Homemade Granola Bars

My children love granola bars. But if you look at the package, it's loaded with sugar. If you have a child that is allergic to nuts, this recipe is perfect and is also gluten free. I like making my own granola bars. It's not that difficult to make and much healthier. This recipe is not that sweet. The applesauce adds a nice chewy texture to the bar.

Make sure the bars have completely cooled down before you cut into squares.

Homemade Granola Bar, gluten and nut free

Homemade Granola Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees oven. Line a 8x8 inch square pan with parchment paper


2 cups         rolled oats

1/2 cup        packed brown sugar

2 tbsp.         unsalted butter

1/4 tsp.        salt

1/2 cup        unsweetened applesauce

1                  large egg

1/3 cup        pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup        chopped dates or raisins

2 tbsp.         chia seeds


Mix the oats, brown sugar, butter and salt until the butter is evenly blended. Sitr together the applesauce and egg. Add to the oat mixture along with the pumpkin seeds, dried fruit and chia seeds; stir until mixture is moistened.

Spread and press mixture into your 8 x 8 inch parchment lined pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting.

Penne With Peas and Mushrooms

This dish is easy and quick to make. If you're a soccer mom, this would be a great pre-game meal that is quick and easy to make.  If you like spicy, add a bit of hot pepper flakes. Also nice with rice or gluten free pasta.

Penne with Peas and Mushrooms

Penne With Peas and Mushrooms

1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg, cooked penne
4 tbsp. olive oil
hot pepper flakes, optional

Once the pasta has cooked, reserve 1 ladle of the pasta water for later.

Sautee the onion and garlic with the olive oil until golden. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking for about 8 minutes.

Sautee the mushrooms until cooked



Add the frozen peas to the mushrooms and continue cooking

Add the cooked pasta and the reserved water and continue cooking for another 5 minutes

Serve With Parmesan Cheese 

Bite Size Appetizers A Stylish Alternative to Finger Sandwiches

Bite Size Appetizers

I made the above appetizers for my little nephew's birthday party. Bread cups filled with chicken, egg and tuna salad. Very easy to make. The bread cups can be made the night before or a few days before and filled the last minute.

This would really be cute if you're hosting a bridal or baby shower or afternoon tea with the ladies! A stylish alternative to finger sandwiches.

You will need:

A loaf of toast bread (I used whole wheat - the softer the better to work with)
Any filling you wish I went to the local deli and bought their freshly made egg, tuna and chicken salad. I only needed a little so it wasn't feasible to make my own.
A rolling pin
Mini muffin tin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Flatten the slice of bread with a rolling pin, remove crust

Cut bread in a circle with a cutter (I used a 3") to fit my tin

Grease the tins before lining with bread

Bake for 5 minutes, then close the heat leaving the cups in the oven. This will dry out the cups. After 30 minutes, remove from oven and continue cooling.

Your cups are ready to be filled

Orecchiette Con Rapini a Poor Man's Dish

Pasta with rapini (broccoli rabe) is my family's all time favorite. For some reason my children are not fond of tomato sauce pasta. They prefer this dish and I'm happy for that because it's so quick and easy to make. Considered a poor man's dish in the Italian culture this dish is truly a comfort food in our home. I purchase rapini a few bunches at a time. I then wash, trim the ends, cut and boil. Once cooled I  place the rapini in baggies and freeze so it's ready when I need it. I also sauté rapini with a bit of olive oil, salt and garlic and serve it as a side dish with meat.

If you do not have orecchiette, penne would be a good substitute.

Orecchiette Con Rapini

Pasta Con Rapini

1 bunch                 rapini (broccoli rabe) boiled and chopped**
2                           garlic cloves, minced
1 pkg  (450 gr)     orecchiette or penne
4 tbsp.                  olive oil
1 tsp                     salt

Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Remove once cooked and drain water reserving 4 tbsp. of the water.

Boil the pasta until al dente or the texture suits your palette

 

 

Sautee the minced garlic with the olive oil until light golden. Add the rapini and cook for a good 10 minutes. Add salt to the rapini and stir.

Sautee the rapini with olive oil and garlic

Add the pasta and reserved water to the rapini and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat. If you feel the pasta is a little dry, add more olive oil, stir the pasta mixture to evenly distribute.

Add the pasta and reserved water to the rapini

Serve with parmesan cheese.

**boil the rapini for 30 minutes or until tender. I like to boil the rapini really well to get rid of the bitterness of the vegetable.


Buon Appetito!

Feeling Peachy

Breakfast to me is my favorite meal of the day. I like to wake up and start my day with something tasty, healthy and delicious. And, most importantly filling. I need substance to carry me through my busy morning. When my healthy eating started, I have to admit, I found a lot of the recipes to be truly gross. I know, I know, it's suppose to be good for you. But if I have to plug my nose and gag to eat it. Forget it! So, steel cuts oats they say is really good for you. It lowers your cholesterol, it's filling, but...it's tasteless. That gets my wheels turning on how I can make this healthy grain tasty. I love peaches but unfortunately, it is not in season. I created this recipe and used frozen peaches. When in season, use fresh. I added a citrus twist to naturally flavor the oats.

Steel Cut Oats With Peaches

Steel Cut Oats With Peaches

2 1/2 cups                    water
1 cup                            steel cut oats   
1/2 tsp.                         salt
1 cup                            sliced peaches fresh or frozen
1                                   zest of one orange
1                                   juice of one orange
2 tbsp.                          maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup                        vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp                         cinnamon
a pinch                         nutmeg

Add the steel cut oats, zest and peaches to the boiling water. Add the salt and let boil until cooked (about 20 min). When the oats are almost cooked, add the almond milk. Remove from heat and add the orange juice and stir. If you feel the oats are not sweet enough, add more maple syrup to suit your taste.

You can also add pumpkin seeds, nuts or chia seeds.

Make this ahead of time so you have it ready for breakfast for the week.

A Healthy Alternative To Beer Nuts

I have a stash of these at my office. I usually crave sugar around 3pm. So to hit the spot I brew some green tea and munch on these almonds. A good way to curve your sugar craving.

You can also serve these as an appetizer with pre-dinner drinks or at a card game with the girls or guys. Just store them in an air tight container to have on hand. It really doesn't take long to make. A great healthy substitute to beer nuts.

Roasted Almonds

Roasted Almonds

Ingredients

2 tbsp.                       egg white or egg white of one egg

1 tbsp.                       vanilla extract

3 cups                       almonds

2 tbsp.                      coconut sugar, maple syrup or honey

1 tsp.                        salt

1 tsp.                       cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy, beat in the vanilla.
3. Add almonds, stir gently to coat.
4. Combine sugar, salt and cinnamon; add to nut mixture and stir gently to coat.
5. Spread evenly into a greased pan.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until almonds are crisp, stirring once; cool.

Store in an airtight container.