Homemade Granola

The end of the month is always a slightly challenging time to come up with new and unique recipes. With food prices continuing to rise, we have usually depleted or come close to depleting our grocery budget for the month by these last few days. However, I am nearly always up for a good challenge, and it always encourages and amazes me to see how God provides...and He ALWAYS does! Our Heavenly Father is faithful, even when we are not. Even when we fail to trust, He provides for our every need, and in doing so bring so much glory to Himself. How awesome it is to have a Father that loves His children unconditionally!

The past few days I was struggling to come up with breakfast foods. We were out of milk and bread, so no cereal or toast (although, I experimented with some flour to make some yummy cinnamon bread. I would post the recipes, but most of the work was done in a bread machine...so I kind of feel like I cheated. ;-P). But we did have a large container of oats. Granola was the first thing that came to mind. I had never made homemade granola before, but decided to give it a try. I made a small amount, because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Scott raved on and on about it, and snacked on it for quite some time yesterday - my sign that it was a success! I am definitely making it again! All in all, it I'm pretty sure it is cheaper than buying it pre-made, and it was fun and EASY to make! Here is my recipe:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. honey
1 dash of cinnamon

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients. Add butter, and stir to coat. Pour into baking pan or on to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes. Stir in the pan. Bake again for about 7 minutes or until desired doneness is achieved. Granola will be soft in the oven, but will harden as it cools. Keep in mind that, if left on the pan, it will continue to "bake for about 5-10 minutes AFTER you remove it from the oven. This may affect how early you remove it.

This would also be a great recipe for granola bars. To make the bars, I would recommend NOT stirring the granola after 7 minutes, but rather baking it for 10 minutes straight, then cutting it into bars immediately upon removing it from the oven.

It is great eaten alone as a snack, or I served it over plain yogurt with fresh strawberries. Bon appetite!

Corned Beef 'n Cabbage

Who says that you have to celebrate holidays on the exact day? We waited a few days to "celebrate" St. Patrick's Day. But it was well worth the wait! This meal was by far one of the best traditional St. Patrick's Day meals I have ever had! Probably second best. First place goes to an amazing Irish stew that my husband made while we were dating. :) I, by nature, m not a meat and potatoes person, but this corned beef was soooo incredibly succulent, it almost made me want to convert! :) The best part about this meal is that it was effortlessly easy.

1. To start off, I soaked the meat in a pan of water in the refrigerator for 24 hours prior to cooking it. This is to remove some of the salt. You can do this up to 3 days, but make sure you change the water each day.

2. When you are ready to cook the brisket, place it in a baking dish, fat side up. This will allow all the juices an flavor from the fat to soak into the meat, making it more moist. Fill the dish about 1/2 with water. I used the little seasoning packet that comes with corned beef to sprinkle on top. I also added about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar to the top of the meat to create a glaze of sorts.

3. Chop cabbage any way you so desire, and add it to the dish with the meat, making sure to coat it with water.  Sprinkle both meat and cabbage with about 1-2 teaspoons rosemary and 1-2 teaspoons savory (how much you use depends on the size of your meat). Bake at 225 for 6-8 hours, turning the cabbage occasionally so that it does not burn. You may have to add more water occasionally also, as it cooks down.

4. About 1 hour before serving, pierce whole potatoes with a knife and add them to the dish. Turn the oven to 350 and bake for 1 hour.

I served this rye bread with herb butter and a side of peas. If anyone would like, I can also post my recipe for the peas, as they turned delicious as well! Bon appetite!

Homemade Pizza

I am going to give you the recipe for the crust and how to best bake the pizzas. The pizzas themselves can be topped with the cheese and toppings of your choice to make it just the way you like it! That's why I love this recipe sooo much! The crust is by far the best crust I have ever eaten, and I am one of the biggest crust snobs you will ever meet. :) For the sauce I use whatever pasta sauce I have in the cupboard. I have even used alfredo sauce or BBQ sauce for variation. Once again, I want to thank my mom for the crust recipe! Bon appetite!

 Pizza Crust

2 /14 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
5 tsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. salt
all purpose flour

Directions: Place sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and stir until sugar/salt mixture is dissolved. Add the yeast and whisk until yeast is moistened. Let the yeast "proof" (about 5-10 minutes). You will see bubble form on the top of the mixture. Add oil, honey, wheat flour, and flour. Stir until you can no longer stir with a spoon. Begin to knead the dough, continually adding flour. Knead until the dough is firm, and form a large ball. Let rise for at least 30 minutes.

To bake: Move the oven racks to the bottom and third from bottom slots. Preheat the oven to 400. Divide the dough into 4 balls. From the middle, spread the balls out over each pizza pan, until pan is covered or until desire thickness is achieved (keep in mind that the dough will rise even more upon baking). Place the un-topped crusts in the oven, two at a time - one on each shelf. Bake for 5 minutes, then switch shelves. Bake for another 5 minutes. Top the pizzas. Repeat the baking instructions, or continue baking until cheese is melted.


