Favorite Granola

A little history on this recipe; my Mom made this all the time growing up. We ate it sprinkled on yogurt or ice cream, with milk, or just by itself for a snack. You can add dried fruit to it or just have it plain. Now that I have my own kids their favorite way to eat it is as a granola bar. I searched hi and low till I found this granola bar recipe (  http://www.cooking2gether.blogspot.com/2012/10/oatmeal-raisin-granola-bars.html   ). It is the best and come out perfect every time. I will warn you, I generally make a double batch of the granola because we go through it SO fast. If you buy the ingredients in the bulk section of your grocery store it will save you $. Thanks Mom for this amazing recipe!

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat germ or ground flax seed
3/4 cup whole sunflower seeds
1/2 cup cashew pieces
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
2/3 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup grape seed or canola oil
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Pour wet into dry and mix well. Pour into a Demarle at Home Deep Flexipat or similar mold, or on a baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees F until crispy (1-2 hours approx.) You can add 1 cup raisins after removing from the oven.

 

Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars

These disappear SO fast that I have to make a double batch! You can use my Favorite Granola recipe (can be found here on my blog:) or your favorite granola, either way it will be EASY and delicious.

4 TBLS (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups plain granola
1 cup rice cereal (Rice Krispies)
1/2 cups raisins, mini chocolate chips, cranberries, or mini marshmellows ;)

, but I prefer the Deep Flexipat. Set it on a perforated baking sheet near where you will be preparing the bars.

1. You can use any Demarle tray or mold, but I prefer the Deep Flexipat. Set on perforated baking sheet near where you will be preparing the bars.
2. Combine honey and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon after the butter starts to melt.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
4. Add the granola, rice cereal and raisins into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated.
5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pans and press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill.
6. Let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes or until mostly cooled and set; lift out of the pan and cut into bars. Enjoy!

Picture to follow. As long as they don't get eaten before I get one taken;)!!

Potstickers

I actually didn't really know what these where but I found a couple of recipes (Thank you Pinterest:) and they looked pretty easy AND yummy. I took those recipes and mixed n' matched ingredients from each to get what I thought sounded good. The ingredients can be found at most stores and I had quite of few of them on hand. Also it looked like the kids could help make them and I always like food that is "hands on" for them. So...we tried them out! Here's what happened!

I made filling and then when the kids got home from school, Hailey helped assemble them. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of them after they were cooked because they literally lasted less than 5 seconds! Pretty yummy!
1 cup finely shredded napa cabbage
1/4 tsp. salt
1 lb. lean ground pork
1 TBLS. soy sauce (or Tamarind for GF)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. fresh, grated ginger
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil

1 pkg. wonton or gyoza wrappers(thawed, if frozen)

I used my Demarle at Home Chef Knife to finely shred the cabbage. Put it in the stainless steel mixing bowl and tossed with the salt. Let that set for 5-10 minutes (I prepped the rest of the ingredients and mixed them). Then pick up with your hand and SQUEEZE out the liquid. There was about 1 1/2 TBLS of liquid. Then add it to the rest of the ingredients and mix. I added about another 1/2 cup of cabbage and it didn't change the recipe at all.

Then I used the 1 tsp measuring spoon ( from the Demarle set) and put it in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Then dip one finger in water and moisten the edge of the wrapper. It only take the amount of water that is on your finger, be careful not to use too much:) Fold over to create a half moon shape and voila! Then press the edges tightly to seal. Place on the silpat and cover with a tea towel to keep from drying out. You can also put them in the refrigerator at this point for 24 hours or freeze for later use.

Otherwise, do what I did and put a drizzle of canola oil in the 12" Demarle at Home Stainless Steel fry pan over medium high heat. Put the dumplings in but make sure they are not touching, cook for a minute or two, until deep, golden brown on the bottom, shake the pan so that they don't stick (it also makes you look like you know what your doing:)
I flipped them using the Polyamide spatula and brown the same on the other side, then pour about 1/8 of a cup of chicken broth or water into the pan (be prepared with your lid). Cover, and reduce heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, basically you are steaming them and cooking them all the way through.

They are SO good! I think they would be good with a veggie stir fry or even just some steamed veggies! Please leave comments on how you enjoy these yummy dumplings!

