Granola

This was my first attempt at homemade granola. For some reason it had been sounding good so I figured the boys and I could make it together. We enjoyed it for breakfast this morning. Very easy and very good! Again, I got this recipe from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com. I added craisins to my granola just before eating.

3 ¼ cups Oats (Old Fashioned or Quick—any combination)

1 ¼ cup white wheat flour-freshly ground if possible

1 1/3 cup shredded coconut

¼ cup flax seed (optional)

1 cup or more coarsely chopped almonds and/or pecans

1 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter

1/3 cup water

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cardamom

Preheat oven to 300. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, flax seed, coconut and nuts. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, butter, and water and heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbly. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together until smooth, and then stir in the salt, vanilla and spices. Pour mixture over the oats mixture and stir will to coat. Let stand for about 10 minutes.Spread mixture on a large baking sheet, separating it into irregular clumps with your fingers, and allowing space between clumps for the hot air to circulate. Slide it into the middle of the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to break up the mixture into medium sized clumps. Return to the oven and bake again for 15 minutes before stirring again. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the granola is uniform golden brown and completely dry—this usually takes me about 45 minutes . Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

If you like the combination of chocolate and peanut butter you are going to love these cookies! And to think the recipe came off the back of the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips package! Even my husband who rarely eats sweets really liked these cookies.

2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. butter, softened (I only used 1 c. and I used vegetable oil spread because I'm out of butter - came out great and cookies didn't flatten!)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 10 oz. package Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Heat oven to 350. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in bowl and set aside. In another bowl combine butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla. Beat well and then gradually add flour mixture. Stir in Reese's chips and drop rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake about 8-9 minutes.

Ranch Pizza

I know I am way behind many of my friends, but tonight was my first attempt at homemade pizza - including dough from scratch. I think it turned out delicious, but I also think things always taste better when you put the effort into making them. I borrowed my friend Ruby's recipe for the sauce - yum! And then just added a tomatoe from our garden and green onions I got from the co-op last week.

Crust:

3 c. flour
1 c. warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt

In bread machine put water and oil. Then add flour and salt with yeast on top. Set to dough cycle. When finished, take out and break into two equal parts. Roll dough out into two circles. Spread with sauce and toppings.

Ranch Sauce:

1 c. Ranch dressing (my favorite is BYU Creamery Ranch, then Hidden Valley)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp. basil
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese (I used shredded.)

Bake on a pizza stone at 425 for about 10 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

YUM!! Our zucchini plant in the backyard finally started producing and I've made this recipe three times in the past two weeks just to try to keep up with it! This zucchini bread is delicious and I love that it calls for whole wheat flour - anything to make me think we're eating healthier. I got this recipe from one of my favorite recipe blogs http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/.

Zucchini Bread

Mix:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp vanilla
2 cups zucchini, shredded

Stir and add:
2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

Pour into two bread pans sprayed with pam. Bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Here I go...

I've resisted blogging for a long time.  I've never LOVED cooking or being in the kitchen but I've been doing it more and more lately and am actually enjoying trying out new recipes, etc.  SO, I've decided to begin a cooking/baking blog to record my successes in the kitchen.  My main reason for doing this is to motivate myself to find more joy in cooking.  Since I'll be cooking for hungry male appetites for many years to come, I might as well try to like it.  So here I go....