Recipes to Try.....Craisin Granola

Oh my... this granola recipe is the best. It's great for snacking on in the afternoon or cereal in the morning.  I always get hungry at this time so I need something that is going to be fast but good for me. This recipe appears to be high in fat, but it's the GOOD fat and none of the bad fats. Your body needs healthy fat and lots of it - they even help you lose weight! Also, when you're eating WHOLE FOODS exclusively, you don't really have to count calories.
I love it so much and I love it even more when I make it and my house smells heavenly!!!!!!

Craisin Granola

4 cups  rolled oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds, chopped even more
1/2 cup coconut (add a little more if you really like coconut)
1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1 cup craisins
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Mix this all together in a bowl and set aside.  Next combine

1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup honey

1tsp. almond extract (you can use vanilla)
1tsp. cinnamon
You may have to warm this up just a but so it's easier to stir together with the oat mixture.


Preheat oven to 200 degrees . Add liquid mixture to the oat mixture and stir until well coated. Spread on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 1-2 hours. Take out and stir around the hour mark and then as needed. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

Recipes to Try.....Chicken and Mushrooms, craisin salad

This is a great recipe. I love to serve it over rice pilaf and a side of craisin salad.


Chicken and Mushrooms

• 6-8 chicken tenderloins, slightly pounded out
• 2 tsp butter
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup white wine (If you don't want to use wine, use white wine vinegar for acidity, but it will be a bit more tangy)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 200°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat; when hot add 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp olive oil. Add chicken to the skillet and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is no longer pink. Set aside in a warm oven.

Add additional oil and butter to the skillet, then garlic and cook a few seconds; add mushrooms, salt and pepper stirring occasionally until golden, about 5 minutes. Add a 1Tbs. flour and mix in.
Add wine, chicken broth, parsley; stir the pan with a wooden spoon breaking up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook a few more minutes and then add  the chicken back to the pan.  Simmer until combined and sauce is slightly thickened.  Serve over whatever you would like,  rice, pasta, mashed potato, or asparagus. 

I have it with a side of my craisin salad......Would you like the recipe ?

Craisin Salad 

Mixture of Romaine, Iceberg (shredded), Red and Green Leaf Lettuce
Italian blend cheese (or just mozzarella and parmesan cheese)
Bacon Cooked and crumbled
Craisins
Slivered Almonds, toasted

I didn't put amounts because you know how much of everything you'll want!!!!

Onion Vinaigrette

1/2c. red wind vinegar
1c. sugar
1-2 slices white onion (how strong do you want it?)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp ground mustard (powdered)
1c. Oil  (you can use olive, or salad oil....they each give different textures.)

I put everything except the oil in a blender and blend until smooth.  While the blender is till on, slowly poor the oil in until blended.

Recipes to Try.....Califlower Pasta

I might not post a new recipe every week but that's the goal.  I love trying different recipes or creating my own spin on things.  This pasta is so yummy, I eat it for lunch quite often.  Don't let the Cauliflower scare you off!!!! It's a really healthy but yummy meal.  Just typing this out I want to go make it!!!! Try it and let me know.

Spicy Cauliflower Pasta

12 oz linguine (any pasta will work)
1 large head cauliflower, roughly chopped (about 3 cups)
2Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, (more if needed)
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1 fresno chili, finely chopped
2-3 Tbs. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 c. Pasta water (reserve some of the water from cooking the pasta)
Parmesan cheese (I sprinkle it on till I have the amount I want, about 1/2 c.)
Grilled Chicken Breast (optional) for the men mostly


Cook pasta as directed and steam cauliflower until tender. While the pasta  and cauliflower are cooking heat the oil and saute the garlic and chili.  Stir in the bread crumbs and turn the heat down to med-low.  Mix in the cauliflower and add the pasta.  Only add enough pasta water to mix everything together so it's not dry.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the pasta...at this point you may need to add a bit more pasta water so that everything mixes together smoothly. 

If I'm making this for both Allen and I , I make the chicken, if it it's just myself, I usually omit it...

Grill up a few chicken breasts, thinnly slice, and place it atop the pasta.

My Mama taught me well....but I also took it to heart!!!!!

I rarely watch talk shows but today I turned the TV on and there was Oprah.   She had Jamie Oliver (the food revolution guy) on her show today.  He is trying to convince  America  they need to eat better...Eat real food he says!!! He is a food guy, not a diet guy.  

It was just crazy to me what they showed American's eating and feeding there kids......PROCESSED :( :( :(   That is disgusting to eat that crap regularly. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I just thought it was common sense to make food that you knew the ingredients and to also eat fruits and veggies.  

For Example:         Making mashed potatoes from real potatoes vs. instant potatoes.....there's like 20 ingredients

                              Baking something in the oven verses frying immersed in oil.  

                              Making Chicken Nuggets vs. buying the processed who knows whats in them nuggets

                              Eating apples and string cheese instead of chips and crackers all the time

                              Making Pizza at home and not buying the frozen card board pizza. 

If you can't tell I'm ANTI processed!!!!!   Don't get me wrong, I have it every once in a while and even crave it from time to time....don't ask me why....but I never feel good afterwords.  Therefore I try not to make a habit of it.

I'm so glad that I had a mom that taught me not to rely on processed foods, but how to make things myself.....also to live the law of health. (if we all lived that better, we wouldn't have as many problems)  Everything that Jamie Oliver said on Oprah's show today was common sense to me.  It almost made me feel proud that I have a strong point and someone else agreed with me!!!