Homemade Granola

Homemade Granola

8 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2-2 cups coconut
3/4 cup sliced almonds

1 1/2 cups honey
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix together oats, coconut and almonds. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil. Add honey, salt and vanilla, and bring to a simmer.

Pour over oats and toss to coat. Pour evenly onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Heat oven to 350

Bake until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes until done.

Makes about 10 cups

Coconut Cereal Treat Mix

Coconut Cereal Treat Mix 

12 oz or 1 box Golden Graham Cereal
6 oz or 1/2 box Rice Chex Cereal
6 oz or 1/2 box Corn Chex Cereal
3 cups Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
2 cups Unsalted Cashews
2 cups Slivered Almonds
1 cup Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
1 1/2 cups Honey
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 tsp Almond Extract

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large bowl (I'm talking GIANT size bowl, or split between 2 bowls), combine cereals, nuts and coconut. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey together. Add salt and almond extract. Bring to boil over medium heat.
Pour over cereal and mix until cereal is coated.
Pour cereal onto 2 baking sheets or parchment paper and allow to cool.
Store in an airtight container.

Christmas Cereal Mix

Christmas Cereal Mix
4 cups Rice Chex cereal 
8 cups Honey bunches of Oats with Almonds 
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut (blitzed in the cuisinart)
1 1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

In a very large bowl, add the Chex and Bunches cereal, coconut, and almonds and stir together.

Microwave version: In a large microwave safe bowl, add the butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Microwave for 5 minutes stirring halfway. Remove and stir well. Microwave for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and baking soda.

Immediately pour the sugar mixture over the cereal mixture and stir until very well combined. Spread onto the prepared baking dish and let cool. Break into pieces and enjoy.

Patriotic Party Mix

Patriotic Party Mix
4 cups Chex cereal
3 cups Cheerios
3 cups pretzels mini's
1–1/2 cups slivered almonds
1 1/2 bags vanilla candy wafers (18 oz total)
Red, white and blue sprinkles
2 packs "sharable" 4th of July M&M’s

Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the Chex cereal, Cheerios, pretzels, almonds and M&M's.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the candy wafers in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. 
Pour the melted chocolate over the ingredients in the large bowl and toss to coat with a large spoon. Ingredients should be evenly coated.
Immediately sprinkle with the sprinkles. Allow mixture to cool completely. Break apart to serve. Store in an airtight container or baggie.

Monster Munch

Monster Munch! A fun spin on chex mix!! My kids and their friends loved it!

Monster Munch
5 ounces pretzels
2 ½ cups Apple Jax Halloween version
2 ½ cups Corn Chex
2 cups M & M's chocolate candies Halloween edition
2 cups white chocolate chips (12 ounce bag)
1 ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil
Candy eyeballs

In a VERY large bowl (or two medium bowls), combine the first 6 ingredients. Set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, heat white chips and oil on high for 60 seconds (you could also melt chocolate and oil in a double boiler pan).

Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds and stir until completely melted and smooth (you may need to microwave for a couple more seconds).

Pour melted chocolate over cereal mix and stir until all the cereal is evenly covered with white chocolate.

Spread cereal mix on 2 large baking sheets (I used cookie sheets) lined with wax paper.

Let cool and then break apart into chunks.

Store in an airtight container.

*This time I added Hocus Pocus cereal (it has purple, orange and green cereal and tiny cereal marshmellows)

Super Bowl LVI

 We hosted the Super Bowl this year and I did some fun charcuterie boards! Look how fun!!

Soup's On!!!

This is something I've done every fall & winter for many years - but as with the breakfast burritos - friends are asking me to publish what I do. These are actual recipes - that I'll link in - but you can use it for many different meals - not just soup.

This came about a few years ago when the older our kids got - the more running around I was doing and the temptation of the drive through was real. Not saying the drive through isn't a life saver - but with a little planning you can give your family more nutritious meals - and stop spending money on fast food - so you can spend money on a pedicure without feeling guilty!! LOL

I've waxed philosophical about my love of soup plenty of times on this blog - so I'll skip it. The only thing I will say is that making a huge pot of soup is CHEAP. It also is generally nutritious. My soups almost always include some form of protein and lots of veggies. I much rather having my kids heating up home made soup as an after school snack, a small pre-practice dinner - or after practice snack - than any alternative (something portable from a box in a bag).

