favorite toppings.

This recipe is from Our Best Bites

1 tube rerigerator pizza dough

mozzarella cheese, shredded

pepperoni slices

1 Tablespoon ollive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or oregano

grated parmesan

marinara sauce

Preheat oven according to pizza dough package. Around 400 or 425 degrees.

Spread out the dough on a counter top and press out until as thin as possible without making a hole in the dough about 8"x12". Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut into 24 squares. (or you can make the squares larger, as I did)

Add cheese and pepperoni to each square center. Then carefully fold up the corners of each square and press together to form a ball. Place in a lightly sprayed pie plate seam side down. Brush the top of the balls with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic and parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 10 minutes but keep your eye on it because all doughs bake differently.

Serve warm with warm marinara sauce.

We have all the ingredients so I think we'll be making this again this week.

Meatballs with Peppers and Pineapple from The Pioneer Woman

One day last week we were searching for a dinner idea and I found this recipe right after Ree posted it on her blog and it immediately looked good to me. We have been eating a lot of stir frys and rice lately so this was right down our alley.

The sweet and spicy is so good!

1-¼ pound Ground Beef
½ whole Onion, Diced Very Finely
1 whole Egg
½ cups Panko Bread Crumbs (or Regular Breadcrumbs)
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
½ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper, More To Taste
¼ cups All-purpose Flour
Canola Oil, For Frying
2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Seeded And Diced Roughly
1-½ cup Fresh Pineapple Chunks (I used canned because it's what I had and they were still very tasty!)
2 cups Beef Stock Or Broth
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
½ cups Sherry Or White Wine Vinegar
⅓ cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
Salt To Taste
Crushed Red Pepper, To Taste
Extra Beef Stock If Needed

Combine ground beef, diced onion, egg, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, and crushed red pepper. Mix with hands until combined. Roll meat mixture into small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze on the pan for 15 minutes to firm.

Mix together beef stock, soy sauce, sherry (or vinegar), sugar, and cornstarch.

Heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Roll meatballs in flour, then fry in two batches until nice and brown, about two minutes per batch. Remove meatballs and set aside on a separate plate.

Pour off oil from pan and return pan to medium high heat. When pan is hot, throw in the chopped green peppers and cook for one minute. Add pineapple to pan and cook for one minute, stirring gently. Pour in stock/soy sauce mixture, then add meatballs. Stir gently to combine and allow to cook and bubble for a few minutes, or until sauce is thickened. Add salt and crushed red peppers to taste.

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Serve over cooked brown or white rice.

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Caramel Fruit Dip

I made the best fruit dip for a New Years party we went to on Friday. And it's soo easy to whip together! On mini skewers, I put a piece of pineapple, a strawberry and, on some, a piece of mango. I figured the skewers would make the fruit pieces easier to eat at a party.

The recipe:

1 8 oz. block Neufchatel cheese - the low fat version of cream cheese - or you can use cream cheese - room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

With a mixer, beat until smooth. The mixture will be grainy at first but keep beating until it's smooth.

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites. They additionally add toffee chips right before serving, so that is an option too. I bought the toffee chips but just didn't add them because I thought it was good as is. Plus now I can make some toffee chip cookies later!