Gluten Free Granola

Hey Yall! I posted a pic via instagram of the granola that I had made and got lots of commenters asking for the recipe. I have posted a similar one HERE years ago but here is approximately what I do now. I never make it the same so feel free to mix and tweak whatever you want! Oh and by the way, any oats will do but most all oats are full of gluten so if you are hoping for these to be gluten free you will need to make sure you buy g-free oats. (Here is a link to ones we get if I cant get them at a local g-free store although this is a link to a 4 pack so don't worry its not that expensive!)

I have a method of doing this that keeps the cost down and keeps the majority of items fresh and local. I take a measuring cup with me to a store that sells bulk raw nuts (or farmers market if you have one close that actually sells nuts that are raw & local. local nuts are not easy to find in some cities so at least go for raw) and just measure out and buy exactly what I need.

Ingredients::

4 1/2 cups gluten free oats ::

we prefer quick cooking oats but rolled oats work well too

1/2 cup of 4 different seeds or nuts.

• Example :: 1/2c pecans,1/2c cashew, 1/2 sliced almonds, 1/2 pumpkin seeds:: all nuts need to be broken up to edible pieces if not already. I some times use extra to make it less sweet...its up to you

1/4 cup flax seeds (optional)

3/4 cup PURE maple syrup ( i use a medium grade)

1/4 cup Local honey

1/4 cup Coconut Oil or Canola Oil whatever you use around your house (canola works best but it is not easy to find non GMO canola in the US)

1 teaspoon vanilla (if you are going for g-free be sure to make sure your vanilla is in fact g-free, not all are)

Cinnamon to taste

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (or raisins or dried anything fruity)

Directions::

Pre-heat oven to 350.

In a large bowl mix all the oats, seeds & nuts. This step is very simple if you already measured out your nuts because all you do is pour them all in and stir!

In a separate small bowl, mix the syrup, honey, oil and vanilla. Once it is mixed well, pour this mixture over the oats/seeds/nuts. Stir until all dry ingredients are covered.

Grease a 10X 13 pan (the deepest one you have) and pour all ingredients into the pan. lightly dust with cinnamon and place in oven. Set the timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes pull it out and stir it carefully (the pan will be very full). Lightly dust with cinnamon again and place back in oven for 10 more minutes. Repeat this until it is a desired texture. I prefer it to be less crispy and sticky so I do it for 3 rounds. But many do it up to 5 rounds.

Pull final granola out of the oven and let it cool to room temp, stirring occasionally to avoid it clumping up. Then add cranberries and you have granola!

If you use G-free oats you will need to refrigerate your granola. We refrigerated it way before we were g-free because we liked it cold!

Enjoy!

What's On The Menu Monday

Well, apparently, each Monday I need to clarify what exactly WOTMM is so that no one accidentally thinks all of the listed food items are being prepared only on Monday. Rather, WOTMM is a list of meals I plan to make through out the week. I don't like to set the days for them because then I feel confined (i know, weird right? but this right-brained girl is proud to even have a list okay.) The list helps me stay within our grocery budget while providing healthy, well rounded meals for the week making us less apt to eating out or making unnecessary trips to the store.

That said, here is this weeks: (we have been invited to various homes for meal lately so some of these meals were from last weeks list)

Its going to get cold this week so I have two soups on the menu

Baked Potato Soup

Split Pea Soup

Salmon Pasta Alfredo- brown rice pasta with homemade Alfredo sauce with baked Salmon on top or mixed in

Baked Mahi Mahi with rice and black beans: I just take frozen Mahi Mahi from Trader Joe and thaw it. Place it in a baking dish, sprinkle lemon juice, garlic salt and some McCormick's Montreal HAMBURGER seasoning on it. Bake it for 20 and dinner is served :)

Ahi Tuna Steaks with Broccoli: these are pre-seasoned and frozen by Trader Joe's. EASIEST MEAL. Thaw them in the fridge, then just throw them in the oven for 20 mins and have a spectacular steak! Then I just steam some broccoli to have with it.

