Granola

1 tblsp olive oil
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup butter
2 tblsp honey (or pure maple syrup)
1/3 cup backed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped or sliced almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries

You can add other nuts and dried fruit or even make a hearty trail mix with m&m's etc.

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add oats: stir constantly for 5 minutes (until they start to brown and crisp). Pour oats on a cookie sheet to cool.

2. Melt butter over medium heat; add honey & brown sugar. Cook until bubbly.

3. Return oats to pan and poor butter mixture over the oats. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes over medium heat.

4. Poor on cookie sheet to cool. Once cook add nuts and dried fruit as desired and transfer to an air tight container.

Bruschetta

6 Ripe Plum tomatoes (plum because they have thicker skin and less seeds than other varieties)
2 cloves of fresh garlic (minced)
1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
6-8 fresh basil leaves (chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Loaf of french bread cut in 1/2 inch slices

1. Parboil tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has been removed from the burner. Peel tomato skins. Cut tomatoes in half and remove seeds.
2. Chop tomatoes and add garlic, olive oil, basil, vinegar & seasonings.
3. Coat one side of each french bread slice with olive oil, (use pastry brush) and place slices olive oil side down on a cookie sheet.
3. In a 450 degree pre-heated oven bake the french bread slices on the top shelf for 5 minutes.

You can serve the bruschetta in a bowl with a spoon for scooping on to the french bread slices or place some topping on each slice for your guests. Enjoy!

Italian Sausage Brunch

Italian Sausage Brunch

12 Slices white bread (crust removed)
1 lb Italian Sausage - cut in 1/4 inch slices
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion
1/4 butter (melted)
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
5 Eggs (beaten)
2 1/4 cups milk
1 tblsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place 6 slices of bread in lightly greased 13x9 casserole dish.

Cook sausage, mushrooms, onion & butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the sausage is browned. Spoon 1/2 sausage mix over bread. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the sausage. Layer remaining 6 slices of bread over the cheese, add remaining sausage mix & Cheese.

Combine eggs & remaining ingredients; mix well; poor over casserole.

Refrigerate 8 hours.

Remove from refrigerator and let stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes.

Baked Dijon Salmon

Thanks to my sister Rebecca I have found a great i phone app... the Allrecipes App. It's free and is a great source for quick recipes. We found this recipe on good Friday when I almost served the salmon with a bacon topping. It was a blond moment...

This was a hit even though I had to improvise a bit with the ingredients:

1/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (I substituted raw almonds and that worked great too)
4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (dried parsley works fine as well)
Salmon fillets
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl stir together melted butter mustard and honey. Set aside. In another bowl mix together bread crumbs, pecans and parsley. Brush each salmon fillet with the honey mustard mixture and sprinkle generously with the bread crumb mixture. Bake salmon for about 15 minutes until it flakes easily with a fork.

Note: 421 calories per serving

Tomato & Garbanzo Bean salad

5 medium tomatoes chopped
Fresh basil chopped (modify amount to your tastes)
1/2 of a diced red onion (yellow or white onions can substitute)
1 can Goya Garbanzo beans (rinsed)
1/4 cup feta cheese
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salty & pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together and refrigerate for at least an hour. Enjoy!!

Salmon Crumble from the kitchen of Nancy Lamothe

I made this during the week and the whole family enjoyed it. This is quick, easy and healthy:

- Place 2 lbs Salmon on top of foil
- Coat with Ranch Dressing (I use Hidden Valley lite or fat free)
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste (you can skip the salt as the flavor is great anyway and the bacon adds salt. You may also sprinkle dill to add a new flavor)
- Fry 1 lb of bacon extra crispy and crumble over the salmon
- Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of feta cheese over the bacon
- Wrap tightly in foil

Place the wrapped package on a hot grill and grill on high until cooked through: usually 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Caramel Pecan Rolls

From the kitchen of Nancy Lamothe (I believe originally sourced to Southern Living)

1 pkg Active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp. margarine or butter (softened)
1 egg
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup margarine/butter (melted)
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 tbsp. corn syrup
2/3 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in 1/4 cup sugar, salt, softened margarine, egg and 2 cups of flour; beat until smooth. With spoon or by hand, work in enough remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Place greased-side-up in greased bowl: cover tightly & refrigerate overnight.

Combine melted margarine, brown sugar, corn syrup and pecan halves. Pour into greased casserole pan. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. On floured board, roll dough into 15X9" oblong. Spread with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Roll up tightly, beginning at wide side. Seal edge well. Cut into 1" slices and place in prepared pan. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 1/2 hours). Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 25 - 30 minutes. Should make about 15 rolls.

