Granola

I've been making this recipe for years. It is perfection! You can change it up with different combinations of fruit and nuts (pistachios and dried apricot bits would be good) but the original is always my favorite. This is more of a cereal granola. I like to eat it that way, in a bowl with milk; but I've also enjoyed it with vanilla yogurt.

Once upon a time I had a perfect trail mix recipe, basically a granola that holds  together in chunks more, so you can eat it with your hands instead of a spoon. But alas I lost it and haven't found another one yet. Someday!

For this recipe, start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees and lining a baking sheet with raised edges with a sheet of parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss together:

3 cups of old fashioned oats

1 cup of chopped pecans

1/2 cup of sweetened shredded coconut

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Use a small pan (a butter warmer is perfect) to heat up on the stove, over medium heat:

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons canola oil

Stir over heat until smooth.

Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and toss well to coat. Dump the whole thing out onto your parchment lined sheet and spread it out as much as possible. Pop it in the oven and bake it for 10 minutes, then stir and toss it all around; bake it for another 10 minutes and give it another stir and toss; then bake it one last 10 minute cycle. Take it out of the oven and let it cool. When it has cooled down, break it up with your hands and toss in 1 cup of raisins. 

Store the finished and cooled granola in an airtight container. 

Here is mine, fresh out of the oven, before the raisins have gone in.

Eggplant Parm

Oh my goodness. I haven't made this in years and I forgot just how satisfying it is. Eggplant Parmesan was not on my menu or shopping list this week, but eggplant was on sale and I couldn't resist.

One of the reasons I haven't made it in so long is because there is no way to cut this down. Unless you want to make something else immediately with some of the eggplant. Or unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for one of those tiny eggplants. Which defeats the entire purpose of being inspired by a sale item.

With an impulse buy like this, you need to know what else you need. Anything "Parmesan" has the same basic elements: a breaded and fried main component covered in tomato sauce and cheese. The main component can be eggplant, veal, or chicken. And some angel hair pasta and green salad on the side make it a truly great meal.

For this recipe, start by sautéing a clove of garlic and some chopped onion (I used half of a red onion) in a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add in a large can (28 oz) of tomato purée, 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon each of dried oregano, dried basil, and salt. Cook on low for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the ends off the eggplant and slice the rest of it in 1/2" slices. Dip each slice in a beaten egg, then dredge in bread crumbs. Heat a little olive oil (1 tablespoon or so) in a large pan and fry the eggplant slices on both sides until they're starting to brown. This doesn't take long, maybe two minutes per side. Add a little more oil to the pan as needed, but go easy on it as the eggplant will soak it up. You just want to add a little drizzle between batches so the breadcrumbs will brown up nice and not dry out. 

Spray a 9x12" baking dish with baking spray. Lay half of the fried eggplant slices in the dish. Spoon half of the tomato sauce over. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese generously over the top, then top with half an 8 oz bag of shredded mozzarella. Repeat the layers, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. If you use a slightly larger dish and have a slightly smaller eggplant, you'll be lucky enough to wind up with little crispy bits of cheese around the edges, like below. Yum!

For the single diner, this reheats well in the microwave.

Fried Okra

A.K.A. Little nuggets of deliciousness! It's hard to find sweet tea in Northern Virginia restaurants, but my local grocery store has okra. Go figure.

These are so easy to make and are a great appetizer or side. I used about six pods of okra for a single serving. Cut off the tips and the tops and then cut them into roughly 3/4" to 1" slices. Heat some canola oil in a small saucepan. Toss the okra with some buttermilk and then toss them in some self-rising corn meal mix until totally coated. Use a fork or slotted spoon to place them in the hot oil. They only need a few seconds to cook, until the coating is a lovely golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the oil and place onto a paper towel lined plate. Immediately salt them generously. Pop in your mouth and be happy!

