Boy-barians favorite snack

here is a recipe for the boy-barians favorite snack. Easy to make and easy to personalize. Make it, try it, never be without it again!

{imagine a picture of granola here} it's coming soon!

Granola

½ cup sweetener (honey, maple syrup)

½ cup HOT water

½ cup oil (coconut is the only one I use)

2 tsp. Vanilla

4-5 cups rolled/flaked grain (oats, rye, barley, wheat)

1 cup of seeds (sunflower, sesame, flax)

1 cup coconut

1 cup nuts (walnut, pecan, hazelnut, peanut, almond)

preheat oven to 225.

mix water and oats, let sit foe a minute or so. Add seeds, nuts and coconut, mix well.

In a double boiler add coconut oil and honey. When the coconut oil has melted remove from heat and add vanilla, mix well.

Slowly pour oil mixture into oat mixture. Mix until oats are well coated. Grease (I use butter) two sided-cookie sheets. Pour half the mixture on one sheet and the other half on the other sheet. Spread out, making an even layer over the cookie sheet. Put in oven. Stir every 20 minutes for an hour. After an hour stir every 15 minutes until nice golden color. About 2 hours.

This recipe is very customizable. Mix and match the ingredients, add some of your own favorite thing. When our granola is done we like to add 1 cup of dried fruit (raisins, cranisians, papaya). I bet a cup of m&m would be great to add too.

 ENJOY!!

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Nothing says comfort food like scalloped potatoes and ham. i use to love going to my grandma's house and smell this cooking in the oven. her little house would just fill up with the aroma of melty cheese, and ham.....mmmmm. smell memories.
i make scalloped potatoes and ham quite often, everyone LOVES it.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups milk
3 cups cooked ham
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup cheese, shredded
5 cups potatoes, pared and sliced

Melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat; blend in flour salt and pepper
cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. remove from heat and add milk
return to heat; cook until thick and bubbly
mix in ham, onion, and cheese. pour over potatoes in a large bowl. mix gently
put  mixture into a buttered 13x9 baking dish; cover with foil.
bake at 350 for 30 minutes, remove foil. continue baking for an hour. let stand 10 minutes before serving.

and the most wonderful thing about this recipe.......the left overs are even better!

so what are your fave comfort foods?

Making Granola

Granola is a staple in our kitchen. We eat it all the time. It is a breakfast cereal, a yogurt and ice cream topping, with fresh fruit and a as snack. The recipe that I use is super simple and easily personalized.

It's also easy enough for the boys to help with.

A batch of granola fills a half gallon canning jar.

yummy yummy granola!

Granola Recipe

½ cup honey

½ cup hot water

½ cup oil (I use coconut)

2 tsp vanilla

4-5 cups oats (old fashioned)

1 cup coconut, shredded

1 cup nuts, chopped (walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts or a mix of them)

1 cup of seeds (flax seeds, sunflower seeds (although I would use less than 1 cup) or sesame seeds)

 Preheat oven to 225. Put the oats in a large bowl. Mix in the hot water, add the nuts, seeds, coconut. Mix together honey, oil and vanilla in a small bowl (I heat this up in a double boiler since coconut oil can be solid at room temperature). Combine the oils and the oats, mix until evenly coated. Butter 2 baking sheets, spread granola out. Place the baking sheets in the oven, cook for about 1 hour 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. The granola will be golden brown when done.