Christmas Crack

 Oh my goodness, this stuff is delicious!  Michelle set out a bowl of it during a ballgame and it was inhaled in minutes.  My husband could not stop eating it and said after, "I absolutely forbid you to get this recipe!  I can't control myself!"  But, here it is.  Michelle's delicious Christmas Crack.

Christmas Crack

12.8 ounce box of Rice Chex Cereal

12 ounces box of Golden Grahams cereal

7 ounces shredded coconut

4 ounces slivered almonds

1 1/2 cup butter (three sticks)

2 cups sugar

2 cups light corn syrup

Combine the cereals, coconut and almonds in a large bowl.

In a large saucepan:

Combine the butter, sugar, and corn syrup to soft ball stage.  Pour over the cereal mixture and stir until all is well coated.  Pour mixture onto two large cookie sheets to cool.  Stir occasionally to prevent clumping.  Store (ha!) in an airtight container.  

Optional:  You can add marshmallows or chocolate chunks if desired.  

Healthy Scotcharoo Bites

Again, this is Shonna's recipe (for some reason, her computer won't let her publish).  She is an excellent cook and comes up with her own recipes.  This is one that she invented.  They are delicious and healthy.

Healthy Scotcharoo Bites

Ingredients:

½ cup peanut butter

¼ cup lightly salted shelled peanuts

4 dates, pitted and halved

1 ½ to 2 TBSP agave

1 ½ cups Rice Krispies

⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Place dates and peanuts in food processor and process until combined. Then add the peanut butter and agave. Process. Add Rice Krispies and blend for a minute or two until it forms a dough. If it doesn’t come together in a dough, add a tsp of water at a time. Remove the blade, then form balls from the dough. In a very small bowl, warm the chocolate chips, stirring every 20 seconds until melted. Dip the end of the balls in the chocolate and place in sealable container and store in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy! 

Striped White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

This stuff is addictive.  It's a popular Christmas neighbor gift and I've eaten it a lot.  I decided I wanted to make it this year and searched the Internet for a recipe, but couldn't find one.  I guess it's one of those easy, word of mouth recipes and no one's bothered to post it.  So I decided I would- mostly so I can remember what I learned if I ever want to do it again.   It really is easy and really, really yummy!!!

Striped White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn
About 12 cups of popcorn  ( I bought "Nearly Naked" popcorn at Costco, but you could pop your own)
About 6-8 ounces of white vanilla flavored candy melts (I've heard you can use white almond bark as well)
Chocolate candy melts
Peppermint bark, cut fine

Put the popcorn in a large bowl.  Be sure to remove all of the unpopped corn kernels.  Add about 1/2 cup chopped peppermint Melt the vanilla melts according to directions in your microwave.  Stir until smooth.  Pour over the popcorn and stir to coat the popcorn.  When coated, spread the popcorn on a silicone mat or waxed paper.  Let cool until the melts harden.  Melt about 3/4 cup of the chocolate melts (or you can use chocolate chips.)  With a large spoon, drizzle the chocolate over the corn, creating "stripes."  Let harden and then enjoy!!  Store in airtight containers, or bag to give away.


Now, here's the truth.  I tried it with much more chocolate on it and with less.  All are good.  So, you can do more or less and it still will be delicious.  It's not an exact recipe.  You can do it with or without the milk chocolate stripes and the peppermint bark.  You could add nuts or sprinkles or whatever you'd like.  I did two full bags of the Nearly Naked popcorn and used four bags of the vanilla melts on that much popcorn- if that helps.    Here's pictures of what I used:

I bought the candy melts at Michael's, but you can get them at Walmart, too.

Cinnamon Muffins -- With a Healthy Twist

Mmm. My house smells like autumn. Yours can too. With this delicious, healthy recipe!

