Homemade Granola & New Year's Resolutions

One of my new year's resolutions was to eat more healthier.  I have been dabbling in raw foods and trying to incorporate healthy stuff into my diet.  So I tried my hand at making homemade granola the other day and I have only one thing to say - YUMMY!  Why didn't I ever do this before??  I am putting it in my greek yogurt (it makes it taste alot more like regular yogurt) or eating it with some 1% milk.  Rowdy has also been snacking on it!  We just can't get enough.  I think this will be a staple at the Rowdy and Mommy Homestead!

This is roughly the recipe I used.  I looked at a bunch of different recipes and came up with this one.  It has a lots of healthy stuff in it.  If you don't have all the stuff, you can substitute (use honey instead of agave for instance) or just leave it out.  You can't really mess this up!  If you like dried fruits with your granola (raisins, craisins, etc) add it to the final product after you have baked it.  This amount made 1 Quart jar and 1 Pint jar of granola for me.

Homemade Granola ala Stephanie

4 Cups Rolled Oats (not quick oats)

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup raw cashew pieces (or any 2 nuts you like)

2 Tbls ground flax

2 Tbls wheat germ

2 Tbls cinnamon

1 Tbls nutmeg

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients in a roasting pan (or a couple of cookie sheets).  On low heat, melt the oil, agave, and vanilla until liquid.  Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and give it a good stir.  Bake for 20 minutes at 275 degrees.  Take out and stir.  Put back in for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool and put in containers (after cooling, this is where you will want to add any dried fruit).  Will keep for 2-3 weeks. 

I sat down and made a list of my New Year's Resolutions for 2011.  Many of them will not get crossed off - they will be ongoing - and I may add some or subtract some.  I added them to the right side of my blog.  I really want to make an honest effort to follow this list.  There have been alot of changes in my life in the last few months and I realized that I need to change a lot in my life because of what's happened.  I just want to be a good person and live my life to the fullest. 

I wish everyone a Great 2011!  What are your New Year's Resolutions?







Holiday Baking and Canning

This is my favorite cookbook right now (Thanks Mom!).  This has some great small batch canning recipes for hot water bath canning.  And since it's just me most of the time (with a little guy for half of the week) it comes in handy when I don't want to make a big batch of something.  I decided to make some recipes from the book for holiday gifts - and of course to fill my pantry with home canned goodies!  

The first thing I made was "Your Basic Chunky Tomato Salsa".  It was very easy to make and I even added some cilantro to the mix.  I was able to use up the last of the onion I got from Grandpa's house in Utah and the garlic too.  The funniest part was when I cut up the jalepenos and breathed them in!  Rowdy asked if I was ok!  I now know to get plastic gloves to cut them up for next time - and maybe a mask!

I ended up getting 3 pints and 3 half pints of this - four jars for gifts and 2 pints for my pantry!  A co-worker has already cracked open a jar and said it was delish!  I am sure this recipe will be a keeper. 

This was the first time I have ever used cranberries.  I just love the rich red color of them.  So lovely!  With these beauties I made "Festive Cranstrawberry Jam".  I just loved that this recipe called for me to chop up a whole orange - rind and all!  The smell was grand in the kitchen when this was boiling on the stove! 

And doesn't it look lovely in my new Ball jars?  I was able to get 6 half pints out of this - 3 for gifts and 3 for my pantry.  I was a little stingy with this one.  I can't wait to try it!  The next jam I am going to can is Cranana Jam - yep, you guessed it - cranberries and bananas, yum!

Both of the above recipes can be found in "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" by Ellie Topp & Margaret Howard.

Now onto Holiday Baking with Grandma White and Rowdy!

There is my kitchen helper - Rowdy.  He is shelling chocolate kisses to use in Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies.  He shelled the whole bag for me.  He was such a big help on Holiday Baking Day with Grandma White! 

His next job was to roll the PB balls in sugar and put them on the pan.  He completed it with ease.  He then helped put the kisses on the cookies!  Voila!  Blossom cookies.

We also made the traditional sugar cookie which he took on sprinkle duty. 

In one day we made PB blossoms, choc chip cookies, sugar cookies, choc chip zucchini bread (where I had a cocoa powder mishap), pb choc fudge, garlic pretzels, and jingle balls (choc covered pb)! 

Most of the goodies went to work as I use these to bribe my employees to do anything I want!  Totally kidding but they do enjoy these treats.  They always ask for the pretzels and jingle balls.  I guess now I am famous for them!  I wish I could take the credit for the recipes but alas, they are not mine.  But they sure are keepers!

  Next up.....I will dabble more into canning cranberry goodies!

Rainy Day Breadmaking

"How does this look, Mommy?"

It was a lazy rainy day today and I didn't feel like cleaning the house (even though I should have!).  I thought it would be fun to make bread with Rowdy.  I found a pretty easy recipe on the good 'old internet via google (gotta love google). 

He started out very interested as always - pouring ingredients into the bowl and dousing himself with flour!   He had a lot of fun punching the dough, too!

When it was time for it to sit and rise I thought it would be a great time for Rowdy to take a nap.  A little quiet time was fantastic!  Now don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with the little guy, but sometimes some "Mommy Time" is much needed! 

While he napped we got one heck of a rainstorm!  It was coming down something fierce!  The garden was loving it though.  Here are some of my peppers still left.  That green pepper went into the dinner salad!  And look at my gypsy peppers - I have a few that are turning red finally.

To go with our fresh baked bread, I made Mac & Cheese from the Lottie and Doof blog - a fantastic blog for yummy recipes!  It was like grown up mac & cheese.  With a salad of greens and peppers, tomatoes, and green onion from our garden it was a great meal.

The bread turned out a little flat - I don't think I let it rise enough.  But, oh well, warm with some butter it was still delish.  And Rowdy loved it!

Here are the recipes I referenced in this post. 

Mac & Cheese (Lottie & Doof Style)

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2009/04/mac-cheese-lottie-doof-style/

Basic White Bread

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/