I take one day during the week to buy everything I need for the soups I want to make. I always check what I already have on hand and usually work around those ingredients.

I take another day to make the soups. In this particular instance, my shopping trip and my "cook" day were about 1 1/2 weeks apart - life is busy YO!

It took me about 5 hours to get these soups going from start to finish. Keep in mind - with soups - most of that time is totally hands off - just letting all the ingredients marry - and while that is happening - I'm doing several other different things I've got on my "do it" list - also keep in mind that I ran a few errands and had a full house of people I was engaging with.

Today I asked my 6 yo if she thought she could make one of the soups all by herself. She's used to helping in the kitchen but she was so excited to make a meal all by herself. White Bean Chicken Chili.  The pic you see is of my now 13 & 10 yo girls...

I also recruited my 15 yo to open all the cans I needed opened and to brown the sausage and ground beef for the chili he, his dad, grandpa and Uncle will enjoy on the upcoming hunt. Running Ute Tailgate Chili 
http://breakingthereciperut.blogspot.com/search?q=runnin+ute

My 13 yo spent the day with cousins, but as soon as she walked in the door to see what was going on she asked if she could make her fave soup as well. Tomato Basil Soup the link goes to a deluxe version - which is the only one I can currently find on the blog - but usually we omit the pesto and sundried tomatoes bc we don't have them on hand as often.

I also TOTALLY revamped my Chicken Noodle Soup recipe  AND I took my first stab at Zuppa Toscano.

I separate the soups into 16 oz Tupperware containers for quick snacks/dinners OR bigger containers for a meal for 2 OR one large container when I know we'll be eating it together as a family. A few of the containers go into the fridge - most go into the freezer.

Go To Snacks

A friend posted on FB about new snack ideas as she is getting bored with their same old, same old. I started to answer - but then basically couldn't stop typing - so instead of boring her friends - I thought I'd jot my current snacks here.

To be honest, we just got back late last night from vacation and I was up for 21 hours unpacking and repacking my kids for another adventure that they left for this morning - without me! BOO! So. I'm skipping the individual servings this week - just wanted to show you what I have on hand.

Fruit and Veg



















watermelon
honey dew
cantaloupe
grapes
apples
dates
cherries
strawberries
peaches
carrots
cucumbers
broccoli
snap peas
grape tomatoes

I usually put it in individual sized Tupperware and stick them in the large middle drawer on our fridge with individual Tupperwares of ranch or vanilla pudding for dipping. We also usually have individual packs of hummus, guacamole and cream cheese

We also do A TON of cheese - those awesome Tillamoo's they have at Costco are the best - but they also sell lots of different flavors of them at the grocery store. Costco also has individual packs of fresh mozzarella! 













Other Dairy/refrigerated items
hard boiled eggs (seen above with fruit and veg)
Go-go squeeze - both applesauce and the new yogurt flavors
Greek yogurt
Diced peaches

*Obviously - we also eat a lot of sandwiches!!*





Pantry items: blue smoked almonds, cashews, trail mix, pine nuts, sliced almonds, granola, craisins, Nutella (for sandwiches or fruit dip) - also dried fruit - mango, coconut, etc.

English muffin + peanut butter (or butter or Nutella) + sliced apples + cinnamon and sugar - broil for a couple minutes - SO GOOD!

This bowl is constantly brimming with fruit. My kids can go through a bulk bag of Cuties in 2 or 3 days. I like to switch it up so they don't get sick of one particular fruit. Also, if I see something we've never tried before - or haven't had for a while in the produce section - I'll pick it up just to keep us on our toes.
We eat avocado on toast, just with salt and pepper, with salad dressing, with eggs, lots of options.

I buy bulk muffins, English muffins and croissants... I have an amazing tip for you!!

I FREEZE them!! They never go bad before they get eaten! The croissants only take about 10 minutes to thaw on the counter - and the kids love to heat the muffins in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I throw those bagels straight from the freezer to the toaster. See those hamburger buns, dinner bread and mini pizzas? Brilliant...

AND I didn't even take a picture of our cracker selection!!! Which - is pretty impressive - I just counted 14 different kinds - I may have a problem...

So there you have it!! What are your "GO TO SNACKS?"

