Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup honey
*2-3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted (or other oil or butter)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8-inch square baking pan or an 8x11-inch bar pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats, spices and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin, honey, coconut oil and vanilla until smooth. Pour over oats and stir well, until all of the oats are coated and moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Evenly press granola into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes. Carefully flip pan over onto a cutting board, or lift parchment paper out of the pan. Cut into bars and separate them a little bit so they can cool completely.

You can easily double this recipe, especially since they don't last long! Just bake it in a 9x13 pan.

*The first time I made the granola bars, I didn't use any oil but I thought I would add it the second time to see if it would make the bars a little more moist and plyable. There was not much difference between the two. The second batch was more moist but the oil didn't make them more pliable. Either way they were great

*This is actually from a friend of mine, I haven't tried making them myself but tried them at her house and thought they were fabuloso!. So maybe you might want to try making them. :)

Tortilla Soup

This is not a picture of my Tortilla Soup, but this is pretty much what it looks like. I rarely cook anything that doesn't have a picture in a cookbook, so here you are a picture...of someone else's Tortilla Soup

TORTILLA SOUP

1 Lg onion, chopped (for those who don't like onion a medium is great)

4-6 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp dried cilantro

3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I think I usually use olive)

2 c. chopped cooked chicken (I have used canned chicken, but of course, cooked chicken is the best)

2 quarts chicken broth

1 (14ounce) can stewed tomatoes, do not drain and chopped

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (Rotel Original)

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp pepper

Saute first 3 ingredients in the vegetable oil (or olive oil) in a stock pot for 5 minutes. Add chicken and next 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

TOP WITH:

Tortilla chips: crumble them, buy the strips or bake some using 6 inch corn tortilla for about 5-8 minutes at 400 degrees

Mozzarella cheese.

Avocado

hot sauce

and whatever else you think might be good in tortilla soup. Sour cream, guac, beans. whatever. Enjoy.

Rustic Cabbage Soup

I got a head of cabbage in my Bountiful Basket the other day and thought I'd try to make some soup. I seem to end up having soup for lunch quite often when the weather turns cooler (wouldn't you know it - it's 85 degrees right now!). Anyway. I came across this recipe and thought I'd share

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a big pinch of salt
1/2 pound potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 cups stock (see head notes)
1 1/2 cups white beans, precooked or canned (drained & rinsed well)
1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons

more good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Warm the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and potatoes. Cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes - it's o.k. to uncover to stir a couple times. Stir in the garlic and onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the stock and the beans and bring the pot to a simmer. Stir in the cabbage and cook for a couple more minutes, until the cabbage softens up a bit. Now adjust the seasoning - getting the seasoning right is important or your soup will taste flat and uninteresting. Taste and add more salt if needed, the amount of salt you will need to add will depend on how salty your stock is (varying widely between brands, homemade, etc)...

Serve drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a generous dusting of cheese.

WALKIN' TACOS

1 lb. - ground beef or turkey
1 - 1/4 oz. pkg. taco seasoning mix
4 - 2 1/2 oz pkgs. corn chips or doritos
2 c.- lettuce shredded
1 c.- tomato chopped
1 c.- shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 c.- salsa
1/2 c.- sour cream

Cook ground meat in skillet over medium heat until browned--drain off fat. Add taco seasoning and prepare to package directions. Gently crush chips in the UNOPENED bag. Cut each bag open along one side edge. Spoon equal amount of meat mixture and remaining ingredients into each bag. Serve in the bag with a fork.
Best of all--no dishes to wash!!
FROM: Gooseberry Patch cookbook FB site.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cubes butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1pkg. chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups baby oatmeal (you know... the kind you feed babies)*

Cream butter and sugar, add other ingredients in order. Combine dry ingredients and add gradually.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The trick is to take them out of the oven before they look done.
Makes about 4 dozen.

*You may also blend regular oats in the blender, but it's not as good.

...back by popular demand...

Oatmeal Cookie Granola

8 cups oats
1/2 cup ground golden flax seed
1 cup sugar (or sucanut if you want it healthier)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
8 TBS butter (or coconut oil if you want healthier stuff)
2/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp butter flavor (if you use coconut oil rather than butter)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine oats, flax, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Melt butter, honey and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix well once all is melted and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly and coat well. Place on two large, greased cookie sheets and bake for 20 min or so, stirring once. When finished, let it cool and then add rasins or other dry fruit if you'd like. Place into an airtight container.

Can be used as cereal, parfaits, trail mix, topping for yogurt or ice cream etc...


Bekah - please post the Chocolate Chip cookie recipe!!
Dad - please post your Diabetic Chocolate Chip cookie recipe!!

EASY Chicken Curry

1/4 cup butter

1 small onion chopped

2 carrots julienned

1 stalk celery, sliced

sprinkle with 1/3 cup flour

*Mix well saute for 2 more minutes

stir in: 3 cups chicken broth

cook until thicken, stir occasionally

mix in small bowl:

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 cup evaporated milk

2Tbsp mayonnaise

stir contents of bowl into skillet

Add:

3 cups cooked chicken

Heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately. Feeds 6

**To be honest I didn't follow this recipe a whole lot. I just did the "sauce part". I threw carrots and celery into a skillet and started to saute them until I knew this is what I wanted to make. Anyway. Just put whatever type of veggies in a pan, saute them, add the sauce and chicken, and eat with rice. WAY EASY, fast and REALLY GOOD! oh, we added cashews and baby corn when we added the chicken that was delicious too. **

Blondies

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For you Food Network fans, this is supposedly a Bobby Flay recipe. :)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8″ baking dish. (Line with foil, wax or parchment paper if desired. Grease the lining too.)

