chewy granola bars

you know those nights where you're up every 2-3 hours feeding a baby and you're absolutely dead tired and need some nutrition for the love of pete to keep you alive? or how about those days where you just have no time to do anything, not even sit down for an everloving meal?

well, meet the perfect granola bar.

this recipe has been adapted to accommodate my new lifestyle - breastfeeding mom with a baby who has undetermined food sensitivities so mom is cutting out all possible food irritants. these are gluten-free (using gluten-free oats), dairy-free, corn-free, and peanut-free. and still delicious. take that, baby stomach.

Chewy Granola Bars (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (i like to use a mix with dried cranberries and blueberries, and when i'm feeling crazy i add in some dark chocolate chips)
1/3 cup almond butter (or other nut butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons oil (or butter for non-vegan)
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon water

mix dry and wet ingredients seperately, combine, throughly mixing all ingredients until wet. bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes or until edges are brown. you'll want to wait to cut these until they're cool or they may crumble.

banana millet muffins.

I found out a secret recently. I've had millet sitting in a jar on my counter for the past 6 months with no idea how to use it. I cooked it for a pilaf once and it turned into mush, so I kind of gave up on it.

But. How could one give up on this little nutrient-packed whole grain so easily?

Folks, I have discovered millets place in my world. It belongs in my baked goods! I've thrown millet into pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with lots of success, and this morning I tried them in these banana muffins. And they're good. No, they are GREAT. I may have eaten 2 in a row...or 3? With half whole wheat, little sugar, and whole grain millet, they are practically doing my body a favor (or at least I'll let myself believe that).

This recipe makes 12 muffins, but they freeze well so I'm doubling the recipe next time!

Banana Millet Muffins

3 or 4 mashed bananas

1/4 cup white sugar

1 slightly beaten egg

1/3 cup oil (i'm trying applesauce next time)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour - half whole wheat, half white

1/2 cup millet

Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and oils together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Combine wet and dry ingredients, adding the millet after everything is mixed. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins, and bake in 350 degrees F oven for approximately 20 minutes.

apple breakfast muffins.

in the grand scale of muffins, this a relatively healthy recipe. lots of fiber, little fat, and some fruit! grab a muffin in the morning and a banana, and you'll start the day off right.

heat the oven to 450 F.

in medium bowl, mix together:
1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 TB cinnamon

in large bowl, mix together:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
1/4 white sugar
1/4 dark brown sugar
mix all ingredients together until fluffy, then mix in one egg.
add 1 cup of plain yogurt, and about 1/4 cup of applesauce. i used chobani fat free yogurt (yum!)

slowly mix the dry ingredients into wet.
peel, core, and coarsely chop 2 apples and add into mixture.

grease muffin tin or use papers. load up your muffin tin with the dough. sprinkle a little dark brown sugar on top if you like a little extra added sweetness (i do!).

bake for 10 minutes at 450 F, lower to 400 F, and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.
this recipe should yield about 18 muffins.

egg-in-a-hole

ok! yes! i love eggs!
now that i'm found out, it will be a much easier relationship between you (my 3 readers) and me. and i should probably start taking cholesterol medicine because can you even imagine?

my new "easy dinner" trick + a picture resulted in this for dinner last night:

(via grapevine twine)

i don't know if there is anything i love more than scooping up runny egg with bread. until i added an avocado. omigosh, run to your stove and make this NOW.

EGG in a HOLE + avocado!

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 piece of bread
butter
avocado
s&p

Directions:
1. cut out a 3" circular hole in bread. i used the top of an empty salsa jar.
2. butter one side (or both sides if you love butter)
3. put bread, butter side down on skillet - let it grill for a minute to make the bread a little toasty
4. crack the egg and put it in the hole! now we're having fun!
5. when the egg white is almost cooked through (about 3 minutes), flip it. let it cook for another 2 minutes. nudge the yolk with your spatula and remove the bread when the yolk is gummy, and has lost that flimsy feeling. this gets easier with practice, but its better to have more runny than hard fried egg!
6. remove the bread and add sliced avocado to the top. sprinkle with salt and other seasonings you prefer.

enjoy. add a salad if you're feeling fancy.

6 steps to spinach and cheese strata.

i made my first strata for naomi's shower. yes, a risky move to make - trying out a brand new recipe on a large group of people - and egg dishes can be especially tricky! i had my quiche lady on speed dial in case the strata didn't work out, but thank goodness it did.

frightfully easy for how delicious it is.

warning: this is not a very "healthful" low-fat meal. it's one that will stick around in your gullet for a while. best left for a brunch for a group of friends. trust me on this - after eating it for 2 days, our household is forced to live in sweatpants. awesome and terrifying.

a few notes for this recipe

1. if you don't have stale bread, cut it up in 1" cubes and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, keeping a close eye so the bread is toasted, not burned.

2. this is best if prepared the evening before you serve to let the flavors meld and the eggs do its thing with the bread. wake up in the morning, throw it in the oven for about 50 minutes, and you have breakfast.

3. it may look jiggly when it comes out of the oven, but it will firm up after 15-20 minutes.

4. hannah added BACON and tomatoes to her strata and it was divine.

this is what a brunch looks like with 2 stratas (stratum?) as the main dish.

Gourmet's Spinach and Cheese Strata (adapted from here)

• ingredients
• 1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian bread (1/2 lb)
• 6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
• 2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 9 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

preparation

1, thaw and squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then finely chop. (i squoze in paper towels)

2, Cook onion in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat.

3, Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses).

4, Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard).

5, Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

6, Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.