Granola Bars

Homemade Granola Bars

Lately I've been trying to be a little healthier, but I've have trouble thinking up new recipes. It's a lot easier to come up with an original dessert than a healthy snack! Eventually I thought of making homemade granola bars. I expected them to be extremely difficult to make, but they were surprisingly very simple. The recipe is also very flexible, so you can add more or less of pretty much anything in it, (for example, if you don't like coconut, you could substitute in something else or just leave it out entirely and reduce the amount of liquid you use).  However, there are a few things you probably don't want to leave out or change, such as the oats and flour. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients

• 2 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 3/4 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Wheat Germ
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup peanuts (optional)
• 1/4 cup raisins (optinoal)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F
2. Mix together oats, almonds and coconut and spread out on  a cookie sheet. Place in oven and toast for about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionaly.
3. Reduce oven heat to 300 degree F (Remove oat, almond, and coconut mixture from oven and place in a large bowl).
4. Add Wheat Germ, flour, peanuts, raisins, and cinnamon to oat, almond, and coconut mixture. Mix together. 
5. In a small saucepan, melt butter.
6. Add honey, maple syrup and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir for about one minute.
7. Pour wet mixture into the dry and stir to combine.
8. Allow mixture to cool slightly before adding the chocolate chips (or they will melt).
9. Grease a 9x13 pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Add mixture and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. 
10. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown.
11. Allow to cool completely ( about 2 hours). Cut into any shape you desire (Who says granola bars have to be boring old rectangles? Get creative!) You can store these at room temperature in plastic baggies if desired.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

At restaurants, stores, and bakeries there is always the ever present Red Velvet Cake to buy, with the description as being out of this world. I used to have to just trust the labels, because I'd never had Red Velvet myself, and didn't really even know what is was. So when my dad said he needed cupcakes to give to someone for their birthday, Red Velvet came to my mind immediately. It was time to test that legendary flavor. And I have to say, after I ate one of those babies, I was not disappointed.

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 ( .3 ounce) bottle Red Food Color
• 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 1/2 Cup Softened Butter
• 5 1/2 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1-3 Tablespoons Milk

Directions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in plain yogurt/sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not over beat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost.

Frosting: 

1. Cream Butter in mixer
2. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbs. Milk. Stir and gradually add rest of powdered sugar. Add milk if needed. Add Vanilla. Beat on high for several minutes until thick and creamy. If frosting tastes like powdered sugar continue to beat for several more minutes until the taste is right.

The Best Dang Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best Dang Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are tons of Double Chocolate Chip Cookie fans out there, but until today, I just didn't understand the obsession. I LOVE chocolate, but it just seemed like too much chocolate...until today. I wanted to make the perfect companion cookie for ice cream, and with the whole 'ice cream sandwich' idea goin' on, I decided to make double chocolate chip cookies, which I've never ever done before. When they came out of the oven, I expected them to be just like any other double chocolate chip cookie that I've ever had, so I took just a small nibble (just to be sure there was no commitment or anything). But once I had one nibble I just couldn't stop! They were different than other forms of this cookie that I'd had before, suddenly this whole 'double the chocolate' idea was seeming appealing, and even, delicious. So I fell in love today, with something that I'd already rejected time and time again. I guess a new recipe and slighty different ingredients can make a whole lot of a difference.

P.S These cookies are to die for when served with a refreshing glass of milk or a dish of your favorite vanilla ice cream

Ingredients

 Yield 2 Dozen

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup White Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Soften Butter and beat 
2. Add brown and white sugar and beat to combine
3. Add eggs and vanilla and stir until smooth, do not over beat!
4. Add cocoa powder and combine
5. Add flour and stir well (it will be thick)
6. Stir in Chocolate Chips
7. Make balls of dough (about an inch, inch and a half wide; also,the balls don't have to be perfectly round) and place evenly spaced on a cookie sheet; about 12 balls per sheet
8. Cook for about 16 or 17 minutes at 325 degrees

Nutty Granola

Nutty Granola

Granola and yogurt is one of my favorite afternoon snacks, but what do I do when my stock of granola runs out? Make some of course!

Ingredients

• 4 Cups Rolled Oats
• 1 Cup Slivered Almonds
• 1/2 Cup Pecans
• 1 1/2 Cup  Shredded Coconut
• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Cup plus 2 Teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup plus 3 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
• 2 Tablespoons Molasses
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil 
• 1/2 Cup Flax Seed
• 1/2 Cup Wheat Germ

Directions

1. Combine oats, almonds, pecans, coconut, flour, salt, and brown sugar in large bowl
2. Combine maple syrup, molasses, and vegetable oil
3. Combine dry mixture with wet mixture
4. Divide in half. Spread each half evenly on a separate cookie sheet
5. Cook at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes

Spicy Guacamole

Spicy Guacamole 

Mexican food is one of the specialties of my family, because it's my Dad's favorite type of food. So when it comes to guacamole, it has to be perfect. So the other night when my mom asked me to make the guacamole, I knew I had a lot of responsibility on my head. Despite this, I wanted to put my on swing on the guacamole. As I went, I tasted and changed, adjusted and added things, and finally declared it finished! And I guess I did something right because both my parents declared, "This is the best guacamole we've ever had,  we're going to have to put you on gauc duty from now on!"

