Grandma Betty's Granola

This is my grandma's granola recipe. I stole it from her - hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing it with all of cyberspace ;). I don't have a picture to go along with this - you'll just have to use your imagination. But really, all granola looks the same, right? This recipe is VERY healthy. Extremely healthy. And I think tasty as well. I eat it every morning, with kefir poured over the top. And its super easy:

Betty's Granola

3 cups oats
1 1/2 cup coconut
3/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 cup pecans
3/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup sunflower, saflower, or light olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup honey (I add this last, and keep adding until its all moist)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

**Each time I've made this, I've used a different combination of nuts/seeds. Its yummy every time

Combine all ingredients in a 9x13 glass dish. Mix well (should all be coated with honey - if not, I add a bit more). Bake at 300 for 45 minutes, mixing occasionally. Bake to desired brownness. Also, all the seeds/nuts that I use are raw, and they roast nicely with the rest of it all.

Its delicious with kefir, but of course any yogurt works well too. It keeps me full and satisfied all morning, and I only eat about 1/2 cup. Its very filling.

Yummy Halloween Cupcakes

Its a lazy Saturday afternoon. Nothing to do, other than watch college football. So, we decided to make cupcakes, lest you think, after that last post, that I'm super-duper healthy (I really only eat all that veggie soup, so I can justify dessert). Only, I didn't have a cake mix in the pantry. Luckily, allrecipes.com has always been a good stand-by for easy recipes. I picked this Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe - the very first one that came up with a search. I'm not much of a baker, but this one seemed pretty simple. The girls and I pulled out the mixer, and went to work - each girl adding ingredients one at a time (we have to take turns). I even had a healthy supply of Halloween cupcake wrappers from last year. Perfect.


The girls love to help dump the ingredients in (this is a very easy recipe). They also love to lick the bowl - maybe too much. Check out Bryn's eyes - those are CRAZY eyes! No doubt, made crazier by an overdose of sugar and chocolate. I hope this wasn't a mistake . . .

Also, notice how matchy/matchy my girl are. This was a total accident. I promise ;-)

The cupcakes go into the oven, and I had to cook them a couple minutes longer than the recipe called for. I don't know if that is because of the recipe itself, or just high altitude (I usually forget to adjust for this).

While the cupcakes are baking, I mixed up some cream cheese icing, dyed orange of course. I don't really have a recipe for this either (are you sensing a pattern yet??) But, its basically a bar of cream cheese (fat free of course), 1/2 a stick of real butter, a cap-full of vanilla, and powdered sugar. Oh, and food coloring of course. Of course.

Now its time to decorate! This is serious business. Notice the lack of CRAZY eyes?

The girls' cupcakes turned out very unique, and covered in candy. Ew. We'll be sharing the ones that mommy made (see top of page) because I can't be sure these are safe.

Note to self: orange frosting looks a little on the peachy side. Next time, more food coloring!

Vegetable soup

What do you do on a gray October day? You make soup, silly! Delicious, healthy, vegetable soup. Its not exactly vegetarian, because it does have chicken broth. But, it is only about 100 calories a bowl, and delish! I have actually been making it every Friday, and eating it all week. I'm kind of addicted, truth be told.

So, if you want to make some of this delish, addicting, veggie soup for yourself, here's what I do. I can't actually call it a "recipe", because that would imply that there is actually an order to my madness. But here's what I do:

Assemble the ingredients. I use an entire box of Pomi, and an entire box of chicken broth. The olive oil is to drizzle on the zucchini and squash, which will be roasted in the oven. I'll show you that part in the next picture.


I sliced up 4 zucchini and 4 small squash, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and the broil for about 10 minutes in the oven (or until the edges begin to turn brown).
Next, I chop 4 large carrots, a small head of cabbage, one medium onion, and some fresh green beans. Delish!
Then comes the hard part: dumping it all into the pot. I added a bit more salt and pepper, parsley, Italian seasoning, and celery salt. Heavy on the celery salt. Then, it simmers together for about 45 minutes (I like my carrots still pretty firm).

I tried adding some small shell pasta once, but didn't love it that way. I prefer it just all veggie! mmmmmm.

The perfect pancake

I am a lover of pancakes. One may even call me a pancake connoisseur. My love began with my grandpa. He and my grandma used to own a bed and breakfast - a beautiful Victorian mansion on a Civil War battlefield. It was a wonderful place to visit as a child. I have such fond memories of spending time there, but my favorite memory is of my grandfather's breakfasts. He would always have the best bacon and lots of fresh fruit - and if I got lucky, he'd make his famous blueberry pancakes.

I think I've spent a lifetime (or at least 30-some years of one) trying to perfect my pancake recipe. I know I'll never make one quite like his, but I think I've got my own version down pretty well. It takes just the right combination of buttermilk mixture added to buckwheat. Then, I put lots of butter down in the pan before I add the batter (no one said these were low fat). And it has to have fat blueberries (I've had the best luck with frozen berries actually).

Oh, and my pancakes (unlike grandpa's, as he was always cooking for a crowd) has to be the size of a pan:
With lots of fresh berries on top:
Add some whipped cream:
Delicious!
So, who's coming for breakfast?

Top secret recipe

My hubby would KILL me if he knew that I was posting this - although he got it from a girl at work, he swears that he's got some big secret. It may or may not be the exact recipe that Cafe Rio uses for their tomatillo dressing. But if its not, I cannot tell the difference. Neither can my kids - they beg for this stuff. We make quesadillas with those great tortillas you get from Costco (the ones that come as dough, and you have to cook yourself that taste as good as Cafe Rio's). And contrary to popular belief, there is no crack in this stuff!

Anyway, enjoy:

Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing

1 pkg Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch dressing
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tomatillos
1 clove garlic - minced
1/2 cup of minced cilantro (just the leaves - no stems)
1/2 tsp lime juice
1 small Jalapeno (seeds removed)

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. I think it tastes much better if you let it chill in the fridge for a day before consuming. Obviously you can use it as a salad dressing, but my kids prefer to just dip quesadillas into it.

And just in case you're not familar with the goodness that is Cafe Rio (oh how I pitty the poor soul), don't worry - I don't even like Ranch dressing, but this stuff is so good!

Edited to add:

This is a tomatillo. I find them in the produce section, usually by the jalapenos. They are a bit smaller than golf ball size. Hope that helps!

Long awaited salsa recipe

What you will need:

6-7 ripe medium-sized tomatoes
3 medium jalapenos
1/3 large white onion
1 cup cilantro leaves (no stems)
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp liquid smoke

Slice the tomatoes in half and cut out the stems. Place both on outdoor grill. Cook for about 15 minutes - until the skin easily peels from the tomatoes and the skin on the peppers is blistered. Then remove from grill and allow to cool. Remove skins from the tomatoes.
Cut off the tops of the peppers and de-seed.
Throw everything into the blender and chop on the lowest setting. You don't want everything pureed, but finely chopped.
Chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Enjoy!

This is seriously the easiest recipe, and its so freakin' yummy. And can I just say how proud of myself for finally joining the ranks of the recipe posters!