Jam bars

We had bought something like this at Whole Foods a while back and they stopped carrying it, so I had to figure something out, thus THIS recipe! It's super easy and yummy, for breakfast or dessert.

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt*

3/4 cup jam (I like raspberry!)

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, butter, baking powder, salt (*omit if using salted butter) and brown sugar. I use my hands to completely mix it up.

Oil pan with olive oil (or oil of choice). Put 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the pan and press it down.

Pour jam on top, spreading it evenly.

Take the rest of the mixture and put on top, pressing down slightly.

Put it in the oven for 25 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes before eating.

Quiche!

I had bought eggs twice in one week by accident, so I decided to make a quiche, which suprisingly takes less eggs than I thought. This is adapted from "Donna's quiche" on Allrecipes.com. So easy, too!


2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (9 inch) pie crust
2 cups shredded cheese of choice. > I used monterey and medium cheddar cheese
*Spinach and/or mushrooms can be added.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, cream, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
4. Spoon the onions into the pie crust. Pour the egg mixture over the onions. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.
5. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into center of the quiche comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Beefy Stroganaff

This is really yummy! I halved it, because we don't usually eat leftovers. Should have made the full recipe. The boys gobbled it up!

Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 lb lean ground beef, 7% fat

4 oz sliced fresh baby portabellas

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup flour 8 oz wide egg noodles

10.5-oz beef broth

1 (8-oz) container sour cream

Melt butter in large sauté pan on medium-high, then add onions and garlic; cook and stir 1 minute to soften.

Add beef, mushrooms, salt, and pepper; cook and stir 5–7 minutes or until meat crumbles and no pink remains. Stir flour into beef mixture; cook and stir 2 minutes. Cook pasta following package instructions. Slowly stir broth into beef mixture; then stir in sour cream. Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir 7–8 minutes to blend flavors. Drain pasta; serve beef mixture over pasta.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I made this the other day and it was really, REALLY good (and easy) ! I'm sure you could use any fruit you wanted and it'd be great.

Ingredients:
1 (10 ounce) package frozen sliced strawberries ( I used fresh, sliced the night before and froze overnight)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream

Directions
Combine the frozen strawberries and sugar in a food processor or blender. Process until the fruit is roughly chopped. With the processor running, slowly pour in the heavy cream until fully incorporated. Serve immediately, or freeze for up to one week.

Crab Rangoons and Orange Beef

I'm not usually so good at making Chinese food. But I was craving it today and decided to try again to make Chinese. Ummm...YUM. It was really good!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crispy-Orange-Beef/Detail.aspx

Changes:
I didn't use nearly that much oil, just enough to cover bottom of pan to sautee. I used olive oil. We eat brown rice for the extra fiber. I don't eat broccoli, so I subbed it out for green beans and onion.

Crab Rangoons:

1 clove garlic, minced
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (6 ounce) can crabmeat, drained and flaked
1 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 T of light mayo
squeeze of lemon juice
24 wonton wrappers

1.Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray. (can be fried or sauteed for a crispier version)
2.Combine garlic, cream cheese, crab, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mayo, sugar, and soy sauce in a bowl. To prevent wonton skins from drying, prepare only 1 or 2 rangoon at a time. Place 1 teaspoon of filling onto the center of each wonton skin. Moisten the edges with water and fold the wonton skin diagonally to form a triangle, pressing edges to seal. Moisten one of the bottom corners. Create a crown by pulling both bottom corners together and sealing. Arrange the rangoon on the baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray.
3.Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Natural Food Dye!

My son, Nathanael, turned 2 yesterday! So for his birthday I made him a train cake. For a few years now, we've been avoiding food dye, because of the ingredients, effect on the body, etc. We never had to worry about coloring things before Nat came along. But I wanted a little color to his train. I researched and experimented to find ways to naturally dye his cake. Of course, the natural dye does not color as vividly as artificial coloring, it's more on the pale side, but pretty!

Here's what I came up with. Red cabbage works for soooo many different colors! I also found that the longer the dye refrigerated , the darker the dye turned out. Here are the recipes:

Blue Dye:

- Half of a head of red cabbage.
- Water
- Baking Soda

1. Wash the cabbage and cut out stem.
2. Cut (I used my food processor) into small pieces.
3. Put into pot and add just enough water to cover the cabbage.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Right after I turned the heat off on the stove, I added 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
6. Stir. Drain dye into bowl. Discarding the cabbage. Once cooled, refrigerate.
7. Use as desired!

Green Dye:

I used half the blue dye above and put it into a saucepan, added about 1/2 teaspoon of more of baking soda. Simmered for 25 minutes.

Purple Dye:

Follow blue recipe, except omit the baking soda and add about a teaspoon of vinegar.

The following are non-cabbage dyes. The pink is SOOOO pretty (and easy)!
Pink:

1 Can of beets drained. Use the drained juice to color your frosting.

Yellow: I was expecting this to be green, but it made my frosting yellow.

1 Package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained.

Cut into small pieces. Put into pot with 4 cups of water. Simmer for a few hours. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Drain.

Will post pictures soon!

Granola!

I made the yummiest granola while Nat was taking his nap today! I think next time I may use dried apricots, or dried blueberries to mix it up. It's really delish! Nathanael loves it, too! He's on his third helping for the day (He's eating it for dessert right now!).

Ingredients:
- 6 cups oats (NOT the quick cooking kind)
- 1 cup applesauce (I used homemade)
- 2 tablespoons (real) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used more like 1 teaspoon, I'm a cinnamon lover!)
- 1/2 cup coconut flour (optional, I used 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut instead)
- 1/2 cup chopped or slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup chopped sunflower seeds (optional)
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- I also added flax seed, almost 1/2 cup

Instructions:
- In a large bowl combine oats, nuts, seeds, coconut flour (or shredded coconut), and cinnamon.
- In a smaller bowl combine honey, oil, brown sugar, vanilla, and applesauce.
- Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Spread over a baking sheet and cook in a 250 degree oven for about 90 minutes, mixing every 30 minutes or so. (You want to remove them when they become a light brown/golden color. They will crisp up after they are completely cooled.)
- Remove from oven & allow to cool. When cooled completely add your dried fruit.