Ingredients

• 2 Whole Avacados
• 1 Clove Garlic
• Salt
• 3-4 Teaspoons Jalapenos
• 1-2 Teaspoons Chopped Onion
• Dash of Crushed Red Pepper 

 Directions

1. Cut Avocados in half lengthwise. Remove pits. Using a spoon remove meat of the avocados and put in small/medium bowl.
2. Squish Avocados (I like to use a pastry cutter to do this)
3. Add all other ingredients and combine

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo is my favorite sauce for pasta. It's so very, cheesy, and just plain delicious! My mom has always made the best Alfredo Sauce ever. I've tried to use other recipes when she's not around to tell me how, but it never turns out just right. So, with permission from my mom, here's the family's secret Alfredo Sauce Recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Half and Half
• Generous 1 1/2 Cups Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• Salt
• Nutmeg

Directions

1. Melt butter in Medium/Large Sucepan
2. Add Half and Half and heat
3. Add Parmesan and stir until completely combined and thick
4. Add Garlic, dash of Salt, and a dash of Nutmeg. Stir
5. Pour over pasta of your choice, I used Whole Wheat Penne Pasta and Broccoli

Simple Salad and Dressing

Simple Salad and Dressing

I come from a family full of boys, and there's no way they'd even be in the same room with a salad. So with so few salad eaters in our home, a simple salad is the way to go, because it is so easy to make. Homemade salad dressing adds a little pizazz to spice it up a bit.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

 Makes enough for a small salad

•  3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinaigrette
• 1 or 2 fresh cloves garlic
• Basil
• Oregano
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Sugar

Salad:

• Romaine Lettuce Leafs, torn into pieces
• Shredded Carrot
• Green Onion
• Sliced Tomatos

 Directions:

Make Dressing: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine

Make Salad: Combine ingredients in medium/large bowl and combine

Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza

Pizza...hmmmmm. Possibly the most incredible culinary creation of all time. Usually my family buys our pizza, but occasionally when we want something truly special we make our own.

 And since I'm making it myself, I can make it as healthy or unhealthy as I choose. Some things you just have to take it straight , like pepperoni, turkey pepperoni just doesn't do the trick. But on other things, like the crust, there's no harm in makin' it just a little healthier. Heck, I think whole wheat tastes better than plain old white any day.

Pizza So Good It'll Knock Your Socks Off

Yield: 2 large pizzas

Ingredients

Dough:

•  4 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
•  2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
•  4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
•  4 tablespoons olive oil
•  2 teaspoon salt
•  4 teaspoons white sugar

Toppings (You can use anything you want, but this is what I used):

• 1/2 Cup Olive
• Chopped Onions
• Pepperoni
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Tomato Sauce (You can just use spaghetti sauce)
• Garlic Powder
• Salt
• Basil
• Italian Seasonings Mix (Oregano, Thyme, Marjoram, Rosemary, and Sage)

Directions: 

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine 4 cups flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Dulce De Leche Bars

Chocolate Chip Dulce De Leche Bars 

When you're in school, you can't wait for summer to roll around! You make all sorts of extragant plans and goals for the summer and get all excited for days off. Once summer starts, though, those goals like to take a backseat to laziness and TV watching. Some days you are just completly bored out of your mind, but don't want to go excericise or do any sort of thing catorgorized as 'work' or 'productive'. Today was one of those days for me. I knew that I should go out and exercise or even just do some yardwork, but I really just didn't feel like it. At the same time though, I was insanely bored. So I decided the only possible thing I could do that wouldn't be considered acutally exherting myself (no way would I put effort into anything!) but still stave off the mind melting boredom would be to bake something. Not just anything though, something new, exciting, something I certainly didn't have a recipe for. And so the baking began. I plopped ingredients in a bowl and as I worked (adding things and improvising along the way) a wonderful idea struck me to add Dulce De Leche that we already had in the fridge to my creation. And.....Viola! Baking Magic was made and out came the most incredible cookies bars I'd ever tasted. The bars were like the most wonderful soft chocolate chip cookie you've ever had, the texture similar to a fresh-baked out of the oven texture even hours after they cooled off. Everybite or two, one would get a mouthful of smooth creamy Dulce De Leche that wonderfully complimented the chocolate chip cookie part. Maybe it was just dumb luck that they turned out so wonderfully, but who am I to question the whismsies of fate. Those bars were good, and that's all I really know.

Chocolate Chip Dulce De Leche Bars

 Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter

 1 Cup Brown Sugar

 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar (White)

 2 Eggs

2 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda

 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

 1 1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Directions:

 Prepare Dulce De Leche: You can do this in many ways. The quickest way is to micro wave it. Empty the contents of the sweetened condensed Milk Can into a microwave safe dish and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Cook it on medium in two minute increments stirring between each increment for about 14 minutes, adding time if it is not thick enough for your liking.

Prepare Cookie Dough: 1. Soften Butter and place in a large Bowl. Beat butter (I like to beat it by hand, but you can do this in a mixer).

2. Add brown and granulated sugar. Beat it in with the butter.

3. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir until it forms a smooth consistency, but be careful not to over beat.

4. Add Flour, Baking Soda and Salt. Stir well.

5. Add 1 Cup of the Chocolate Chips.

6. Lightly Grease a 9x13 pan. Put about 2/3 of the Cookie Dough in the bottom of the pan.

7. Cook for 13 minutes in oven (325 degrees)

8. Place a layer of Dulce De Leche on top of the cookies in the pan and cover with remaining cookie dough

9. Cook for another 16 minutes, or until top is lightly golden brown.