Melt the butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat; add both sugars and whisk until combined and sugar is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly drizzle in the butter and sugar while whisking constantly. Then add the flour and whisk until just incorporated.

*Now, at this point you could fold in your favorite add-ins: chocolate chips, milk chocolate chunks, nuts, etc.

*To make Nutella Swirl Blondies: Pour the batter into the prepared dish, then drop spoonfuls of Nutella over the surface. Swirl the batter in the pan making “S” shapes with a butter knife.

*Other optional add-ins and drop-ins? You could swirl in peanut butter or caramel. Or you could make a batch of cookie dough and press chunks of cookie dough down into the batter. The options are limitless! :)

Bake for 24-27 minutes...

We made the Nutella version. Heaven on earth!!!!

Stuffed Meatloaf

Katie went to Good Things Utah at the beginning of March. I decided to watch since my kiddos were sick and I was not able to attend with her...sorry again Katie, maybe we can go another time. Anyway, they did a cooking segment on Meatloaf. Here's the recipe and we liked it.


Favorite Meatloaf Recipe
Cream Cheese
Spinach
mushrooms


Make your favorite meatloaf recipe, it can be done with beef, ground turkey or ground chicken

Spread it onto a cookie sheet (LINED WITH TIN FOIL) like you would do a sheet cake or a big batch of brownies. Though for just a little family you may not get it to spread that big. make it about 1/2 inch thick and you should be good.

Spread softened cream cheese directly onto the meatloaf mixture, top with mushrooms and spinach.

Roll, using the tin foil as a guide, in to a spiral or a pinwheel, make sure your tinfoil is not rolled into it and reposition it on top of the loaf making sure the meat is covered. Bake 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Slice into pinwheel and eat.

* you can actually stuff it with whatever you want. On the show they did carmalized onions instead of mushrooms, but I don't eat onions like that so...mushrooms it was. ENJOY!

Creamy Vegetable Soup

1 large turnip or 2 med turnips - peeled and cubed
3 med. potatoes - peeled and cubed
2 carrots - peeled and cut
2 celery sticks - cut
1 small onion - quartered
1 large can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
5 cups chicken broth

Put all ingredients into a large pot and boil til veggies are soft. DO NOT DRAIN. Blend in blender to desired consistency. Season to taste.

I tried this before with fresh tomatoes - it was ok, but the consistency was similar to mashed potatoes. I found that if I used a can with the juice, it helped thin it out a little.

Eat This, Not That Recipes

I was watching "Good Morning America" the other morning and caught this segment. It's from the guy who writes the "Eat This, Not That" books. It's supposed to be healthy versions of the foods you would normally eat. I haven't tried these recipes, but I thought I'd copy them and share. Here's the link: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Recipes/video/rocco-dispirito-low-calorie-recipes-9986290

Macaroni & Cheese

Nonstick cooking spray

4 ounces whole-wheat elbow macaroni

½ cup Onion-Garlic Puree

½ teaspoon dry mustard

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 cup shredded 50% reduced- fat cheddar, such as Cabot

¹/³ cup nonfat Greek yogurt

Salt

¼ cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs, such as Ian's All-Natural

¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray an 8×8- inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set it aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the package directions, 7 to 9 minutes; drain.

While the pasta is cooking, bring the Onion- Garlic Puree, mustard, and cayenne to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Whisk in the cheddar until it has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the yogurt.

In a medium bowl, toss the cooked macaroni with the cheese sauce to coat thoroughly. Season with salt to taste. Pour the macaroni into the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle the panko over the top. Top with the Parmigiano- Reggiano.

Bake until the cheese has melted and the macaroni is hot throughout, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

NOW YOU CAN EAT THIS!

Before After

Fat 32g 6.5g

Calories 670 227

Protein: 16g | Carbohydrates: 29g | Cholesterol: 20mg

Fiber: 3g| Sodium: 487mg

Low-Cal Brownies

Nonstick cooking spray

1½ cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon espresso powder (is there something else we could use??!??)

¾ cup egg substitute

2 tablespoons low-calorie sugar-free chocolate syrup, such as Walden Farms

2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream, such as Breakstone's

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

24 packets (84 g) Truvia or 8 tablespoons granulated Splenda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8×8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine the beans, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and egg substitute in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through.

Add the chocolate syrup, sour cream, butter, Truvia, and vanilla. Process until all of the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, turning the dish halfway through the baking time. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with soft batter clinging to it.

Let the brownies cool completely in the baking dish on a wire rack. Then cut into 12 squares and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

NOW YOU CAN EAT THIS!

Before After

Fat 70g 1.6g

Calories 1500 53

Protein: 4g | Carbohydrates: 8g | Cholesterol: 4mg

Fiber: 3g| Sodium: 94mg

If anyone tries these recipes, make a comment. I am curious about the brownies.

White Chicken Chili

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/2 of a medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 15oz. cans Great Northern Beans, drained
1 7 oz. can diced green chilies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large pot saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in vegetable oil. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve immediately. Top with cheddar cheese, green onion, and sour cream. Also yummy with tortilla chips!

~~Simple Simon Cheesecake Pie~~

1 8oz. pkg. Cream Cheese
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Graham Cracker Crust

Cream the Cream Cheese and Milk together, add Lemon Juice and Vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Then pour into crust, refrigerate for 2 hours at least. Serve with favorite topping. :+)

Toppings:
Cherry Pie filling
Apple Pie filling
Fresh Strawberries or Strawberry Ice Cream topping
Drizzle Carmel Ice Cream topping on top.
Any fresh fruit or berries....