  

A walk down memory lane...

My apologies for the lack of posts recently. This week has been a little crazy (in a good way) in the Spilker household. Busy days and short nights. Ah, such is life, right? Updates to follow, I promise. :)

Tonight, I am making pizza for dinner. Growing up, it was a family tradition to have homemade pizza every Friday night. My mom made the crust, and sometimes even the sauce from scratch. We always looked forward to it, because it was better than any restaurant pizza we could get! Tonight, I will be using her recipe. It brings back lots of good memories. I hope everyone is having a great Friday. Yay for the weekend!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuit! mmmm!

Easy recipe for the day!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits


2 1/2 cups all purpose baking mix (think Bisquick)
1 cup milk
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)
1 Tbsp. garlic salt (or to taste)
unsalted butter

Directions: Preheat oven to 450. Prepare biscuit mix according to package instructions. Add cheese and garlic salt, and mix in. Drop by spoonfuls on to ungreased baking sheet. top each biscuit with a thin "slice" of butter. Bake 8-10 minutes. Biscuits will be soft and "gooey".

This a super easy comfort food that pairs well with soup, and take less than 15 minute to prepare - start to finish. It can also be altered by adding whatever cheese you prefer. I made them last night to serve with lobster bisque, and they were a huge hit! Bon appetite! :)

Concerning fish & chips...

Ok, so the title is a bit deceiving. The two were not served together. My wonderful husband has cooked dinner for me two nights in a row, leaving me to sit back, relax, and enjoy some pretty awesome food! Tonight he fixed colby/jack stuffed burgers on flash fried whole wheat buns. Amazing to say the least. I had the privilege of concocting some home made french fries to go along with the burgers. Here's how that went:

2 medium sized potatoes, cut into thin strips
1 Tbsp. butter
enough vegetable oil (or the oil of your choosing) to cover the bottom of your skillet
a dash of olive oil

Directions:
Place the oils (including butter) in skillet and turn the heat to med/high. Add the potatoes. Season with your favorite seasonings, and cook until golden brown or desired crispness. Serve directly out of skillet.

I also promised you the recipe for the tuna tacos from Friday. Here it is:

2-3 cans chunk tuna in water
whole wheat tortillas
shredded cabbage
1/2 tomato, diced
1/ cup onion, diced
1 avocado, sliced (or guacamole)
tarter sauce (optional)
sour cream
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions: 
Season the tuna with the lemon juice, then build your own tacos!! :) I served these with steamed corn, fresh fruit salad and cottage cheese. Very yummy, and easy recipe! Bon appetite!

Tuna Tacos

Great weather calls for some great, fresh food. Friday was a perfect example of this. It felt like a late spring day to me. I was craving something light and fresh. :) This is what I came up with. Recipe to follow.

Italian Chili

Last night's dinner was a slow cooker meal. Because I was gone most of the day, and dinner was in shifts, I needed something that could be ready when I got home and that would still be good and hot when everyone else got to it. Chili was my first thought, but rather than just make traditional chili, I decided to mix things up a bit. Not knowing if such a thing existed, I decided to create an Italian chili (I found out later that such a thing does exist, and appears in several forms). I didn't have a recipe, but I did have a pound of ground turkey, some beans and leftover pasta sauce, so I decided to wing it. It actually turned out really well, and my husband asked me to repeat it! :) Below is my recipe. It should be noted that I never measure anything or follow an exact recipe, so all my "measurements" are approximate. But, I view cooking as an art, and my ingredients as my paint and palette...it is my belief that experimentation is a must when it comes to cooking. It is part of the fun in the process. Bon appetite!


1 lb. ground turkey
1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn (just for fun...corn is not really Italian)
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes*
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup pasta sauce (optional...I just had some I needed to use)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. dry rosemary
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. anise
1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes.
1 tsp. brown sugar
a dash of chili powder
a dash of garlic salt
Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Directions: First, don't freak out when you see the list of ingredients. About half are spices and seasonings. If you don't have all the herbs or seasonings, you can always substitute Italian sausage for the turkey, becauseI basically just seasoned my meat to mimic Italian sausage. Ok, step #

1. Place olive oil skillet to coat the bottom. Add the turkey, butter, vinegar and garlic salt. Cook on medium to high heat, string occasionally as you break up the turkey. Cook until turkey is cooked through.

2. Once the turkey is fully cooked, transfer to a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients, stirring after each is added to spread flavors evenly. Let simmer on low heat for 6-8 hours. Serve over polenta, pasta, or with crusty Italian bread (my choice). Garnish with cheese. Serves 2 generously or 4 smaller portions.

*If you wanted a lighter version, you could use fresh tomatoes rather than canned. I was going for more of a savory flavor.

Dinner Talk

I created this blog to share my enjoyment of food and cooking with anyone who shares my love. "Culina" is Latin for "kitchen" which is my favorite room in the house. I invite you to my kitchen. Each day I will post at least one recipe from a meal that I created. I invite your input, ideas, recipes, and thoughts. Bon Appetite!