Homemade Cracklin' Oat Bran

Since the only recipe for homemade Cracklin' Oat Bran was on a website Google didn't trust, I'm copying this one from the cached version for my own personal use. I haven't tried it, and probably shouldn't ... but I will someday. Here it is:

Homemade "cracklin' oat bran"-style cereal (approximately 4 small but filling servings)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
2. In the bowl of a food processor add:
-1.5 cup GF rolled oats (or regular if not GF)
Pulse the oats until they are coarsely-ground.
3.  Then add:
-1/4 cup almond meal/flour
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 cup extra-virgin coconut oil
-1/4 cup maple syrup
-2 Tbsp organic brown sugar
-1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
-pinch sea salt
-1/4 tsp baking soda
Pulse until the mixture comes together, pulling off the sides of the bowl.  Taste and adjust seasoning/sweetness as desired.  If the mixture is too dry, add more coconut oil or maple syrup.  If it's too wet, add more almond meal/flour.
4. Spread the mixture on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet, or in the base of a 9" deep loaf pan, like I did.  Bake the cereal for 15-20 minutes until brown and crisp.  Remove and let cool--it will continue to crisp.
5. Once completely cool, break the cereal into pieces of desired size and store in an air-tight container.  Enjoy!

White Sweet Potato-Cranberry Chili

Heather and I made this chili on the fly, and it came out super good. So good, in fact, that it won the ward Halloween party chili cook-off. I'm pretty proud of us. Here's an approximate recipe written after-the-fact. Feel free to adapt it to your own culinary whimsy. Also, it looks pretty cute when you serve it in a pumpkin. If you can cut the pumpkin to fit a bowl in it, bigger win for you because you don't have to clean it out all the way :)

White Sweet Potato-Cranberry Chili 

(if you have a better name for this, send it my way, because this is pretty lame)

3-4 sweet potatoes, diced

Olive oil

Sea salt

Pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 small onions, chopped

1.5 Tbsp rosemary

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

4 cans Great Northern beans

3 cans chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp chicken flavored bouillon

1 rounded tsp meat curry masala powder

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp basil

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp maza flour (or regular flour)

1 hot yellow pepper (or any hot pepper you like)

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (without shells!)

1.5 cups dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Pre-heat oven to 400°. Line two baking sheets in aluminum foil. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 4 Tbsp olive oil, 1.5 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add sweet potatoes, toss to coat. Spread evenly on baking sheets. Bake about 8 inches below upper heating element for approximately 20-30 minutes. (I was checking them about every 5 minutes. Take them out when they're sufficiently roasted and "screaming.") Set aside.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, combine 2 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, onions, rosemary, and cayenne pepper in a large pot. Cook on low heat until onions are translucent. Add chicken, beans, broth, masala powder, thyme, basil, and whatever other herbs tickle your fancy. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl, mix milk and flour. Add to soup while stirring constantly. 

Cut off the stem of the pepper and cut the pepper in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and white membrane. Flatten each half of the pepper and place skin-side up on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet (I transferred all the sweet potatoes to one baking sheet, and then re-used the empty one). Broil 4-6 inches below the upper heating element for 8-10 minutes, or until the skins are dark. Remove from oven and wrap foil tightly around them. Take care, as foil will be extremely hot. Let peppers "sweat" in the foil for at least 15 minutes—this makes it easier to remove the skins. (I sped up the process by sticking them in the freezer.) When they're done, peel off the skin. Chop finely and add to pot.  

In small mixing bowl, combine 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp sea salt. Add pumpkin seeds, toss to coat. Place on aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Roast under broiler, about 5 minutes. Add to pot. 

Add sweet potatoes and cranberries. Salt and pepper to taste (it will definitely need salt ... we added it so sporadically that I have no clue how much it was. So taste liberally). 

Lentil, Spinach & Cumin Soup

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
150 g brown or green lentils
1.2 litres vegetable stock
200 g spinach
freshly squeezed juice of one lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons of Greek yogurt, to serve
25 g pine nuts, lightly toasted, to serve

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and add the onions. Cook, covered, for 8-10 minutes until softened. Remove half the onion and set aside.

Continue to cook the onion left in the pan for a further 10 minutes until deep brown, sweet and caramelized. Take out and set aside for the garnish.