My Birthday Party

Liz & Hailey frosting cupcakes

So, this post is more or less about FOOD :) I had a birthday back in March and with the help of some VERY SPECIAL friends put a birthday party on for myself. It was SO much fun! Not just the party, but the planning of the party. And most importantly, deciding what food we would be having! In my next post I will share all the wonderful recipes and ideas for the food, but this post will show a little bit of everything.

Putting on a party is SO much fun, but one of my first tips is......
...ask for help. It may sound cliche but it is so VERY true. I had my "committee", which was made up of my mom Linda, my friends Sara, Liz, Lael, Shelley, and Susan. I used them to bounce ideas off of, as well as the actual physical help I needed too. They were all indispensable and I could not have done it without them!

Food "bar", we served everything buffet style

Like I said before the fun was in the process of preparing for the party! My friend Liz kept us organized and on task. She outlined what needed to be done and when, with her handy-dandy checklist. It was wonderful! Anyone could look at the checklist and see what was done and what still needed to be done! Loved that!
Friday- Food prep; cutting, chopping, baking, and making!
Saturday- Make tartlets, frost cupcakes, plate food, make beverages, DECORATE, and then HAVE FUN!!

 The menu was a Baked Potato/Taco Bar, Hummus with veggies and rice crackers, Shelley's Sweet Relish with Cream Cheese on sliced baguette, Veggies with Cool Cucumber Dip, Chips and Salsa, and Sara's "Green Salad".

For beverages we had punch with a Kick (Gilligan's Island), Raspberry Ice Crystal Light, ice water, and BYO beer and wine.

 ***********************************************

 And oh, the desserts!! I wanted a dessert buffet and wow, did we have one! It was overflowing with desserts and I tried everything and LOVED it all. We had Raspberry AND Peppermint Chocolate Truffles, Lemon Sugar Cookies, Key Lime and Lemon Mini Tartlets (heavenly), Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake (to die for!), Reindeer Feed, a 3-layer Vanilla birthday cake with cream cheese frosting, Funfetti cupcakes with yummy, teal blue frosting, and chocolate cake balls. WOW, so many choices, so little room in the stomach!

In progress....

 The decorating was probably the most challenging part. Mostly because we had to make it up as we went. With food you know what the end result will be, you're following a recipe! With decorating there was no recipe, only ideas! Our challenge was to turn my husband garage/shop(ie "man cave") into a confection of white, pink, teal, orange, yellow, and green. We used tissue paper flowers, LOTS of white tablecloths, colorful straws, and food to bring the color to the party.

We used long tables with white table cloths for the guests to sit at.

 We used LOTS of chalkboard signs to add some black and really make the colors standout, especially with the white tablesclothes.
The "tree" (below) was one of my favorite ideas! I took some corkscrew willow branches, tied them together with some twine, and then my husband (sweet guy that he is :) secured it into a Christmas tree stand! I wrapped the base in some old chiffon curtains and strung some white lights on it and then....

...my talented friend Sara hung crystals that came from an old chandelier (those came from my friend Lael:) and pictures of me (using wooden clothespins borrowed from my friend Shelly:)! The result was BEAUTIFUL, the pictures don't do it justice. It really was stunning and received a lot of compliments :)


In the above picture you can see the tables and I want to point out some ways we saved money. If you look closely you can see clear silverware in several containers on the tables. The containers are repurposed food cans, covered  in craft paper, added flowers, buttons, and ribbon and then put the silverware in them. We served the food buffet style and I really dislike it when I go through a buffet line and have to "juggle" my plate, napkin, and silverware :( So that led me to find a way to put the silverware and napkins on the tables! I looked for ways to re-purpose what I had on hand so it was FREE!

I wanted something that gave my guests an idea of what to expect, so when they came in the door they were greeted by this chalkboard sign. It and the stand it is on were loaned by my friend Shelly:) It 's hard to see in the picture, but it had a gold frame and went perfectly with the decor!

I wanted to be able to display the wonderful cards that people brought with them or sent because they couldn't come. You can see the string with cards hanging from it by clothespins. It was so fun to see the messages people wrote and for other people to be able to read them too. I asked the guests to use the back of the invitation to write their message on. This was really fun and I am so glad that some people did it!