Enjoy, they are delicious!

White Dove Bird Nests

White Dove Bird Nests (inspired by Cara McNeany):

*2 12oz bags of white chocolate chips

*La Choy Chow Mein Noodles – 2 1/2 cups

*Mixed nuts (approx. 1 lb.)

Melt white chocolate chips in a double burner. When melted, add noodles and nuts. Mix thoroughly and scoop with a spoon onto a cookie sheet. Cool in the fridge. ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose lour

And to make the cookies really delicious add 1 cup peanut butter chips and 1 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels.

Mix pb and butter on high speed w/ and electric mixer. Add sugars, baking soda and powder and beat until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla till combined and then beat in flour. Bake at 375 degrees for exactly 7 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet.

The cookies can also be rolled and put into mini muffin pans (no muffin cup needed), bake for 7-9 minutes. As soon as they come out press mini reesces pb cups into the "muffin" and allow to cool before you remove. Another variation is to cook the pb cookie on a cookie sheet and then press a hershey kiss into the center upon removal from the oven.

ENJOY!! (Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens cook book)

Chicken Pot Pie

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1 chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can chx. broth (undiluted)
2/3 cup milk
2 cups cooked chicken cut into cubes
1 10 oz package of frozen mixed vegetables
Jiffy box pie crust

Melt butter and cook onions until glossy. Add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in broth & milk; heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken and thawed frozen vegetables.

Line 11" square casserole dish with 1/2 pie crust. Pour mixture into crust & cover with the second layer of crust. Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape. Cook uncovered at 425 degrees until crust is brown and interior is bubbling, (approximately 35 minutes).

Spanish Rice

1 lb hamburg
2 gloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper (can substitute zucchini), chopped
1 1/2 cup rice, uncooked
1 tsp sea salt (can substitute regular salt)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 can stewed tomatoes w/ juice
1 3/4 cup chicken broth

Brown hamburg and add garlic and vegetables. Cook until vegetables are tender. Stir in rice and seasonings. Stir in tomatoes and broth. Heat to a boiling; cover and reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes, (until rice is tender and the flavors have run together). Adjust seasoning to taste.

Note: this is a meal that the entire family actually eats happily :)

Baking Powder Biscuits

These are Easy & Delicious. They are good with beef stew or for breakfast and I like them most w/ butter and jelly or a sausage patty and eggs :)

2 cups flour, sifted
1 tblsp. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cut in shortening. Combine milk and eggs and mix into flour mixture. Turn dough on a lightly floured surface and knead gently. Roll dough to a 3/4 inch thickness. I usually form the shape with a cookie cutter or a glass... Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy :)

Beef Stew

From Volume II: Cooking with Mickey

2lbs stew meat cubed
4 tblsp. oil
4 tblsp flour
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup of carrots, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
3 tblsp. tomato paste
4 beef bullion cubes
2 cups water
3 cups brown gravy
1 tsp. paprika
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. garlic, granulated
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup of frozen peas

Dust stew meat in flour. Heat oil in a stew pot and sear the meat on high heat until meat is browned. Add vegetables and water and simmer 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, (except peas). Mix well and simmer on low until meat is tender and vegetables are cooked. Remove bay leaf and adjust seasoning if necessary. 20 minutes before serving, add the peas.

The meal is delicious served with Baking Powder Biscuits, (see recipe on above). This can also be done in a crock pot; in which case I skip the searing part and just throw the meat in raw and add all the ingedients, (except the peas), immediately. Then I let it slow cook for 6 or 7 hours before serving. An good addition is a can of stewed tomatoes... but you may want to adjust the amount of water for the addition.

Enjoy :)

Crepes

This is another Lamothe breakfast favorite:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tblsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tblsp. butter, (melted)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together with a spoon. Heat a fry pan and spray well with cooking spray. Put ladle of batter into the pan and roll the pan so that the batter spreads throughout the pan. The crepe will cook quickly. Lift the edges with a spatula and flip. Let the second side cook briefly.

Repeat until the batter is gone :)

Of course you can fill a crepe with many different things. However, we enjoy a tablespoon of brown sugar spread over the crepe and then roll the crepe and enjoy :)

Corn Bread

Buttery Corn Bread from "Allrecipes.com" posted by Nicole Callen
Hannah's new favorite!

2/3 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 2/3 cups milk
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Combine the eggs and milk. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with egg mixture, (or if your like me, just toss it all in and mix it up good!!).

Pour into a greased 13*9inch baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

This recipe is great with Chili or Mexican rice or just as a snack!