Brown Sugar Granola (and Weekly Menu for 10/29/12)

Well this week it’s broccoli on the menu again. My neighbor grows fields of the stuff and I ordered a bunch from him on Saturday. I put a lot in the freezer but kept a few heads for fresh eating. There’s also still those sprouting potatoes that need used up as well as the cabbage and lettuce I picked in preparation for “Frankenstorm”.

Monday: Beef and Broccoli Casserole, Tropical Sweet Potatoes, Salad

Tuesday: Leftover Pork Roast Sandwiches, Coleslaw

Wednesday: Baked Lentils with Cheese, Broccoli

Thursday: Roasted Red Pepper and Sausage Pizza, Coleslaw

Friday: Savory Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Green Beans

Saturday: White Bean Enchiladas, Broccoli

Sunday: Negotiable

I have a friend who is pregnant. Actually, I have several friends who are pregnant but this one is particularly woozy these days so I thought I’d take her some snacks and meals, including this granola. A couple of friends did this for me during the first trimester of Bennet’s pregnancy. I am forever grateful for their kindness. I am now paying it forward, or whatever that saying is.

This recipe is from cousin Jennifer. She’s the granola queen. She’s actually kind of a queen of the whole kitchen but I think she’s especially good at granola.

This will be my fourth granola recipe on this little blog. For not really preferring the stuff, that’s a lot. There’s nutty granola, vanilla granola, and cinnamon apple crunch granola. And now this brown sugar version. Maybe you can love it for me instead?

(Is it totally odd that I post recipes that I don’t love? I mean, I think they are good recipes but I just don’t like eating granola very often. So I give it away because I love making it. Yeah, okay, it’s totally odd.)

Brown Sugar Granola

Adapted from Jennifer’s recipe

5 cups rolled oats (I used home-flaked)

2/3 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup coconut

slightly heaped 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 t salt

slightly generous 1/2 cup of peanut oil

1/3 cup water

1 t vanilla extract

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, pecans, coconut, brown sugar, and salt. In a measuring cup, whisk the oil, water, and vanilla. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet or two and bake at 250 for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. You want it to be golden but not too dark. Cool before putting in jars to store.

Yield: about 6 or 7 cups

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Granola Bars

To date, this is the best homemade granola bar I’ve made. Admittedly, I haven’t made all that many but I can often tell just by the ingredients or picture whether or not they will please my palette. I liked the looks of these right away. You might recognize them if you follow The Pioneer Woman, (though her pictures are much prettier than mine!).

Of course, in true Zoe fashion, I switched things up a bit. Less sugar being the main switcharoo.

I liked these for several reasons. First, they aren’t dry like some granola bars I’ve tried. I mean, they are dry as in “not juicy” but they aren’t dry like, hmm, saltine cracker dry. Ick. Second, they don’t contain peanut butter. As much as I love the stuff, I just don’t prefer it in my granola bars. Third, they aren’t super dense. I think the rice crispies help with that. I know they are processed but there aren’t too many in this large batch. And fourth, they look neat! I like the chocolate bottoms.

Try these puppies. I think you might be pleasantly surprised by how much you like them.

Chocolate Dipped Granola Bars

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s recipe

6 cups (21 oz) rolled (old-fashioned) oats

1/4 (1 7/8 oz) cup peanut oil

1/4 cup (2 oz) melted butter

1 t salt

1/2 cup (6 oz) honey

1/2 cup (3 oz) Sucanat or brown sugar

1/4 cup (3 oz) mild molasses

1/4 cup (2 oz) fruit juice (apple, pear, peach, whatever is in your fridge)

1 T vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups rice crispies

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup chopped almonds

3/4 cup pecan meal (ground up pecans)

12 oz chocolate (milk, dark, whatever)

Combine the oats, oil, butter, and salt in a big bowl. Dump the mixture onto two half-sheet pans and spread it out. (No need to grease the pans.) Bake at 350 degrees until golden, about 20 minutes, stirring a time or two. Remove from oven and dump back into the big bowl.

In a sauce pot, combine the honey, Sucanat, molasses, and juice. Cook over medium heat until Sucanat is dissolved. No need to completely boil it. Stir in the vanilla.

To the oats in the bowl, add the rice crispies, nuts, and pecan meal. Mix up and then pour the sticky sugar mixture over all and stir to combine.