Return the softened onion to the pan and add the garlic, coriander, cumin seeds, and lentils and stir for 1-2 minutes until well coated in oil. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are lovely and soft.

Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Transfer half the coup to a blender and liquidize until you have a puree. Stir back into the soup. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls, add a dollop of Greek yogurt and scatter the pine nuts and fried onions over the top.

Lebni and Zahtar

I went to Sammy's Woodfired Pizza this summer in San Diego, and it was DELICIOUS. We had this great appetizer called Lebni, which is a Mediterranean soft cheese that was served with some delicious pita-like stuff ... it was so good. Anyways, my goal is to someday make this, so I've found a recipe for the entire appetizer, plus a recipe for zahtar, which is the spice mix that is used in the appetizer. Apparently this first one is coming straight from Sammy's, which is super cool. So here's the recipe:

Lebni is a pasteurized kefir cheese with a fluffy texture like whipped cream cheese and a tangy taste kind of like sour cream. Lebni and zahtar – a blend of sesame seed, powdered sumac and dried thyme needed for this recipe – can be purchased at Middle Eastern markets.

Lebni (Mediterranean Soft Cheese)

4 servings

6 tablespoons zahtar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

10 ounces Lebni cheese

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

OPTIONAL GARNISH

Diced tomatoes

Snipped chives

Chopped parsley

HERB OIL-GRILLED FLATBREAD

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic

2 cups softly packed fresh herb leaves (equal parts basil, cilantro, mint)

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon coarse salt

4 (8-inch) flatbreads

Combine zahtar and sesame seeds in a small bowl. On a large shallow platter, spread the Lebni 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Surround with Herb Oil Grilled Flatbread wedges. Sprinkle zahtar mixture evenly over Lebni and flatbread. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over all. Top with optional garnishes, if desired.

To make the Herb Oil-Grilled Flatbread: Combine all ingredients except flatbread in blender and blend until smooth. Brush both sides of flatbread with the herb oil and let marinate for several hours. Saute or grill bread evenly on both sides. Cut bread into wedges before serving.

And now for the Zahtar recipe:

Dukkah (Zahtar)

100 g sesame seeds
50g roasted chick peas
100g coriander seeds
50g hazelnuts
50g walnuts
1 Tblspn ground cinnamon or 2 sticks cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
large pinch black or white pepper
1.5 Tblspn cumin seeds
1 Tblspn dried marjoram
1 Tblspn sumac
50 g sunflower seeds

method

Separately dry roast in a hot frying pan the sesame seeds, chick peas, coriander seeds, hazelnuts and walnuts.

Likewise roast the cumin seeds.

Grind the coriander seeds first, as they are the hardest ingredient.

Then add the remaining dry roasted ingredients and the sunflower seeds and grind –pounding together if doing it by hand until coarsely crushed. If you prefer a finely crushed mix, don’t crush to a state where the oils form the nuts and seeds are released and the mixture starts to form a paste. It should be a dry mixture of ingredients.

Mix the herbs and ground spices. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. It is yummy with a peppery bite, and a slightly salty taste.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Braised and Barbecued Chicken

This is the ultimate in impressing people with your food skills. It should be renamed. Something like Boyfriend Chicken. Or The Husbandmaker. Ow ow. Let me tell you ... this stuff is completely divine. :D

MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH BRAISED AND BARBECUED CHICKEN

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup TROPICANA PURE PREMIUM Orange Juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 regular-size bags SUCCESS Boil-In-Bag Rice, uncooked
1/4 cup chopped green onion, green tops only

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and sauté 6 minutes, turning once.

Combine fruit juices in a large bowl. Stir together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon juice mixture until smooth; set aside.

Stir soy sauce and next 6 ingredients into remaining juice mixture; pour over chicken. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes, turning chicken after 20 minutes.

Prepare rice according to package directions. Keep warm.

Uncover chicken, and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Spoon rice onto a serving platter, top with chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with green onions.

Garlic Olive Oil Pasta Sauce

GARLIC OLIVE OIL PASTA SAUCE

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2 cans tomatoes, drained

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper

YUM.

Special K Treat

SPECIAL K TREAT

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup Karo

2 Tbsp. margarine

Put all in saucepan--bring to a boil. Add 1 cup peanut butter and stir until mixed. Pour on at least 6 cups of Special K. Stir until all is covered. Spread out on waxed paper until cool.