Posts tagged ‘Snacks’
Recipe of the Week – Homemade Granola
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Granola
It has been a few days of cooking. Beginning with homemade pizza on Friday and then Sweet Cabbage on Saturday and Grilled Clams Casino, Steak au Poivre and the granola on Sunday. All recipes worked as planned; all wonderful. There was one miss on Saturday; we attempted to make homemade Ricotta from a recipe found in a magazine a few months ago. We followed the recipe right down to the cheesecloth strainer but to our surprise the milk never formed a curd. I guess we will give it another try in the near future.
Back to the granola. Usually you make something like this and it is okay but not worthy of the effort; as it is pretty much the same as the store bought stuff. Not with this recipe. We were surprised by the crunchy, delicious, not too sweet results. This is definitely a keeper. The only problem turned out to be that you have to put it away as soon as it cools or it seems to disappear from the cookie sheet each time you pass it on the counter. I suggest a double batch. You can freeze it; that’s if you hide it fast enough.
Granola
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 3 | cups | oats, old-fashioned rolled |
| 1 | cup | fruit, dried |
| 1 | Tb | vanilla |
| 1 | Tb | cinnamon. ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 0.33 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 1 | cup | maple syrup |
| 1 | cup | almonds, slivered |
| 1 | spritz | PAM |
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spray cookie sheet with PAM. Spread granola mixture evenly on cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, stir and bake an additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool then store in an airtight container.
All the recipes mentioned above, with the exception of the Ricotta, can be found at emealsforyou.com.
The Message Said – Bring Cookies
(From the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Teresa's Oatmeal Cookies
Just before I left for my very brief trip to NJ a couple of weeks ago I got a message from my brother-in-law to bring some “finger food” desserts for a family gathering. I don’t know about you but I would prefer larger desserts as they take less time and effort to make. Biting the bullet I decided on some very good brownies, chocolate macaroon jam tarts, some individual fruit tarts and at the last minute some of these cookies.
They are called Teresa’s Oatmeal Cookies, named for a friend and fellow cook, who gave me the recipe. These are without a doubt the best oatmeal cookies you will ever try. Very easy to make and the best part is they travel well; unlike my individual tarts that arrived in NJ looking more like individual tartlets. Make these, stand back and watch them disappear.
Teresa’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | Dad’s in charge???? (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 3 | large | egg |
| 1 | cup | raisins |
| 1 | tsp | vanilla |
| 16 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 1 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 1 | cup | sugar, granulated |
| 2.5 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 1 | tsp | salt, table |
| 1 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 2 | tsp | baking soda |
| 2 | cup | oats, old-fashioned rolled |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine beaten eggs, raisins, and vanilla and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for one hour. Cream together room temperature butter and both sugars. Add flour, salt, cinnamon, and soda to sugar mixture and mix well. Blend in egg-raisin mixture and oatmeal. Dough will be stiff. Drop a heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Delicious: Soaking of the raisins is the secret!
More of Teresa’s and my recipes at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Philly Soft Prezels
(From the Bread Category at www.emealsforyou.com)
Philly Soft Pretzels
Growing up just outside of Philadelphia we often took trips into the city for shopping and sightseeing as kids. One of the highlights of the Philly excursion was to buy a hot, soft pretzel from the street vendors. These were always freshly bakes, still warm, soft, salty and delicious. A squirt of yellow mustard and you were all set for that late afternoon snack .
Pretzels continued to be a big part of the Philly culture but became a commodity and began to be baked in mass quantities; substituting ingredients that allowed them to be kept longer ( supposedly fresher) but took both the special texture and taste out of them. They became the cardboard offering that we now get everywhere you look. I have been searching for that old-fashioned recipe that brings back the flavor and textured I remember. Making Capt. Jim’s Tomato Focaccio the other day I realized that the dough was exactly what I was looking for. Moist and tasty, with a hint of sweetness, these brought back all the memories of those trips to Philly.
I have to say that actually twisting the pretzels reminded me a Lucy and Ethel skit, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy. If you are looking for something special for a party or movie night give these a try; you will never go back to those frozen, cardboard things in the grocery freezer again.
Philly Soft Pretzels
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 1 | package | yeast, dried |
| 4.5 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 1.25 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 1 | cup | water |
| 1 | cup | milk, 2 % |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | cup | baking soda |
| 8 | qt | water |
| 0.25 | cup | egg wash |
| 1 | Tb | salt, kosher |
Heat 1 cup of water and milk in microwave for 2 minutes, until warm but not hot. Place in a mixing bowl and add yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes then add the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix until a ball forms. Place dough in an oiled large bowl and cover, allow to rise until doubled in size. Cut dough into 16 even strips. Roll each piece into a long rope. Holding one end in each hand twist the dough to form a figure 8 and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Heat water and baking soda to a boil. Carefully drop a few pretzels at a time into the boiling water, Allow to cook for about a minute and remove to parchment paper on cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining pretzels. Brush egg wash (water and egg) on each pretzel and sprinkle kosher salt on top. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake pretzels for 12 -18 minutes until brown. Serve warm with mustard or cheese dip.
Recipe of the Week – Hummus
(From the Appetizers Category at www.emealsforyou.com)
Hummus
We have been doing a lot of “small plates” in recent weeks. My wife would rather have several choices of foods then one big meal. As in my recent posts I find “small plates” to be an excellent way to use up all the small quantities of leftovers without them appearing to be leftovers. Some of our neighborhood friends have been asking how they can make interesting appetizers for their guests. As many are single and don’t cook, the requirements are that the appetizers have to be easy to prepare, something they have on hand and most of all good.
Hummus falls into these categories. You can put this recipe together in a few minutes and it will bring raves from your quests. The recipe calls for chic peas, also known as garbanzo beans, but I use white beans or navy beans if I don’t have the chic peas. Both provide the smooth, fulfilling taste, are easy on the budget and will get you out of the kitchen and onto the deck quickly.
Hummus
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | Old Movie Night (Theme Meal Plans) |
| 1 | 16 oz can | chic peas |
| 0.25 | cup | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | sesame seeds |
| 2 | Tb | lemon, juice of |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 0.25 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
Lightly toast sesame seeds in a pan. Drain peas and place in a food processor along with all the ingredients. Process until smooth . If too thick add a little more oil or lemon juice.
Serve on toasted pita wedges.
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