Granola Bars

It has become a struggle in my house lately to decide what to send with my 5 year old for his recess snack. There are a handful of children in his class with peanut allergies, so we have to be careful. I have been making granola bars for a couple months, but the last time I made them, they fell apart into a crumbly mess. So, I think I will try this recipe this weekend and see how it turns out. I'll probably use cranberries or another dried fruit that strikes my fancy because raisins are not usually my first choice.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Playgroup-Granola-Bars/Detail.aspx

I'll let you know how it goes!

This is how the day ended...

We had friends over this afternoon and I cooked up a storm! Its been so long since I have gotten to entertain, and I really enjoyed cooking and pampering my family and our guests today I did all the prep work, and my awesome hubby and my friend's husband manned the grill with beers in hand! When I went up to put my son to bed, my husband cleaned up the kitchen.

First,I made Bobby Flay's homemade BBQ sauce for our grilled flank steak



Then, I made Jamaican Jerk Shrimp...

3 tbsp olive oil
2 pinches coarse salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp jamaican jerk seasoning
pepper to taste
1 lb large prawns peeled and deveined
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl to make a paste.

Dip prawns in sauce and lay on dish.
Grill 2-3 minutes until prawns just turn opaque and pink.


We grilled vegetables too:
4 small zucchini slices lengthwise
2 yellow squash, sliced thin
2 bell peppers sliced lengthwise and deseeded
2 portabella mushrooms sliced thin
2 pinches coarse salt
8 leaves basil, sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
olive oil
Slice all vegetables and place in a bowl
sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix with basil and 2 drizzles of olive oil
Let the vegetables sit for about an hour, uncovered on the counter.

Wrap in tin foil and grill 10-15 minutes, until vegetables are tender, but still firm.

And for the finale, I made chocolate cream pie with homemade whipped cream!


We had wine and mojitos to finish it off! Everything was so yummy!

Today started with breakfast

For breakfast today, I made one of our old favorites, oven pancakes! They are easy and light and a fun weekend breakfast for family. The recipe is from an old Cooking Light magazine. I often add blueberries or apples when in season, I've also added cinnamon to them.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 egg white
1 tablespoon butter (I use cooking spray)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
spoon four into measuring cup and level with a knife
combine flour and next 5 ingredients, mix until moist

melt butter in 10 inch skillet (or spray with cooking spray)

spoon batter into pan and heat over medium heat for 1 minute
Bake in oven for 18 minutes, or until golden brown.

cut into quarters and serve with powdered sugar and/or fresh fruit

** from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2002
Oxmoor Publishing House
Birmingham, AL

Raspberry Granola Pancakes

When my husband and I were dating, we used to go to a place in Salinas, CA (where he lived) called Great Awakenings. One morning, I tried these and fell in love. Living an hour away now, its not practical to drive down there when I get a craving for Sunday breakfast. So, today I made them from scratch! I have decided that making pancakes from scratch is just as easy as pulling out the old bisquick box. I started with a basic pancake recipe (and made some plain ones for the teenager) then added my own touches. They take a little longer to cook than regular pancakes, but they were really yummy!

Basic pancake recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I use cinnamon I purchased at the local farmer's market)
• 1/2 cup granola (I used galaxy granola raspberry flavor- its low-fat and very yummy)
• 1 small basket raspberries
  

Mix together all ingredients except milk and melted butter


Add milk and melted butter and mix well


Stop here and cook on griddle if you aren't adding granola and raspberries.

Add raspberries and granola and mix well. I needed to add about 1/4 more milk at this point.


Mix well.

Grill on your electric grill or in a pan on the stove. Serve with sausage (if desired) and maple syrup.


They were delicious!

Welcome!

Good Morning!
I hope this will become a place you look to for recipes and cooking ideas. I love to cook for my family and friends! When I cook, I look at a couple recipes, then blend them together and make my own creation. This is the way I have cooked since I started cooking when I was 12. I am mom to John Christopher, wife to Nick and step-mom to Devin. We live in Campbell, CA, and recently bought a home that has my dream kitchen (including a wine fridge!)

I hope you enjoy this site and get some ideas for your family!