Snacks

Muriel, my super awesome friend asked me for some ideas on after school snacks for her kids - some of these are SUPER obvious - so bear with me...

I also recently read an article via O magazine on Jessica Seinfeld (the author or Double Delicious and Deceptively Delicious) did she has a ton of great ideas and has given me lots to think about. She gives a lot more great ideas for after school snacks HERE.

Fav's around my house:
Jicama Chips
Sweet Peppers
Sweet corn (I buy the Bybee Foods Organic Sweet corn frozen at Costco - when they want a snack, I just get a little bowl full out of the bag and run them cool water to thaw. That way they are still nice and cold and delish!)
Whole Wheat tortillas (my kids love to warm them up in the microwave for 15 seconds - then they roll them up and eat away)
String Cheese
Yogurt
Hard Boiled eggs
Ants on a Log
Peanut butter or Sunbutter on everything from crackers to whole wheat toast
Cucumbers drizzled with lime juice and sprinkled with chili powder
All kinds of nuts
'Ann's House' brand Soy Energy Blend (which I personally do not like - but my husband and son love)

Things to dip in your favorite salad dressing or honey
Baby Carrots
Sugar Snap Peas
Cucumbers
Radishes

What are your favorite go to snacks? Share!
*We also do fruit snacks, granola bars, Cheerios, etc.
**I save the fruit for dessert - a much better alternative...

I don't know how many of you read the comments - so I am going to post them right here for all of you to see - we are all looking for great snack ideas!!

From Wendymo: My favorite go-to snack right now is trail mix. My favorite has unsalted peanuts, dried pineapple, dried cranberries, raisins, and mini white chocolate chips. So tasty!

I also eat whole wheat toast with a wedge of light Laughing Cow Swiss cheese spread over it instead of butter. It's delish!

Thanks Wendymo!!

Sweet Pepper Snacks

Atleast once a month I grab a big bag of sweet mini peppers at Costco for a healthy, crunchy, tasty, juicy snack.

I make them the way they are pictured. Cut off the tops and remove the seeds, fill with a dab of cream cheese and top with chives or any herb I have on hand. My kids mack these up! In fact, my 3 year old absolutely couldn't even wait for me to take a picture - so I had to wait until she was sufficiently satiated. These are the last few that hadn't been devoured (yet)...

Sweet Pepper Snacks

Sweet Peppers

Cream Cheese

Herbs

Cut off the tops of the sweet peppers and clean out the seeds. Squeeze a little dallop of cream cheese into each pepper and top with whatever herbs you have on hand. I usually use chives - today it was parsley. My son likes them sans herbs but with a little salt.

Jicama Chips

I LOVE jicama. It's especially good in salads. It's a root vegetable that has a sweet tang. I'm not going to lie. When you pick it up at the grocery store - it's pretty darn ugly. But once you cut away the outer layer - that sweet, delicious veggie comes to life.

I often slice the jicama in half and then make jicama 'chips' as a snack. My kids LOVE them!! I serve them with salad dressing or sometimes with a little honey. My kids will eat them plain too - a delicious, nutritious snack!

Kids Fav Cheese Quesadillas

Even the name is simple. I hope you all don't think I am crazy for posting this - b/c it is so obvious, but I swear - everytime I make these with another adult in the room - they are surprised that they never thought about doing this way and at how much of a difference this process makes in taste.
I babysit a friends son, Mason every Monday. When his Mom came over to pick him up, the kids were just finishing up these nummies. Mason pipes up "deeyas! deeyas!" His Mom said "so these are the 'deeyaas' Mason talks about all the time! Every time he asks me for one, I pop it in the microwave and he won't eat it!" He says "No, Mrs. V's deeyaas!" These are my tools - skillet and spatula. I invested a whopping $3 in the 'big' spatula (left) and it's really great for quesadillas, omlettes, crepes, etc. I set the 'regular' spatula next to it so you could see the difference in size. Sorry - they are dirty - but they get used!!

Put your skillet on with the temp on high. A pat of butter and a tortilla. Add cheese (cheddar is the preference around here) and top it off with another tortilla. Just like a pancake - flip it when its nice and golden on the bottom. Take it off the heat when golden on the other side.

You can mix it up to your liking. I always add black beans and onion to mine. Yum - fast - yum. See - duh. Simple. They charge $6 for these at any mexican restaraunt!!!