Saturday, February 12, 2011

Recipes!

These 4 recipes are staples in my kitchen. I make these at least once a week and they are totally delicious, contain superpower ingredients which are cheap when you buy in bulk, and super easy to make.
Bon Appetit!
I've listed them from easiest to less easy (none of them are in the hard category)
(Please forgive my recipe writing skills. I'm one of those 'go with the kitchen flow' kind of cooks and really try hard to follow the recipes but I often forget the cookbook is sitting on the counter. But, I do think I make decent food so I'm doing something right)

Kale Chips
* Lacinato Kale, de ribbed, washed and dried (use a salad spinner)
* Splash of olive oil
* Pinch of salt

Preheat over to 250 degrees

De-rib the kale, wash and dry it. Put kale, olive oil and salt in a mixing bowl. Coat the kale with the olive oil and salt. Lay out kale (make sure they don't touch) on a cookie sheet. Place in preheated oven for 25- 30 minutes until the kale is crispy.
My son begs for these at dinner time! You can also use any sturdy green leafy produce. Spinach is what I use most often (no need to de-rib), if I don't have kale in the fridge. I've also used beet greens.


Basic Granola
* Two cups rolled oats
* Handful of your favorite nuts, coarsely chopped
* 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
* 2 tablespoons mild flavor oil or melted butter
* Cinnamon to taste
* Pinch of salt
* 1/2 cup of dried cranberries

Preheat oven 300

Mix first six ingredients in a mixing bowl. Spoon mixture on cookie sheet. Cook until oats are slightly browned in color. Let cool, stir in dried cranberries.

Many, many different variations for granola!! This is a great recipe to clean out the pantry! Coconut flakes, any kind of seeds, use different kinds of oils or sweetners, like coconut oil or fruit juice make excellent additions to basic granola.

Or, if you don't want to make it but would like to buy it go to http://www.etsy.com/listing/58260680/homemade-organic-granola and buy it from me!

Sweet Potato Fries
* Sweet potato
* splash of olive oil
* pinch of salt

Preheat oven 375

Wash sweet potatoes. Slice into wedges. In a mixing bowl, coat potatoes in olive oil and salt. Place on cookie sheet. Bake until crisp on outside (depending on thickness of wedge 20-45 minutes)
I sometimes add cinnamon to bring out the sweetness of the potato. Curry powder does wonders to these tasty fries!

Homemade Yogurt
(You will need a yogurt machine. I bough mine for $15)
*One gallon on milk
*One single serving of plain yogurt, make sure it has live cultures in it

In a large pot, SLOWLY heat the milk until it reaches a temperature of 110-105 degrees. At this point, add the yogurt and stir (not whisk!) until the yogurt has incorporated itself into the milk. Pour the mixture into your yogurt maker. Wait until the desired time (the longer you wait, the firmer the yogurt will be).
If you are a Greek yogurt lover- after the yogurt has incubated in the yogurt maker, spoon the yogurt into a cheesecloth and let the yogurt drain the whey off.
Serve with honey and some homemade granola and you've got an excellent breakfast!!

3 comments:

  1. I probably revised these recipes from recipes in one of the cooking magazines I subscribe to, the numerous cookbooks I own, or friendly friend/chefs. I'm not sure how I give credit where credit is due for recipes. I'd love feed back!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary, so glad that you posted a recipe for kale chips. I've been hearing so much about them, but I never knew anyone that actually made them. I will have to try it soon!

    ReplyDelete