Peanut Butter Coconut Granola

This granola packs a calorie punch…good for my hardworking husband, who likes to start his day with an energy packed breakfast.

1 1/2 cups raw sugar
1 jar natural peanut butter
1/2 cup oil (evoo or canola)

16 cups oats (quick cook or whole)
1 bag unsweetened coconut
2 cups chopped walnuts

1 box dried currants or raisins

Combine sugar, pb, & oil in a large bowl. Stir in oats, coconut, & walnuts. Fold until mixture is coated and crumbly.

Spread out on 3 parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Stir granola and return to oven for another 20 minutes.

Return to large bowl and combine the currants.

Let cool and store in large jars in refrigerator.

Serve as a cold cereal in milk.

1/2 cup serving approx. 275 calories.

Yields 24 cups.

Green Bean & Cheesy Potato Casserole (Healthy Version)

I created this so we could have a taste of two of our favorite dishes (green bean casserole & cheesy potatoes) without the high fat & calorie guilt from eating them!

1lb bag frozen green bean pieces
1/2 bag frozen Southern Style Hashbrowns

1 1/2 cups stock (veggie or chicken)
1 1/2 cups low fat milk
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1 tsp. seasoned salt
2 Tbsp. minced onion
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add green beans and potatoes to a 9x9" baking dish (I use this).

In a cold saucepan, combine the stock and milk. Sprinkle in flour and whisk until smooth. Place saucepan on medium-high burner. Add seasonings. Bring to a boil, whisking until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir to combine.

Pour sauce over potatoes and beans in baking dish. Stir to incorporate the sauce.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until it's bubbly and golden brown.

Serve hot as a delicious comfort food side-dish.

Smoky Feta Chicken Burgers

These are so yummy! I love re-purposing ingredients, and using the Pampered Chef dipping seasoning gives these burgers a real depth of flavor. These are also low-fat & low-calorie.

1lb. ground chicken
Drizzle of EVOO
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 Tbsp. Pamper Chef Spinach & Red Pepper Oil Dipping Seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 tsp. worcestershire sauce
3 green onions (scallions), sliced thin

Combine all ingredients by gently mixing with hands. Divide into 4 equal portions and form patties.

Heat skillet to medium-high with a little EVOO in the pan. Cook burgers approximately 6 minutes on each side or until internal temp is around 160 degrees. Flip them only once so you get a nice caramelization on each side.  The residual cooking should bring the temp up to 165 degrees which means they are cooked through (essential when cooking poultry).

Serve on a whole wheat bun dressed with caesar dressing & a handful of spring mix salad.

Egg Substitute

This works for baked goods including yeast breads. It also works in the veggie burger recipe. 

Equivalent to one egg:

1 tbsp ground flax seed*

3 tbsp water

Whisk together in a shallow bowl with a fork. Add to recipe as usual. 

*I have a spare coffee grinder in my spice cupboard to grind things like this. 

Extra tip: You can clean your coffee grinder by grinding plain white rice in it. It will will clean the sides and blade. For cleaning something that was very fragrant, grind two batches of rice. It should come very clean.  

Oatmeal Fig Bars

These bars are thick and crumbly. Not too sweet, goes great with a cup of coffee.

Filling
1 14oz. pkg. dried figs cut into small pieces (I used Kalamata whole dried figs from Randazzo's, like this)
2 cups water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup local honey
pinch of sea salt

Crust & Topping
4 cups rolled oats pulsed in the food processor
2 cups unbleached AP flour (you could use 1 1/2 cup AP flour & 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup local honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter (I use Smart Balance)

For filling-
Add figs & water to the pot. Bring to a boil, take it off the burner and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The figs need to soak up most of the water. If there's a lot of water left in the pot, pour some out. Once the water is mostly gone, puree' the figs with a hand blender- make it a smooth or chunky as you'd like. Add the rest of the ingredients. It should be a thick paste.

For crust-
Dump all ingredients into mixer bowl. Combine until it resembles coarse, wet sand.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the sides of a 13"x9" baking dish. Press 2/3 the crumb mixture into the bottom of the dish. Spread filling evenly over the crust. Crumble the last 1/3 of the crumb mixture over the top of the filling. Gently pat the crumbled top so it's pressed down into the wet filling. This makes the bars less crumbly when you cut them.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into small squares.

Potato Asparagus Tart & Freezer Cooking Day Results

I've accomplished a lot today, due to careful planning. I map out my cooking days the day before. I usually break it down step by step so I am efficient- combining like tasks (like chopping all of the onions I need for every recipe all at one time), starting the longest recipes first, etc. I was able to get all of this done in about 6 hours today. I took a few breaks and took my time. 


10 cups pancake mix
2 jars of fresh salsa

8 lunches of broccoli & brown rice

8 lunches of potato asparagus tart

30 cups poultry stock

3 dinners light turkey tetrazzini

3 dinners turkey & brown rice casserole

2 pans whole grain cinnamon rolls

3 dinners (1 1/2 lbs) parmesan chicken nuggets

1 lb sliced roast turkey for sandwiches

dozen hamburger buns

one jar of ranch dressing

one jar of italian dressing

one jar of french dressing

………………….

Now, for a new recipe- Potato Asparagus Tart

I've made this tart once before. It was delicious. I had stocked up on fresh asparagus in the springtime, so I was able to use it right out of the freezer today. This makes for a nice warm lunch, nice for fall even though it's got spring flavors. 

For tart:

10 stalks of asparagus
1 large potato, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
5 eggs
1 cup milk
sea salt & freshly ground pepper

crust

For crust:
1 cup ap flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup butter

pinch of salt

ice cold water

Combine flour, salt, and butter with a pastry blender until you get something that looks like wet sand. Add a little cold water at a time until the dough holds together on it's own. Start out stirring the water in, then move to gently kneading it. 

OR

I use my food processor for this- pulse flour and butter, scrape sides, and pulse again until you get the wet sand-ish looking crumbles. Add ice cold water in a stream while the processor is running. Takes about 30 seconds to form into a bunch of crumbles and a slightly sticky ball of dough. 

Remove dough and pat it together to form a ball. Use a little flour if it's sticky, but not too much because it toughens the dough.

Grease a 13x9 baking pan. Pat crust into bottom of pan and up the sides about an inch. 

Clean asparagus & chop into 1 inch pieces.

Slice potatoes and add to a pot of cool water. Bring to a boil and cook until just tender. Drain & cool. 

On top of tart crust, add a single layer of potato slices and sprinkle with grated cheese. 

Season with salt & pepper. 

Combine eggs and milk in a bowl and pour over the potatoes/cheese layer. Sprinkle asparagus spears equally across the tart. 

Bake at (375°F) in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until the egg mixture is slightly brown and throughly set. 

Serve warm with soup or a salad. 

Seasoned Oven Fries

These fries are one of our new favorite recipes. We eat them as a side with grilled foods or on their own with spicy ketchup.

4-5 medium potatoes cut into thin wedges, leave the skin on
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika (smoked is best)
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
black pepper
1/4 cup flour

Toss & coat the potatoes in a gallon size ziploc bag with the olive oil. Sprinkle in seasonings and coat them again. Sprinkle flour in bag and gently toss potatoes. The flour will be mostly absorbed by the oil & moisture on the potatoes.

Place potato wedges on large baking stone, making sure they don't touch. Take them out of the bag to put them on the stone. The excess flour will fall to the bottom of the bag.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 20-25 minutes depending on how crispy you'd like them.

Sprinkle with salt. Serve with a bit of sour cream or spicy ketchup.

Spicy Ketchup:
Ketchup
Sriracha
a little mayo

Mix up with a fork.