Eat your heart out, Chipotle

Okay, that's not actually the title of this recipe (it's actually Spicy Beans with Chorizo and Chipotle Cream), which I clipped out of Bon Appetit, but it might as well be. So yum! I cut the recipe in half so I have another serving waiting for me tomorrow. I can't wait!

I used dried beans, like the recipe calls for. A note about dried beans. If your dried beans have been sitting around for awhile, they're going to need longer to soak and longer to cook. And either way, they're likely to be firmer to the bite than canned beans. I threw the beans in a pan of water Sunday afternoon and let them soak until I got home from work Monday night when I cooked them for 2 hours, prepped the recipe and then refrigerated it, as noted in the recipe, to reheat tonight. With soups, dried beans can be really nice because they do stay firmer and won't disintegrate and thicken up the soup. But this recipe could easily be done with canned beans instead.

Don't get too hung up on the "chipotle" hot sauce. I used good ole' Texas Pete's, and I went a little easy on it because I'm a wimp and I thought this was going to be spicy enough already.

Then, just to make it awesome, I made some cilantro lime rice. Yep, just like Chipotle. I cooked some plain white rice (not Minute Rice) using a trusty recipe. For one serving, put 1/4 cup of white rice in a pan that has a tight-fitting lid, along with 1/2 cup of water and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer and cover with the lid. Let simmer for about 12 minutes until the water is all absorbed. Then, to make it cilantro lime rice, throw in a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro, squeeze in a few teaspoons of fresh lime, sprinkle in 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of cumin and stir into the rice.

Sausage and peppers and onions

I know, I know -- such a fancy title. And whatever could be the ingredients?

This was one of our family staples when I was growing up. My mom would put a pot of this on the stove for what seemed like all day; and it does get better the longer it cooks. The onions caramelize and the sausages get a deep crust. But when you're a working girl getting home at six and then walking the dogs before starting dinner, you can cook this a lot quicker. I just happened to have 2 sausages in the freezer so this recipe is sized for two sausages, which makes it two servings.

2 hot Italian sausages (or sweet if you're feeling wimpy)

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 

1 largish onion, thinly sliced

This is really all you need, but you can optionally season it with a little salt and toss in some fennel seeds.

Brown the sausage in a hot pan. My tiny little 2 liter stock pot is perfect for a recipe this size. A regular size Dutch oven is right for a family size recipe of this.  Throw in the peppers and onions and about 1/2 cup water. Cover the pot with a lid. Cook until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are really soft. Add more water as needed but you want to cook all the water off by the time you serve it. I let it cook roughly 40 minutes tonight.

Serve on a good bun -- and pour a glass of milk if you used hot Italian sausages.

Summer Couscous

I accidentally grew an amazing cherry tomato plant this year. This would never happen if I were trying to grow tomatoes but I'm happy to be harvesting the first tomatoes now. They are delicious in salads and on sandwiches but I had a craving for this little number. This makes 2 girl sized side portions.

1/2 cup uncooked couscous (regular not Israeli/pearl)

1/4 cup water

3-4 cherry tomatoes, diced

Diced cucumber (about equal to the tomatoes)

Olive oil, about 1/2 tablespoon 

3 mint leaves, finely chopped

Boil the water in a small saucepan. Swirl in the couscous, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Let sit until cool. Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine and fluff up the couscous. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Spicy Sweet Pretzel Mix

I got this recipe years ago out of the now defunct Everyday Food magazine put out by Martha Stewart. This is addictive! And so easy to make. I cut the original recipe in half and enjoyed it for a week.

1 cup thin pretzel sticks

1/2 cup natural almonds (these come in a can by all the snack nuts)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter 

1 tablespoon brown sugar 

1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner. Put the pretzels and nuts in a bowl. In a small saucepan (a little butter warmer is the perfect size), bring the butter, sugar and cayenne and 1 1/2 teaspoons of water to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour over pretzel mix and toss to coat. Spread out on baking sheet in single layer. Bake 20 minutes until almonds are crisp. Cool on sheet. Break up and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to a week.