Granola

Simple Granola

• 4 - 6 Cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 Cup or more nuts, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 Cup dried fruit or more to taste*
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon* (optional)

• 1/2 Cup honey or maple syrup (or more if you prefer it sweeter)
• 1/3 Cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon* vanilla (optional if using maple syrup)
  

Oven temperature at 350 degrees 

Mix oats, nuts, and cinnamon* (optional) in a large bowl.  Pour honey (or maple syrup) and oil in a small saucepan and warm it up.  Take it off the heat and add vanilla if you are using it. Pour the liquid mixture over the dried mixture and mix well.

Line a large baking pan with foil or parchment paper and oil it well... or plan on scrubbing the baking pan!  I use a half sheet cake baking pan.  Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared pan and spread out evenly.

Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, checking a couple of times and gently stirring to keep it evenly browning.  I find a spatula works best for this.  As you get closer to 17 minutes, check until it is finished.  It should be toasted, not burned... and it burns quickly.

Take pan out of oven and sprinkle your dried fruit* on the hot mixture.  I have found this helps soften them nicely. Let it cool completely before taking off of pan. The original recipe called for dried apples but I almost always have dried cranberries on hand so I use them.  Dried cherries or dried blueberries would be great, as would chopped dried apricots, etc.

Carefully pour into an airtight container.  To use as a Holiday gift, pour into a cute container or Mason jar.

Variations:

* I sometimes make this without nuts and without cinnamon. However, these days I am more likely to make it with nuts and leave out dried fruit.

* When I add nuts, I usually add pecans but walnuts are great, too.  I have added sunflower seeds.

* The original recipe calls for adding a cup of coconut to the dry mixture before adding the liquid.  This would be baked with the granola.  To make it even more tropical, dried pineapple or mangoes could be added after taking the granola out of the oven.

Breakfast Banana Bread

I've had this recipe since my daughter was born and it has been a family favorite ever since.  It is from the cookbook which was very popular at the time called Feed Me I'm Yours, which had a lot of good recipes for babies and toddlers... and for grownups!

Breakfast Banana Nut Bread

¼ C     Butter, room temp (sometimes I use 1/2 Cup, or one stick)

½ C     Brown Sugar

1          Egg, beaten

1 C      Oatmeal (uncooked)

4 – 5    Ripe Bananas

1 t        Vanilla

1 ½ C Flour

2 t        Baking Powder

½ t       Baking Soda

½ t       Salt

½ C     Nuts, chopped (optional)

Cream butter and sugar until light.  Add egg and mix well.  Then add oatmeal, bananas, and vanilla.  Mix well.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add to first ingredients and stir only long enough to moisten the batter.  Add nuts if necessary, stir gently.

Grease loaf pan, pour in batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until bread tests as done (I usually check after 45 minutes).

I often bake these in mini loaf pans and they take approx. 30 min. in my oven.

Cool before eating if you can wait... that doesn't always happen at our house.  It's actually better the next day.

Cinnamon chip scones

This recipe is easy and delicious!
From: The White Lily Tearoom
in Bluff Park, Alabama

Cinnamon Chip Scones
3 cups self-rising flour*
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature (yes, I know scone recipes usually call for cold butter)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter cookie sheet.

In large mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer), mix flour and sugar.

Mix in butter with dry ingredients just until mixture resembles cornmeal. (I just used the paddle attachment and it worked fine.)

Add heavy cream and cinnamon chips to mixture. Mix together until dough forms, mixing as little as needed.

Pat into a 1/2 inch thickness and cut out with a 2 inch biscuit or cookie cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 9-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Do not overbake.

I let them cool on the baking sheet.

Makes nine scones.

*If you don't have self-rising flour, for each cup of flour add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4th teaspoon salt.  Whisk together with the flour before using it in a recipe.

Quick and Easy "Quiche"

This looks like a souffle when it first comes out of the oven but it flattens to look more like a quiche. It's quick, it is easy, it is very good.

This is how I made it recently but I'll also show the original recipe:

Easy Quiche

1/2 lb. (or 1 lb) sausage
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
(I used a combination shredded cheddar and American)

4 eggs
1 1/2 C. milk (regular or soy milk)
1/2 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
2 T. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown and drain the sausage. You can use a full pound if you want a meatier quiche but half a pound is fine.

Spoon into the bottom of a well greased 9" pie pan (I like Pyrex for this and I set it on a cookie sheet in case it drips over the side).

Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, salt and melted butter. Pour over the sausage into the pie pan.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes. It will be "poofed" up but will settle soon. Let cool just a few minutes and slice into wedges.

The original recipe called for 1/4 C. chopped onion and 1/4 C. chopped mushroom sauteed in 1 T. oil to be added to ham or sausage.

I think it would taste great with just broccoli that has been steamed and well drained instead of meat, too.

My pancake recipe

Here is the pancake recipe originally on my main blog. I made these this morning and sprinkled blueberries on some and finely chopped pecans on others.

Republished to add: This is also a Beverly Nye recipe

My Favorite Pancakes
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cups oil (I use canola or mild olive oil)
4 eggs
2 cups flour (it holds up well to all whole wheat flour)
2 t. soda
1 t. baking powder
dash salt
(I also add a teapoon...or two...of vanilla to the wet ingredients)

Mix wet ingredients very well then add flour mixture. Mix only until blended, there will still be some lumps. If it is too thick, you can add a little milk.

I put about a ladle at a time on a hot skillet. Of course, ladles come in different sizes! I find it easier to make a few smaller pancakes then one big one. They are difficult to turn. When bubbles start coming up around the edges and the pancake is somewhat firm in the middle, they can be flipped onto their other side.

To add fruit or nuts, ladle batter onto hot skillet. Sprinkle with fruit or nuts. When bubbles start popping up and center of the pancake looks firm, turn pancakes over and cook until finished on the other side. If you are using frozen fruit (like frozen blueberries), it takes a little while longer to cook well enough to turn the pancake.