Now prepare your baking sheet. You’ll need a big old half-sheet pan. Cover it with foil and then grease the foil good. Ree (the Pioneer Woman) warned that these stick to everything so I took her suggestion and took great precaution. When the sheet is prepared, pour the granola mixture on it and level it out. I greased the back of a flat spatula and gently pressed all over the pan to make them a pretty even thickness. My fingers did not do the job. Even when I greased them, the oats still stuck all over me.

So, pop these in a 325 degree oven and bake for about 20 or 25 minutes. You pretty much just need them to set up. No need to fry them here. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan.

When cool, slide the whole thing out onto the counter. Peel the foil off the back and then proceed to cut them, using a good sharp knife, into whatever size you wish. I went with 1 1/2 by 3-inch rectangles. I believe I got about 42 granola bars.

Now melt your chocolate…double boiler or microwave. When melted, take a granola bar and gently tap it on the counter to remove any loose oats or nuts. Then dip the bottom half in the chocolate. Set it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet to set up. Repeat with remaining bars. You can refrigerate them to speed up the set-up process. Then wrap each one in a bit of plastic wrap or put in an airtight container between layers of wax paper.

Note: those loose bits and chunks of granola that fall off the bars…save them and eat them on top of yogurt or with milk for your breakfast.

Yield: 42 small granola bars

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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

A simple recipe here for you. Four ingredients. Roasted pumpkin seeds.

These babies are oddly addicting. Salty and crunchy. It’s easy to sit and eat a large portion of them. It’s a good thing they are good for you. (Except maybe for the Old Bay. That probably has MSG in it or something. Perhaps I should come up with a homemade version.)

Back to being good for you: pumpkin seeds are loaded with protein, zinc, copper, and iron, to name a few nutrients. Eat up, ladies!

I was roasting a bunch of butternut squash the other day so I used those seeds. Most winter squash or pumpkin seeds would work, though I’ve never used the whopper kind.

I don’t bother to rinse the seeds. I figure the bits of squash still attached just add flavor and fiber.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin/squash seeds (hulls still on)

1 t Old Bay seasoning

1/4 t granulated garlic

1 T olive oil

Mix everything together. Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for about 1 1/2 hours or until starting to crisp up. Stir every 20 minutes or so. Keeps the ones along the edges from burning. Let cool before eating or storing in an airtight container. I prefer these fresh but they are pretty good leftover, too.

Yield: 2 cups

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Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Still have some corn? Another patch soon ready? Write down this recipe and be sure to make it. Austin and Kate served this as an appetizer at their wedding. I had to get the recipe from Kate’s mom.

The corn sweetens everything while the onion gives a bit of bite. I love the grassy parsley with the fresh tomato. It just all blends so well.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Adapted from Kate’s mom’s recipe

2 cups cooked black beans

2 cups corn, yellow or white (frozen or fresh, lightly cooked)

1 huge tomato, diced

2 T diced red onion

2 T chopped fresh parsley

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 T canola oil

1 t chili powder

1/4 – 1/2 t salt

Mix everything together. Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving. Eat with tortilla chips (or cucumber slices).

Yield: about 4 cups

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Snapshots of Summer (and Maybe a Tomato Sandwich)

A peek at what I’ve been seeing lately, you know, other than food.

Chickie's Rock

tiger lily

patiently waiting for a ride

lightning bug

lady bug on Russian sage

Oh no! She's growing up!

scooping up pond scum

squatting in pond scum

"doin' the disses"

mmm, pancakes

Oh. Hmmm. I just can’t write a post without any food! How about a summer lunch staple? It’s not much of a recipe but we eat it pretty often, much to pancake man’s dismay. He doesn’t much care for tomatoes (or basil). The little bugger. He’ll just have to learn to like them because they are main-stays these days.

Open-face Tomato Sandwich

Have ready per serving:

1 piece of toast (this is pictured)

1 large, thick slice of tomato

1 T basil chiffonade (It might go over with little ones better if it’s chopped up even more fine. Or at least, that would make it more difficult to pick out.)

2 t mayonnaise

salt, pepper, garlic powder/salt, onion powder/salt, or any combination of the 4

Spread the mayo on the toasted bread. Sprinkle with the basil before topping with the tomato. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, or any other herbs and spices of choice.

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