Granola

I've been meaning to try  out some granola recipes for a while, but reading online about what is done to grain cereals (extrusion processing) spurred me on to try it finally.   This is the finished result, with milk.     It tasted like....granola.    But made from scratch.  

It was an easy process and I'm comfortable with doing this once a week or so. The basic granola (oats) are cooked and then other ingredients are added as desired. For cereal, I'll add raisins, seeds, nuts. For Cosette's granola, just some seeds. For trail mix, I'll add everything including dried fruits, nuts, seeds, coconut shreds, etc. For fun, maybe more sweetness like a tablespoon of dark chocolate mini-chips.

Flavorings combinations are unlimited - we plan to have fun experimenting.

The basic recipe:

Oats (old fashioned or quick oats - not instant)  2 cups
1/2 cup applesauce (I use the little kid packs of unsweetened applesauce)
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup or 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the above together very well, mash with the back of a spoon or with your hands onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes, stir to break it up into small pieces, and bake another 10 minutes. 

Super Green Smoothie

This one came out really green - almost neon.  A sign that I used a lot of kale and my fruits were mangoes & bananas - nothing that would interfere with the green coloring.    Using strawberries or blueberries turns it more brown than green. 


Almond milk
Chia seeds
1/2 banana
1 mango
about 3/4 cup kale (fresh kale - chopped, washed, and frozen last week)
 

Confetti Salad Topping

I saw these confetti salads online and decided to give them a try one day when we were out of fresh salad greens.   I roughly chopped the vegetables we had, put them in the food processor, and then processed them until they were very small chips.   Note: I have a cheap, small food processor, so I have to chop my veggies first.  With a larger, more powerful one, you probably won't have to do as much pre-chopping. 

For ingredients, you can add whatever you have around and whatever you like.    This is what we used this time, but the ingredients are never the same. 

Ingredients:

Tomatoes*
Cucumber
Bell Peppers*
Onion *
Carrots*
Cabbage
Green onion
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Seasoning - pepper, garlic powder, etc.   to taste

* I always include these basic ingredients





After processing:





This time, I served it on a bed of romaine lettuce and broccoli slaw.  The first time, we only had the slaw so we put it over that.  It's not necessary to put it on top of anything.   You can put your entire salad including greens in here.   Usually, I don't do that because I make enough for 2-3 days and the greens do not last that long.   Also, I like serving it on top of greens because it greatly reduces the need for salad dressing, especially if you season it well and use ripe onions or even fresh garlic in the confetti.   The tomatoes & cucumbers keep it moist which further helps avoid the salad dressing. 





The broccoli slaw - 

Mushroom Burgers

Even though these "burgers" have a bit of beans in them, they are not true  bean burgers because they are comprised mostly of mushrooms.   Once again, they need plenty of spices and seasonings, but the taste was wonderful. 

Ingredients -

1 pound button mushrooms
1/2-1 cup ground oats or whole wheat flour
1/2-1 cup minced onion, depending on taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup beans or lentils 
Season to taste - Pepper, garlic powder, a dash of cayenne

Mash it all together with a fork or potato masher, shape into burgers, and bake at 350 or cook in a lightly oiled or watered pan on the stove.   The burgers will release water from the mushrooms as they cook, so you really don't need to use oil, just a little water wil do great. 




The finished product:

Smoothies, Beyond Spinach

In the hopes of expanding my smoothies beyond spinach, I added chopped romaine lettuce to it this morning.   Despite my fears of soggy lettuce in my drink, it turned out fine.   As usual, you couldn't taste the green stuff.




Ingredients - 

1/2 cup almond milk (or juice)
1 or 2 cups of chopped lettuce (romaine or leafy or other greens)
3/4 cup strawberries
1/2 banana
sprinkling of chia seeds or ground flax