Is it just me, or does the tea cup look like it's a cup of pudding? Just sayin'....

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!!