Walnut Apple Maple Granola

With last week's slight huge dip in temps, I got to turn on my oven again. I used that power for good by making a modified version of this granola from this food blogger. I love having granola in the house again and I'm realizing I might be a fall person, but how can you not be excited for cinnamon and apples in September?

There's really no wrong way to prepare or consume this granola. My way turns it into a granola/apple crisp mash-up that makes it perfect for breakfast, snacking, or dessert. However you go about it, it won't sit on your counter for long. Not if you have a house full of grazers, anyway.

Walnut Apple Maple Granola (WAM!)

2 cups rolled oats
3 apples cored and diced
1 cup chopped walnuts (The original recipe calls for almonds, but walnuts + apples = yum.)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar (This is my addition. I wasn't ready to not have brown sugar in my granola and, again, brown sugar + apples = duh.)
slightly less than 1 tbsp vanilla (I'm not always the biggest fan of real maple, so I like having the vanilla, but feel free to let the syrup be the star of this!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix oats, apples, walnuts, and cinnamon in a bowl.
In a sauce pot over medium heat, stir together butter, syrup, sugar, and vanilla until the butter is melted and the edges start to bubble.
Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Spread granola onto a baking sheet (covered in parchment paper if that's how you roll) and put it in the oven.
(By now things should be smelling pretty darn good and it's tempting to just eat what you have straight out of the bowl. I won't stop you, but I promise it's worth it to bake this bad boy.)
Bake for 30 minutes, stir, then bake for 15-20 more minutes--watch at the end because it goes from toasty and golden to dark brown pretty quick!
Let cool (or don't) and enjoy!

It's Fall! (Friday Night Links 1)

Don't misread me: it's still summer. But for today, it's fall. I'm wearing a sweater. I had hot coffee this morning. The air smells like wood stoves and wet dog. (Just Chicago? Oh.) And for the first time since June, I'm using my oven without regret. If you can guess what I'm making, well, that just means you've read one or two of my Friday night blogs before.

Yeah, it's pizza. Red sauce, broccoli, peppers, and caramelized onions. You know the drill.
And granola! I found this recipe last week and have been waiting for sub-70 degree weather to try it out. Tonight's the night, but stay tuned for my tweaked version of it. (Spoiler alert, I add sugar.)

A few other food-themed things I've found in the past few weeks:

My next granola recipe. (I want to become a granola connoisseur this year. Maybe I'll write a cookbook like this.)

An interesting take on part-time veganism.

Following foodies on Instagram = my other day job.

Who knew almonds affected so many facets of life? I'm rethinking my love of almond milk.

I think I could be the founding member of a wine-ercising club. Or the only member of a I drink wine alone while I eat half a pizza club.

Homemade Granola + Creamsicle Smoothie = Off to a Good Start

Let's start things off with the most important meal of the day. Breakfast should be enjoyed, not hastily crammed in our mouths as we rush out the door, or worse, skipped entirely in favor of more sleep. I like a strong cup of coffee when I wake up, or at the very least some black tea, but if I don't get some solid food in before I head to work I might as well stay in bed.

While the creation of this breakfast isn't as important as the digestion of it, it's still about as simple as they come. These recipes are both extremely flexible--changes, additions, substitutions, and subtractions to suit taste are all fair game.

I'm guilty of going the lazy/convenient route and buying granola, but now that I've finally made a batch for myself (I make it bi-weekly at work), I don't think I'll go back to store bought any time soon. The entire process took me 40 minutes, tops (including eating the finished product), and required minimal dishes. The basics of granola are dry ingredients [oats + nuts/seeds] + wet ingredients [sweetener + fat]. Yes, fat! It makes things taste good, people. And we need it--in moderation. Without further ado, here's my take on it:

Weekday Granola (I made it on a Thursday morning! Before work!)

2 c old fashioned oats

1 c mixed chopped nuts/seeds/coconut (I used walnuts, pecans, and coconut flakes.)

¼ c oil (I used sunflower, but use what you prefer. My next batch might use butter instead, why not.)

⅓ c honey

⅓ c brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tsp salt (I like my granola sweet, so I didn't use much salt. Some recipes call for more.)

1 c chopped dried fruit (I used apricots, blueberries, cranberries, and cherries.)

Preheat oven to 300

Mix oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, and salt in a large bowl

Mix oil, honey, and sugar in smaller bowl until sugar dissolves

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and stir until fully coated

Spread onto baking sheet (if you have parchment paper it comes in handy here)

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes

Add dried fruit after baking
Enjoy...on some yogurt, added to your cereal, with fresh fruit, or straight from the pan...

I've been a smoothie maker for a while now (ever since I commandeered Bailey's blender a few summers ago), and I don't think it's possible to mess them up. Smoothies are like mature slushies or responsible milkshakes. Maybe it's not wise to drink our calories, but smoothies let us drink our vitamin C, protein, calcium, and fiber. Again, this recipe isn't set in stone. You do you. Here's what I did:

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

1 c plain yogurt (I used Greek.)
1 c orange juice
1 banana, cup up
1 handful of spinach (Yep, for real.)
Honey to taste (I usually blend it all first, taste test, then add honey if I want it sweeter.)

Throw it all in a blender
Blend
Sip through a straw and pretend it's March 2012.

And there you go. Breakfast is fun. And cheap. And simple. And healthy.

Mystery Granola

I don't even need the recipe anymore,
I've made enough batches of this granola
to do it unscripted.
Oats, nuts, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter--
I've got it mixed and baked in under an hour.
I know everything about this recipe
except how it tastes.

In the Kitchen with an Amateur Housewife

Before I sit back comfortably in the saddle of my high horse, let me explain something: I am NOT June Cleaver. I get paid to act June Cleavery, but there are levels of housewife I'm no where near. As I rode the bus home tonight, smelling like maple syrup, lemon, and garlic (can't decide if that's appetizing or not), I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. In this section of the book, the author and her family make their own cheese. This is met with several comments by others, such as: "You make cheese yourself. You are a real housewife." Now, I may claim to be a Real Housewife of Chicago, but I ain't separating the curds from the whey or anything.

Instead, I am humbly preparing these recipes:

Maple Nut Granola

4 1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c sliced almonds
1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 c shelled pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp coarse salt
1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c maple syrup
3 tbsp water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the middle.
Boil butter, sugar, syrup and water (until just bubbling).
Pour into dry ingredients, mix well.
Divide between two baking sheets lined with wax paper.
Bake at 300 degrees for 35 minutes, stir after 20 minutes.

Broccoli Frittata

1 c broccoli, cut into flowerets
1 tsp olive oil
2 slices of lean bacon, trimmed of fat and chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 tomato, chopped
6 eggs
lots of cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large frying pan (a cast-iron or ovenproof one is good).
Cook onion over medium heat for 2 minutes, add garlic and bacon and cook until onion is soft.
Add broccoli and tomato, cook for one minute.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Beat eggs in bowl, add cheese, pour over other ingredients in pan.
Cook gently without stirring until base of frittata is cooked and golden.
Place pan in oven on broil until top is golden brown and firm.
Cut into wedges and serve.

Disclaimer: haven't actually eaten either of these. Still have my job, though, so I think that means they're edible.