This time of year I am always looking for new ideas for after school snacks and yummy things to send in school lunches. My children love cinnamon and this muffin recipe went over really well. It calls for applesauce instead of oil so it is low fat and scrumptious. We have a fair amount of zucchini hanging out around here from our garden, so I used shredded zucchini instead of apples and it worked great.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

 3/4 cup sugar (The original recipe called for "granular no-calorie sucralose sweetener, e.g., Splenda ®") 

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 2 teaspoons baking powder

 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

 1 egg, lightly beaten

 1/3 cup milk

 2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped OR shredded zucchini

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a 12 cup muffin tin with foil liners or spray with cooking spray.

2.      In a large bowl, whisk together the 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup sweetener, salt, baking powder, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.

3.      In a separate bowl, mix 1/3 cup applesauce, egg, and milk. Stir the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture until just blended. Fold in the apples. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.

4.      Optional Step: In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sweetener, 2 2/3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 2/3 tablespoons whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and oats. Spread evenly over the muffin batter.

5.      Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

I skipped the optional step for the following less healthy, but “more appealing to my children” option:

1 Tablespoon butter

Cinnamon and sugar mix

Brown butter on the stove. Put cinnamon sugar mixture in a bowl. After muffins are cooked and have cooled for 4 or 5 minutes, dip muffin top in browned butter and then cinnamon/sugar and give them to your hovering children to listen to them “ooh” and “aah.” Or satisfy your own cravings and enjoy a guilt free snack.

Jalapeno Popper Spread

With New Years Eve just around the corner, I wanted to share one of my favorite snacks. 

Warning: it is NOT a low calorie food. But it is yummy! 

I got this recipe from the school nurse at my children's elementary school. I was there a fair amount last year volunteering with the PTO and she shared some of this dip that she had made for the faculty. I LOVED it and she passed along the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

2 packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
2 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Stir together cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green chiles and jalapeno peppers. Pour mixture into a microwave safe serving dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

2. Microwave on High until hot, about 3 minutes.

The original recipe came from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jalapeno-popper-spread/.

Granola

I use this recipe as a guide, but ratios and ingredients are incredibly flexible with granola.  Basically, I just dump whatever oats and nuts I have into a bowl and toss some honey and olive oil over the top and bake them. I love the fact that it is healthy, delicious, and my whole family loves it. I originally got this recipe from allrecipes.com (“Megan’s Granola”), but have tweaked it according to our family's preferences.  If you are looking to boost the nutrients in your granola, try adding 1 ½ cups each of wheat germ, flax seed, and oat bran. For a cheaper granola, cut back on the nuts and increase the oats. Pumpkin seeds are also an inexpensive, nutrient-boosting addition.  I find that when I make this size batch, our family of four goes through it in about the same time it takes us to eat one gallon of home-made yogurt (this easy crockpot recipe, doubled).

Home-made Crockpot Yogurt that we
enjoy with our granola

Prep time:  20 minutes

Cook time:  20 minutes

Servings: 30

Ingredients

8 cups rolled oats

1 cup sunflower seeds 

1-2 cups sliced almonds

1-2 cups chopped walnuts

1-2 cups sweetened coconut

1 ½ teaspoons salt

According to my cost-analysis, making
home-made yogurt is about 1/3 the price of
buying yogurt in quart size containers.

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup honey

½ cup olive or vegetable oil

½ cup applesauce

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

2.  Combine the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, and coconut in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, honey or agave, oil, applesauce, cinnamon, and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat.  Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets. 

3.  Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes.  Stir once halfway through.  Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.

Homemade Granola

My husband made this amazing granola so I had to post it on here. The original source is cdkitchen.com.



INGREDIENTS:

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds (We had whole almonds so Blake used a nut chopper.)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (We put in 1/2 cup each of craisins, raisins, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a bowl mix the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. In a saucepan warm the oil and honey. Whisk in vanilla.

Carefully pour the liquid over the oat mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon; finish mixing by hand. Spread granola in a 15x10 inch baking pan.

Bake 40 minutes, stirring carefully every 10 minutes. Transfer granola-filled pan to a rack to cool completely. Stir in raisins or cranberries. Seal granola in an airtight container or self-sealing plastic bag. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.