Homemade Granola

I love to make my own granola from time to time.


Mix together 2 C. old-fashioned oatmeal, 1 C. sliced almonds, & 1/2 C. sunflower seeds. (Sometimes I will toast the nuts and seeds for a few minutes in the oven first.)


In a small bowl, combine 1/4 C. oil and 1/2 C. honey.

Stir it into the oats, nuts and seeds. Mix well, then spread out in a large baking pan.

Bake at 300* for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Pour back into the bowl, then add dried fruits to it. I added 1/2 C. dried apricots (chopped), 1/3 C. craisins, and then threw in maybe 1/4 C. both light and dark raisins.

Mix the dried fruits in, let the granola cool, then store in a large ziploc bag or an airtight container.

We like to have a bowl of granola for cereal, or use it to top yogurt, or just snack on it right out of the bag.

Apple Crisp

After tantalizing so many people on facebook with my apple crisp, I thought I better share atleast the recipe!!

Peel, core, and cut up 6-8 Granny Smith apples into a 9x13 pan:



Then, in a bowl combine 1 1/2 C. flour, 1 1/2 C. brown sugar, 1 1/2 C. oatmeal, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Stir this together:


Add 2 sticks of butter:


Cut in wth a pastry blender (or a fork):

Till it's all crumbly like this:

Pour over the apples in the pan:

Then pat the mixture down :

Bake in a 350* oven for 45 min. or until golden brown like this:

(make sure you have a piece while it's still warm!)

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Well, looks like my husband found the pie! OK,OK, I did too and so did Micah and Hannah! There were people requesting the recipe for this, so here goes:

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

1 single pie crust

2-3 C. diced rhubarb

2 C. sliced strawberries

1 C. sugar

1/4 C. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl, stir together the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour into pie crust and then prepare the crumb topping that follows:

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. oatmeal

1/4 C. cold butter

In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and oatmeal. Then cut in butter with a fork. Crumble over top of pie and bake at 375* (covering the edges with foil) for 25 minutes for fresh fruit or 50 minutes for frozen fruit. Remove foil and bake for 20-25 more minutes for fresh fruit or 20-30 minutes for frozen fruit or until top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Spring is a great time for making salads. Not that any other time of year is not, but atleast spring and summer brings more stuff that's in season and tastes good anyway!! I just LOVE fruit so I thought I'd share a good fruit salad recipe.

I guess I don't use any specific measurements on most of it. I just slice up as much of whatever I want in there including : strawberries, kiwi, bananas, grapes ( I cut the grapes in half if they are big), 1-2 cans of mandarin oranges (drained), and a big can of pineapple chunks. Do NOT drain the pineapple juice because you will pour it over the salad to keep the bananas from turning brown. Feel free to add or subtract fruits that you like or dislike. Chill in the fridge and is best to use the same day it is made. It won't kill you the next day or anything, it's just that the strawberries will try to dye the pineapple and bananas red so its just a presentation issue! Very delicious!

Watergate Salad

Here is a yummy green salad for those of you who like something green for St. Patrick's Day. It is so easy you can do it with your eyes closed! I recommend you keep them open though!

All you need is a small box of pistachio pudding, a 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple, 2 C. mini marshmallows, and an 8oz. tub of Cool Whip. Stir the first three ingredients together and then fold in the Cool Whip. Best to refrigerate overnight if you can so the marshmallows can soften.

Doesn't look very green in my picture, but it is a green salad which will be ready for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

Orange Julius

Once in a while I just have to make Orange Julius. It's such a yummy treat!



In a blender add 1C. milk, 1C. water, 1/2 of a 12oz. can of frozen orange juice concentrate, 1/2C. sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Blend this together and then add 2C. of small ice cubes and set blender to ice crush setting to blend this in.



Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Just make sure you don't stick your finger in the blender while it is running! (don't ask me how I know this!) I didn't do it today, but have done it in the past and had stitches in my finger for something I knew better but didn't think my finger was far enough down. I was just going to tap down some ice cubes really quick and next thing my oldest child is calling my husband to come take me to the hospital for stitches! I can safely say I've never poked anything down with my finger in the blender ever since!

Recipe Request for Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Here is the recipe you requested Jessica!

8 qt. box instant dry milk
6 oz. powdered coffee creamer
15 oz. Nestle Quick drink mix
2 C. powdered sugar

Dump all ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Store in a tightly sealed container. (I use a cleaned out ice cream bucket) To use: Measure 1/3 C. mix into a mug of hot water.

It does cost a bit to put this together, but it lasts through the whole winter. If anyone has any questions, don't be afraid to ask!