Crunchy Granola clusters

I love granola and so does my hubby. I saw this recipe on the Pioneer woman, but tweaked it a bit. I use a variety of nuts and dried fruit. I use a mixture of what I have on hand. I also used maple syrup because I was out of molasses and I liked the flavor so much that that is what I use all the time now. This is a great mid after noon snack or you can eat with almond milk for cereal in the morning. Sometimes I break it up small and add to melted semi sweet chocolate and spread out on parchment paper like a bark. Then break for a healthy treat instead of candy bars. Enjoy!

Crunchy Granola Clusters

Brown Butter:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter

Toasted Oats:

6 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

Clusters:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup honey 

1/4 cup Maple Syrup (or molasses) 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

1 cup crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies

1 cup wheat germ 

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans 

1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds 

1/4 cup roughly chopped almonds 

1/4 cup flax seeds 

For the brown butter: 

Add the butter to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Cook, swirling the saucepan t to keep the butter moving around, until it melts and bubbles up, 3 to 4 minutes. When the butter is a medium golden brown, remove the skillet from the heat (it will continue browning in the skillet over the next 30 seconds or so!). Set aside. 

For the toasted oats: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss the oats with the oil, and salt. Spread the mixture out on the prepared baking sheets and bake, shaking the pans twice during the cooking time and making sure the oats don't burn, until toasted, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool a bit. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

For the clusters: In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey and maple syrup. Stir the mixture until combined, then heat over medium heat, stirring, until barely bubbling. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the brown butter to the pan and stir.

Toss together the toasted oats, rice cereal, wheat germ, cranberries, pecans, pumpkin seeds, almonds and flax seeds in a large bowl. Pour the sugar mixture over the oat mixture, stirring as you pour. Toss to combine; it will be sticky!

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and thoroughly spray with non stick cooking spray. (make sure you spray the edges of the pan too. Pour the mixture out onto the baking sheet, spread out and pat down with a rubber spatula so it’s pressed down into the pan and bake until golden, about 20-30 minutes. Let cool then I use a knife or off set spatula to lift a corner up and I break with my hands into clusters, you can make them as big or as small as you like. 

Store in a zip lock baggie or two (i use two gallon size) ENJOY!

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder with Bacon

I have been a care giver to my elderly parents for the last 6 or 7 months, and it's hard coming up with recipes that they love and will eat or are able to eat. My mother has been eating sweet potatoes like you wouldn't believe and it's easier for my dad to eat soup rather than slices of meat or things like that. I saw this recipe on The Kitchen I had to give it a try. I basically followed exactly but I also added some dried parsley to the herbs and pretty much doubled the bacon ... Yum

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder with Bacon

Ingredients: 

       2 tablespoons butter

6 to 8 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into a small dice 

2 cups diced peeled sweet potato

1/2  medium onion, diced 

2 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 small red bell pepper, diced 

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried sage  

1 bay leaf 

                1 Tablespoon dried parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons yellow curry powder 

1/2 package frozen sweet petit frozen corn

2 cups chicken stock 

1 cup heavy cream 

1/4 cup minced chives (opt. can use green onion tops)

Directions: 

In a stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the bacon and cook until crispy and most of the fat is rendered, about 8 minutes. Set the bacon aside for later use, leaving the fat in the pot.

In the same pot over medium heat, saute the sweet potato, shallots, garlic and bell pepper, stirring frequently, until the shallots are tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the thyme, sage and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Add the flour and curry to the vegetables and stir until incorporated. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the corn and chicken stock, bring to a simmer and cook, covered, until the sweet potato is tender, another 20 to 25 minutes. Add the cream and cook a few minutes more till hot.  Season with salt and pepper.

Plate into individual bowls and garnish with the crispy bacon and chives.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

I love Soup...it's a new tradition in my family that either the day before thanksgiving or Black Friday, we have an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. We eat and play games all evening. This year I made this Delicious Zuppa Toscana Soup that I found here. I followed the recipe as it was except I used a Hot Italian Sausage and left out the Crushed red pepper, and instead of just spinach I did a mix of kale and baby spinach..... So good. Enjoy!


Best Ever Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ingredients 1 pound bulk Hot Italian sausage 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1 large onion, diced 1 tablespoon minced garlic 5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth 6 potatoes, thinly sliced 1 cup heavy cream 1/4 bunch fresh baby spinach and kale mix (I used a couple of handfuls)Directions Cook the Italian sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. drain and set aside. Leaving a few tablespoons of drippings in the bottom of the Dutch oven, stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage and bacon; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Savory Herb Turkey Gravy

No Thanksgiving is complete without a delicious Savory Herb Gravy I found this recipe on pinterest and it's simple to make from turkey giblet stock that you make while the turkey is roasting. YUM!

Savory Herb Turkey Gravy
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Reserved turkey neck and giblets
1 yellow onion, unpeeled and quartered
1 carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups water
6 black peppercorns
1 large handful fresh herb sprigs (parsley, rosemary, thyme marjoram)
1 bay leaf
Reserved turkey drippings
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Heat oil in large stockpot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add turkey neck and giblets. Allow to cook a few minutes undisturbed to get nice and brown. Use tongs to flip and brown other side.
Add onion quarters, carrot, celery, and garlic. Allow to brown, stirring only occasionally, to brown all sides evenly.
Instructions:Add wine to pot and scrape bottom of pan to deglaze. Allow wine to boil and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add water, peppercorns, herbs, and bay leaf to pot. Do not cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for at least one hour.
Strain liquid into a container. Discard all solids except any meat from the neck you'd like to pick off. You can chop up the other giblets real small if you like that stuff too (I'm not quite at that point in my life yet). Refrigerate liquid so that the fat congeals on top (there wasn't any congealed fat when I did it). Once cold, remove solid fat from liquid.
Combine remaining drippings from the turkey with the broth you cooked earlier.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir. Cook until mixture is golden brown and smells wonderful. Add a ladle of your broth mixture and whisk until you have a thick paste and there are no lumps. Add another ladle and whisk again until smooth. Continue adding liquid and whisking until everything is combined and smooth.
Reduce heat to low and continue to cook if gravy needs thickening. Add salt and pepper, as desired. Amount of salt depends on how much of the turkey drippings you use, so be sure to taste. Transfer to gravy boat and serve hot.

