Granola

Granola

8 cups quick oats
1 c wheat germ
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 c coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon

Mix together in a large bowl.

In a small bowl combine-
2/3 c oil
1/3 c water
2 teaspoons vanilla

Pour over oatmeal mixture and mix just until combined. Spread in a large cookie sheet.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally (about every 20 minutes). Bake until lightly toasted and coconut is lightly browned.

When cool, mix in:
2 cups raisins or any dry fruit
1 c sunflower seeds or any misc. nuts

Store in an airtight container.

Eat with milk or sprinkle over yogurt or ice cream.

Ezekial Bread

Ezekial Bread
Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups wheat berries
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 cup barley
• 1/2 cup millet
• 1/4 cup dry lentils
• 2 tablespoons dry white beans
• 2 tablespoons dry kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons dried pinto beans
• 4 cups warm water
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions
1. Measure the water, honey, olive oil, and yeast into a large bowl. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir all of the grains and beans together until well mixed. Grind in a flour mill. Add fresh milled flour and salt to the yeast mixture; stir until well mixed, about 10 minutes. The dough is more like batter bread. Pour dough into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans (or 5 mini loaf pans).

3. Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until dough has reached top of the pan.

4. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees (it will be shorter for the mini loaves- I think it was about half an hour), or until loaves are golden brown.

Notes: I gave away most of this bread and everyone loved them! The bread is very hearty and has a great flavor, very moist.

English Muffins

Have you ever made your own English Muffins? They are super easy and off the griddle they are amazing! You can even make your own sausage egg muffins for breakfast. Yum!



English Muffins
Yields: 18 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup melted shortening
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

3. Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.

4. Heat greased griddle to 350 degrees. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast.

Notes: I will make a double batch and freeze them. They freeze well and don't dry out. Forget the stove top heating of the milk- just micro-blast it. He he... Be prepared for a messy griddle to clean. I also have done half whole-wheat and there were two things- first, they dry out a lot faster than white so be prepared to either freeze more right away, or eat lots. Second- the wheat does take longer to rise.

Sweet Potato Chili

This is so good. I put in a little less of the spicy ingredients for my girls' sakes but it was still scrumpteous (sp). You wouldn't normally think about sweet potatoes in chili but it is really really good. I got it off of crockpot365.blogspot.com.

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and in 2-inch chunks
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or 2/3 cup dried beans, soaked overnight and boiled briskly for 10 minutes)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomatoes (whatever's on sale, mine had oregano and roasted garlic)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if you don't have kosher, put in a little more than 1/4 t)
1 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice (not pictured. If you don't have any in the house, use water)

The Directions.

Use a 5-6 quart slow cooker. This is enough food to feed a family of 4 regular-sized, or 6 smallish people. Peel and chunk the sweet potato and add to the pot. Add diced onion. Follow with the red bell pepper, can of tomatoes, the beans, garlic, and seasonings. Pour in OJ and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the onion is translucent and the sweet potato is fork-tender (if you want the sweet potato to get really squishy and disappear when stirred, cook longer).

Whole Wheat Tortillas

I wanted to make good homemade tortillas, just for fun. I've tried several recipes and they were total flops. This one was the best one with whole wheat that I tried. I got it from The Sisters' Cafe blog. The tortillas are really good and fairly simple and have few ingredients. Try them for the sweet potato bean burritos I posted recently. They taste great baked!



Whole Wheat Tortillas

from The Sisters' Cafe

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
1/3 cup oil

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in mixer. Remove from mixing bowl and knead on countertop until smooth (add a little white flour if the dough is too sticky). Divide the dough into 12 balls, and let rest (covered) for about 15 minutes. Dough should still be really soft, but pliable. (It helps to have a cold rolling pin or a nonstick mat). Roll each ball into a very thin circle. Heat a heavy skillet or griddle(ungreased) to medium high heat. Cook tortillas until brown flecks appear, about 20-30 seconds then flip over and repeat for about 20 seconds more. Don't overcook. Make sure to watch them carefully. If they are overdone they will be crispy. Use immediately, or wrap in plastic or place in an airtight container to refrigerate or freeze. To warm, wrap in damp paper towels and microwave 15-20 seconds.

Granola Bars

Here are some simple granola bars! Mmm... my kids devour them in less than a day. They are great for a breakfast or a snack. I found the original recipe at All Recipes but altered it a little bit. :)

These are my pictures! :)

Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raisins, chocolate chips, or nuts (optional)
1/2 c coconut

3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 c oil and 1/4 c applesauce- this is what I used and the bars are stay moist for longer)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes just until the bars begin to brown at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Whole Wheat Bread

This recipe comes from this website. I have to say I've only made this recipe in my bread machine (the dough only, baked in the oven) and it's turned out great. It just goes faster that way and I can do more while it's mixing/rising. I am on a search to find a quick whole wheat bread recipe but they are hard to come by. I've learned you can't cheat wheat when it comes to making bread. You have to let it rise! I skipped the first step of dissolving the yeast when using the bread machine, but if I was doing it by hand I wouldn't skip it. I like to know the yeast is going to rise and give it a head start.

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water*
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup orange juice
5 tablespoons melted butter (or oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar (honey is my preference)
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (in addition to the other milk)
3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

* *Use 2 tablespoons less water in summer (or in a humid environment), 2 tablespoons more in winter (or in a dry climate).

1) Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of sugar. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, till it becomes puffy. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

2) Combine the yeast/water with the remaining ingredients, and mix and knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—until you've made a cohesive dough. If you're using a stand mixer, knead at low speed for about 7 minutes. Note that 100% whole wheat dough will never become smooth and supple like dough made with all-purpose flour; it'll feel more like clay under your hands, and may appear a bit rough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow it to rise till it's expanded and looks somewhat puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Note that dough kneaded in a bread machine will rise faster and higher than bread kneaded in a mixer, which in turn will rise faster and higher than one kneaded by hand. So if you're kneading by hand, you may want to let the dough rise longer than 90 minutes.

4) Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan. (Some pans are actually 8"X4" so the loaf would be huge in those) Gently shape the dough into a smooth log, and settle it into the pan, smooth side up.

5) Tent the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaf to rise till it's crowned over the rim of the pan by about 3/4", about 75 minutes. Don't let it rise too high; it'll continue to rise as it bakes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

6) Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Lightly tent it with aluminum foil, (this step really helps it from overbrowning) and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer or it sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove it from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack.

7) Run a stick of butter over the top of the hot loaf, if desired, for a softer crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.