Nacho Bowls: this is kinda like build your own burrito only with chips instead of tortillas. Meat, (we will use mahi or talapia) beans and the fixins on a bowl full of chips.

Happy cooking...what are y'all eating?

What's On The Menu Monday

Y'all, apparently I only blog on Monday's about food...lame.

I actually have had very limited time on the computer this month. Most all the time I have had online has consisted of work for His Voice for Sudan. I love my job. I am trying to get a good routine established here in our new city as the "newness" wears off and reality that we are here for good sinks in. In this said routine, blogging time has gotten squeezed but I hope, as soon as some of my work deadlines come to a close, I will pick up and have a less lame blog...hehe...in the mean time, here is WOTMM:


Taco Soup: one can kidney beans, on can corn, 1 can rotel, 1lb of browned turkey burger seasoned:: served with shredded cheese and tortilla chips. (don't drain any of the cans, just dump it all in)

Salmon Pasta Alfredo- brown rice pasta with homemade Alfredo sauce with baked Salmon on top or mixed in

Trader Joe's Cheese and Bean Enchiladas - this is a frozen meal that is organic, gluten free and vegetarian! AND SOO YUMMY! good to keep on hand to throw in on those days that cooking seems daunting!

Spinach Lasagna Bake: This is gluten free (brown rice) noodles, spinach, ricotta/cottage cheese, mozzarella all layered and baked.

Baked Mahi Mahi with rice and black beans: I just take frozen Mahi Mahi from Trader Joe and thaw it. Place it in a baking dish, sprinkle lemon juice, garlic salt and some McCormick's Montreal HAMBURGER seasoning on it. Bake it for 20 and dinner is served :)

Breakfast Skillet: Potatoes, garlic, eggs, turkey bacon and cheese all mixed up in a skillet. If I am not up for it, this night might turn into egg sandwiches or omelets.


Okay, that's what we will be eating....what about you?

What's On the Menu Monday

This is a fun meal to make when lots of people are coming over. It is one that people can join in and help, or you can do it yourself. If someone is cooking with you, split duties by assigning the waffles to one group and the Topping to another. If you are doing this alone, turn on waffle iron and prepare the waffle mixture. Then prepare the topping and let it sit while you cook the waffles. This is an AMAZING meal, full of down home taste!

Creamy Poblano Chicken and Cornbread Waffles

TOPPING:

3 Tbs butter
1 large sweet Onion, chopped
2 poblano chile pepper, seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 chicken breasted cut to bit-sized
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
cracked red pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup (10 3/4oz)
1 conainer sour cream (8 oz)
1 package of shredded harp Chedder Cheese

Melt butter in a deep skillet with lid on. Add onion, chile pper, and garlic; saute 5 min. Add Chicken, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring often, 8-10 min or until chicken is done. Stir in Soup and sour cream until smooth. Add garlic salt and red pepper. Add Cheese, and cook 5-7 mins until cheese is melted and it is nice and creamy. Serve on top of the Cornbread Waffles.

WAFFLES:
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tb sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup frozen white shoepeg corn, thawed (or any frozen corn works)

Stir together first 5 ingred. in large bowl. Stir together egg and next 3 in separate bowl. Add to cornmeal mixture stirring just unil dry incrdients are moistened.
Spray waffle iron and cook just like you would regular waffles.

What's on the Menu Monday

Chicken Spaghetti

1/4 chopped onion- brown in 2 Tbls butter

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1/2 cup Water

1 cup shredded colby jack cheese (i put 1-2/2 or 2 cups)

3 chicken brest diced and sauteed in olive oil and garlic

12oz of spaghetti (i use whole wheat)

Brown onions in butter. Once they are browned add soup, then water, then cheese and chicken. Stir until creamy (i add some garlic salt and cracked red pepper for more flavor) and add cooked pasta. Serves 4 to 5.

