Granola

In the past year, my husband and I have really been paying more attention to what we eat and trying to exercise more. My husband even ran his first 5K this past September after only 4 months of training and never running before! Well, it made me jealous and I am now running also. Anyways, in our quest to be healthier we have been eating a lot of yogurt to which we will sprinkle granola on top. Well, a good granola can be on the pricey side. That's when Clinton Kelly (love him!) on the new show "The Chew" came to my rescue. A few weeks ago, he showed how to make his homemade granola and it costs so much less to make your own. As Clinton mentioned, you can customize this to your own taste but here is how we have been enjoying it.

I started off by mixing together 3 cups quick cooking oats with 1/2 cup each coconut, pecans, dried and chopped dates, and dried blueberries.

In a measuring glass I combined 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup honey, and 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. I stirred to combine them and poured it over my oat mixture. I mixed it all together until everything was moistened and poured it onto a cookie sheet.

I placed the granola into a preheated 250 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes taking it out at the 30 minute and 60 minute mark to stir it. Once it is cooled, store it in an airtight container.

Video from "The Chew" of Clinton Kelly making his Granola.

Haunted Gingerbread House

Remember the Gingerbread House Kit I posted last December? Well, did you know that there are also Haunted Gingerbread House Kits?!

This kit came with 4 different kinds of candy, black and orange icing, purple and yellow fondant, and 3 additional gingerbread cookies for decorating. Unlike my Christmas gingerbread house, I did have assemble this one but it had slots pre-cut in the base for easier assembly. I also transferred the icing into pipping bags to make it easier to use.

I decorated the front and sides of the house before I actually put the house together. It was much easier for me to decorate these pieces while they were still laying flat. I also didn't have to hold any candy until it dried this way. 

Happy Halloween!!

Chicken Queso Pizza

Hello! This pizza is more of a method (if you remember me talking in previous posts about other things like that) instead of a recipe.

Look Good??

So I started off with what I call a "pre-baked" pizza crust. The kind you find on the store shelf, not in the refrigerated section.

I spread a THIN layer of jarred queso dip over the crust......

.....and on top of the queso I spread out some cooked and chopped chicken, green bell peppers, and onions. Previously, I had cooked 2 chicken tenders that were chopped with a chopped bell pepper and 1/2 chopped onion. Using just a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and chili powder, I cooked them all in a frying pan until the chicken was cooked through and the pepper and onion were softened. This part could be done right before you put them on the pizza or in advance.

Once the queso and chicken/onion/pepper mixture is on, I topped the pizza with shredded cheddar cheese and sprayed the exposed crust lightly with cooking spray (like Pam). I then sprinkled the exposed crust with chili powder and garlic salt.

I followed the baking instructions on the package of my pizza crust and when it came out of the oven, I drizzled sour cream that I thinned with just a tiny amount of milk over the top.

Viola! Chicken Queso Pizza!

Update

Time has just gotten away from me the last couple weeks.....but tomorrow I will be posting Chicken Queso Pizza! We had it tonight for dinner and if I do say so myself, it was pretty tasty ;) See you tomorrow!

Banana Cake

This Banana Cake is Fabulous! It has become my go-to for ripe bananas and I can't get over how moist it stays.

Butter Yum Banana Cake

Corn Casserole

I love this stuff! It is such an easy and filling side dish and really warms your tummy when the weather starts to get cooler. This casserole is almost always on our holiday table.

Corn Casserole

3 Tbsp butter
1 pkg. Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/2 Cup corn (I use frozen)
1 can creamed corn
1/2 Cup milk
1 egg
salt and pepper

In a 13x9 inch baking dish, place in the butter and put the dish into the oven. Turn the oven to 350 degrees to preheat and to melt the butter.  In a bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Make sure everything is thoroughly combined and pour into the preheated baking dish containing the now melted butter. Do not stir the butter into the batter. Bake for 30 to 40 or until the casserole is set in the center.

We ate our corn casserole with BBQ Pork Chops that you get just a peek of in the picture above.

Lemon Angel Food Trifle

So a couple of weeks ago, I went to make my Lemon Angel Food Cake for a potluck at my work. Well, it turns out it is very important to let your angel food cake cool completely before trying to take it out of the pan. I tried to rush it and remove it from the angel food cake pan while it was still warm and.......it deflated......like a tire. It looked awful. So I still made the glaze hoping to somehow "cover up" what I had done. I poured on the glazed and now had a glazed deflated tire.... So I covered up my mistake the best I could by turning it onto a trifle and it was wonderful!! And Angel Food cake is already fat free and I used sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, and sugar free cool whip. No one ever would have known if I didn't tell them!

Take one glazed Lemon Angel Food Cake and cut it into cubes, set aside. Mix 1 small box of strawberry sugar free jello with two cups boiling water. Stir until jello dissolves and pour over 1 1/2 cups sliced frozen strawberries and place in refrigerator until cool but not set. In another bowl, mix 2 small boxes instant sugar free vanilla pudding with 4 cups milk (I used skim milk) and stir until combined. In a trifle bowl, place half of the angel food cake cubes in the bottom. Spoon in half of the strawberries out of the jello liquid and spoon in enough of the jello liquid to just "wet" the angel food cake. You will NOT use all of the jello liquid. Next, spoon in half of the pudding followed by half of the sugar free cool whip. Repeat all the layers again. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.