Loaded Mashed Potato Bites

I made these for an appetizer for our Ugly Christmas Sweater party. They were delicious!! A fun little bite or two while waiting for the party to start.
I used Bob Evans Sour cream potatoes but you can use left over mashed potatoes if you have them.
Enjoy!

Loaded Mashed Potato Bites
2 packages Bob Evans Sour cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes, (or 2 cups leftover mashed Potatoes)
1/4 cup all purpose flour (make it a heaping cup)
1 large egg
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon bits

for the dip:
1/2 cup Sour cream
2 Tablespoons milk
1 rounded Tablespoon dried ranch seasoning mix

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a non-stick mini muffin tin with non stick cooking spray.
Remove the mashed potatoes from the package (microwave first for a minute) Add to a large bowl.
No need to microwave leftover mashed potatoes unless you need to so they mix better.
Add flour, egg, cheddar cheese and bacon to the bowl with the potatoes. Stir to combine.
Scoop about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the potato mixture into each muffin tin.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

While the potato bites cook, make the dip by whisking together the sour cream, milk, and ranch seasoning in a small bowl. Set aside for serving.
Let the bites cool for 15 minutes before running a small knife around the edges  of the muffin tin to loosen. Remove the puffs from the tin.
Place on serving platter along side the dip.
Enjoy.

Sticky Carmel Spice Cake

I love Autumn time... and the treats you can make. Anything with spices and caramel is perfect especially with vanilla ice cream. I saw this recipe on the Pioneer woman (see recipe here ) and had to try it out. She put hers in individual cast iron skillets but I don't have those but I had individual ramekins. Worked great. Also she just poured her caramel sauce over the top of her cakes but mine came pretty much to the top of my ramekin so I poked my cakes with a tooth pick all over before pouring on the sauce. That way the caramel can soak down into the cake. I also would move the sides of my cake away from the ramekin with a wooden spoon while I poured so the sauce could leak down the edges. This is soooo good! Enjoy!

Sticky Caramel Spice Cake
Cake:
Butter, for greasing the pots
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
1 cup vegetable oil or grapeseed oil 
1 cup sugar 
3 large eggs 
1 cup buttermilk 

Icing:
1 cup sugar1/2 cup buttermilk 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter 1 tablespoon light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

Ice cream, for serving, optional (is ice cream ever optional with cake:)

Special equipment: four 15-ounce cast-iron melting pots, or 4 individual ramekins optional (you can also make 1 large cake in a 9-by-13-inch pan)

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and butter four 15-ounce cast-iron melting pots (or 4 ramekins or a 9-by-13-inch pan if using instead).

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and eggs. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl and splash in the buttermilk. Stir until just combined. The mixture will be slightly lumpy.

Pour into the prepared pots (or 9-by-13-inch pan if using) and put them on a baking sheet. Bake until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes; do not over bake. (If using a 9-by-13-inch pan, bake for 25 to 30 minutes.)

For the icing: While the cake is baking, make the icing. Combine the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, baking soda, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat without stirring. Continue boiling until the icing turns a light caramel color, 5 to 7 minutes.(mine took 2 more minutes to be a good Caramel color) Important: The icing should be the color of caramel, but not yet firm and sticky. It needs to be pourable.

Remove the cakes from the oven. While they are very warm, poke all over the cakes with a toothpick and pour the icing evenly over the tops. Work fast, as it will quickly start to soak into the cakes. Serve with ice cream if desired.

Best Ever Roasted Chicken

• I love roasted chicken... good right after you cook it or to save later for other recipes like soup, enchiladas, tacos... you name it. I did this in a preheated cast iron skillet, I did one whole, and then I butterflied one by taking the back bone out. Didn't save a picture of that one. But both turned out great. Just be warned that the spattering fat from the skin does create a lot of smoke while cooking.... so open a window when you open the oven door and stand back. Enjoy!
• Best Ever Roasted Chicken

1 4-lb. roasting chicken, giblets removed
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ground poultry seasoning
garlic powder and onion powder can also be sprinkled over the chicken

Preparation
Position a rack in the center of the oven: place a large cast iron skillet on the rack and heat the oven to 450°F.
While the oven and skillet heat, prep the chicken. Pat dry with paper towels then rub with the olive oil all over. Tuck the wing tips behind the neck and loosely tie the legs together with a piece of kitchen twine. Season the chicken all over with 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper and a light sprinkle of Poultry seasoning.  Turn the chicken over. Season the back all over with 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper, and poultry seasoning. 
Once the skillet is hot carefully remove from the oven, and drizzle a little olive oil in the pan.
Place the chicken breast side down in the skillet then return the skillet to the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over by inserting sturdy tongs into the cavity and flipping it. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 165° to 170°F, an additional 20 to 30 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, loosely tent it with foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Carve and serve.. or let cool and store in the refrigerator for another meal.