What's on the Menu Monday Returns!

sorry to all of you who are readers of the WOMM i have been a bit crazy this summer so i will try to make it up to you. Here is an easy one to get going again.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

3 Chicken Breast (smart chicken or at least anti-biotic and hormone free)
KC Master Piece Spice Hot BBQ Sauce
2 Cups colby jack shredded cheese
1 cup chopped red onion
1 can grand biscuits (off brand saves money)

Place BBQ sauce in the bottom of a skillet like you would olive oil or something you were sauteing with. Chop chicken breast in to bit size pieces and saute in BBQ sauce. Meanwhile take the biscuits and press them out onto a pizza pan or a cookie sheet. Once biscuits are pressed put a BBQ sauce layer and then the onions. When chicken is done place the chicken on the pizza than top it with cheese. Cook at 350 for 10 mins or until cooked through.

This is a great 20 min meal that is great on the fly. In fact i made it up two days ago because i was trying to get rid of some BBQ sauce and some biscuits and avoid going to the store!

What's on the Menu Monday

Well another week has flown by and i hope you all have enjoyed cooking this week! I have missed it tremendously...last Monday evening, mid cooking (for 12 people) our stove died. It took our landlord until today to get it fixed...but we have a brand new oven now! (they couldnt fix the other one!) So I have one last week to cook before Vernon heads to Sudan and I to Missouri.

On the menu today is a family favorite. It makes a great meal that needs no sides but pairs nicely with a fruit salad if you need more food. I kinda make shift this meal so measurements will be lacking, but give it a whirl! Everyone who makes it has their own way....so create yours!

I am not sure even what to call it so i will call it....

Sun Dried Pasta Chicken Yumminess!
3 servings of Bow Tie Pasta
3 Chicken breast
1/2 stick Butter
one yellow sweet onion
6 oz Sun Dried Tomatoes
1 cup Pine nuts
1 cup Half and Half (add more if you like it creamier)
1 package of shredded Parmesan
(i usually add cracked red pepper somewhere!)

Cut 3 chicken breasts in to bite size pieces and saute (until fully cooked) in a bit of olive oil and garlic.
Boil water and cook Bow Tie Pasta. Strain.
In separate skillet (needs to be large enough to hold everything at the end) melt a half stick of butter. When melted add one yellow sweet onion and approx 6oz of Sun-dried Tomatoes. (smaller sliced ones are better in my opinion) Cook with lid for 3 min. add pine nuts.
Add Chicken to onion/sdt mix and then add Pasta. Stir together and add half and half. Stir and add Parmesan.
Let sit and add more Parmesan.
ENJOY!

What's on the Menu Monday

Okay girls (and guys if you wish)....i am declaring What's on the Menu Monday's. Every monday if you wish, post your fav recipe, preferably one that you cook often, your family enjoys. My hope is that we can be a great encouragement to one another "to provide food for her household" prov. 31:15, that we can excite eachother to feed our families in healthy and affordable ways and that our pallets will be satisfied along the way!
The first Item on the Menu is a family fav. As soon as it runs out, I make more...its amazing...enjoy!

Homemade Granola
(this recipe is from a small B&B in the hill country and as you will find out in the monday's to come, i have added and taken away in order to make it mine...hehe!)

4 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2cup walnuts (we use pecans) chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashew, pieces
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
Cinnamon to taste

Place first 6 ingredients in bowl and mix well.
Mix together syrup, honey, canola, vanilla and pour over dry ingredients and stir until covered
Place in large shallow pan (i use a large casserole dish, my aunt uses a deep cookie sheet) and lightly cover with cinnamon and bake at 350 for 50min stirring every 10 mins. Each time you stir lightly cover with Cinnamon again.
Cool and add cranberries. Keep in fridge in air tight container up to two weeks.
This is great for breakfast with milk, a handful dry for a snack or on yogurt or ice cream for dessert!
ENJOY!