You can see the tissue paper flowers and chalkboard signs that we used to accent with. My friend Lael wrote words that she thought described me on them:) Thank you Lael!

My mom Linda and Ron, luv you guys!!

 It was such an amazing experience, that I will never forget! I love that food, drinks, and love can bring people together!

A lot of my friends had never even met, and it was so great to have them all in the same place at the same time!

My sister-in-law Chris. Thanks for coming!!

 

Tara and Bonnie. Thanks girls!!

My friend Susan, who is amazing and inspires me everyday to reach for the stars, 

even if I can't see them! 

Thank you Susan for being such a great friend:)

My friends Jill & Melissa! You are great ladies!

Pete who can ALWAYS make me laugh!

My husband Gary with Chris and Megan, thanks for staying and play the Wi with us!

 

I want to say a special Thank You to my husband! He let me turn his "man cave" into a confection of frills and fuss.
Thank you for being patient with me and helping me put on my birthday party! I couldn't have done it without you!!
LOVE U!

No-Bake Energy Bites=Love :)

Hi! This is our new household favorite. They are easy, fun, and good for you! Hope you enjoy them as much as we have!
I can't take credit for this recipe:(  I found it on Pinterest and it came from a wonderful blog entitled Smashed Peas and Carrots. Be sure to check out her blog for more wonderful recipes with great pics!

 

No-Bake Energy Bites -

(makes 18-20 bites)

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter, or Nutella, or whatever:)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week(in our house we are lucky if they last one day:) Be sure to make a double batch because you'll need the extras! 

I substituted wheat germ for the flax seed, because that is what I had on hand, and use 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds. This is a very easy recipe to tailor to your personal taste, so let your taste buds and imagination be your guide. Enjoy!!

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-bake-energy-bites-recipe.html

Roasted Chicken

Whether you are a novice or more experienced cook this is a great recipe that can be altered to your personal taste. It came to me one day when I was thinking about things I have not made, or ideas that I have not tried. Thanksgiving was coming and I realized that the idea of cooking a turkey was daunting, but idea of roasting a whole chicken was less intimidating to me. I decided that it couldn't REALLY be that hard and I would give it a try. Honestly, it wasn't hard and actually came out looking BEAUTIFUL and tasting great. I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans. Yum! Even my hard to please husband couldn't argue that it was good, because I made chicken gravy to go over the mashed potatoes :) So, here is how I did it!

I washed my chicken inside and out, took everything out of the cavity (this one had the neck and gizzard inside) and then patted it dry with a paper towel. Then I placed it in the Demarle Large Round Mold. (with the Demarle the cleanup was ridiculously easy:)

I mixed 4 TBLS melted butter with 1 TBLS Demarle in the Kitchen Roasted Garlic and Chive Herb Blend and using my pastry brush I spread it over every part of the chicken. It was kind of fun!

Note: you can use any blend of herbs, a lemon pepper would be good, or crushed thyme, your imagination is the only limit.

 Then I put it in a 375 degree, preheated oven and let it cook for about 1 1/2 hours before checking it. You can also insert an "oven proof meat thermometer so the tip in the thickest part of the inside thigh muscle and does not touch the bone" (from Betty Crocker). Or you can do what I did, which was to let it cook and then when it was close to the time for it to be done I checked it with the thermometer.

Cook the bird till the thermometer reads 180 degrees F. and the juice is no longer pink when you cut into the center of the thigh. Let it "rest" for 15 minutes, as you can see from my thermometer the meat continued to cook and go up a few degrees while resting.

I have to say, this is one of the easiest meats I have done and at $0.98 per lb. it can't be beat for price. It served the four of us for dinner and there was enough for my husband and I for lunch the next day. It came out beautifully browned and was just as delicious as it looked. I saw another recipe that had roasted potatoes with it and I think I may try that the next time I roast a chicken :)

December Customer Special for Demarle At Home

 Here is the Customer Special for Demarle At Home! The $10 specials are running until the 16th of this month, but time is running out! Please place your order by Sunday, December 11 in order to receive before Christmas!

 http://www.demarleathome.com/downloads/customer_specials_this_month.pdf