This stuff is gonna be a perfect snack for the kiddos!!

StoneGable Granola
Yvonne @ StoneGable Blogspot

6 cups of oatmeal

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 1/2 cups slivered almonds

2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 cup coconut (flaked)

1/2 dark brown sugar ( I use a little more)

1/2 cup non flavored vegetable oil

1 tsp cinnamon

2 TBS vanilla

1-2 cups assorted dried fruit (I use dried cherries)

1-2 cups of add-in (mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, cereals)

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except dried fruit and add-ins in a large bowl. Mix well to coat evenly. I omit the coconut, not all of us are fans. Distribute on 2 large rimmed baking sheets.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely.

Stir in dried fruit and add-ins. I put dried fruit and add-ins in individual bowls and let everyone make their own customized blends if we have it for breakfast.

Carmeled Apples

McKayla has been wanting to make Carmel Apples. Here is the finished product. She had so much fun making them. She learned that its not so easy to cover the apple with Carmel. After she did that she dipped them in White Chocolate and then sprinkled some Brown Sugar and Cinnamon on them. They were yummy!!! You did great McKayla!

McKayla wanted to make Carmel Apples. She is growing up so fast. She was able to make these and they came out looking amazing. They tasted awesome too..

Here they have been dipped in the carmal. Then next they were drizzled with white chocolate and cinnamon and sugar.. The are so yummy!


This is the final product and She was very proud of herself for making these. It was a little challenging becuse I was making my jelly at the same time, but nice to be able to cook together.

Pomegranate Jelly Belly

I can finally say that I made jelly now!!! Our neighbor gave us a bag full of Pomegranates about a week ago. I had them sitting on the kitchen table, then on top of the washer, then on the bench. Well, after looking at them for a week and wondering what in the world I would finally do with them. Eat them, give them to my mother-in-law, or throw them away after letting them sit around to long. I finally decided to give making one of my favorite jellies a try. I bought the jars, a nifty little funnel, and some Certo Pectin and off to the kitchen it was. After conferring with my neighbor Laurie, I decided to do the inverted process. I am here to say that it looks like it turned out okay. I am in the process of making fresh bread right now so I can see how well the jelly tastes. I will let you know how it all turns out.

Here are the final pictures of my Beautiful Jelly! I can now say that it turned out awesome. I have shared some with friends and they all loved it. I can’t wait to make more. You can enjoy this on fresh bread with real butter and then add the jelly! It has an amazing taste.

LoW MeIn UpDate!!!

I just wanted to give a little update on the ChickEn Lo MeIn!!
I made this last week as I mentioned in my last post. To My surprise and my families, we all LovEd It. It was GrEAt! I encourage all of you to give it a try. The one thing it didn't have listed on the recipe is Hot Sauce. It's a new found love of mine. Its very hots so just a couple drops will do for most of use. Its in the asian or chinese food isle. Its a clear bottle with a GreEn Lid. I can't even ReMemBer how to say the word. So check it out and BuY some...
GoOd LuCk!!!

Chicken Lo Mein

I am going to try making this yummy looking recipe this week. I will post back on how it turned out. If you have ever used this recipe or have one similar will you share it. I love Chinese and Asian food. I would love to try some great recipes.

1/2 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen bell pepper and onion strips, thawed, drained
1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts

Make It

COOK spaghetti in large saucepan as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and garlic; stir-fry 3 min. or until chicken is no longer pink. Add peppers, onions, broth and peanut butter; stir-fry 3 to 4 min. or until chicken is done.

DRAIN spaghetti; return to pan. Add chicken mixture and soy sauce;
mix well. Spoon onto platter; sprinkle with cilantro and nuts.

Kraft Kitchens Tips Variations
Spicy Chicken Lo Mein: Add 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper to the hot dressing along with the chicken and garlic. Pork Lo Mein: Substitute 1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into strips,
for the chicken and reduced-sodium beef broth for the chicken broth.
Note
To make the lo mein easier to serve and eat, break the spaghetti in half before cooking.

Yes I am finally

posting the recipe!!!

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I did.. One suggestion is to buy the Pork Roast when it is on sale. It can be quite pricey! Stock up on a few of them when they are cheap..

Pork Barbacoa

3-4 lbs pork roast or pork loin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
water, to cover

Sauce
1 (14 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 can Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper cola
2 cup brown sugar

Cut pork in large chunks. Put in large crock pot and add water just to cover. Add seasonings. Cut onion in 4 large pieces, crush garlic and add to water. Cook pork on low all day or on high for 3 to 4 hours, or until tender and pork pulls apart easily. Drain water and remove onions and garlic. Pull pork and return to crock pot.
In a separate container mix enchilada sauce, soda and sugar. Add to pork in the crock pot. Cook 1 hour longer. (Can cook less if you don't have time.).
We like to eat this with the Costco raw tortillas that you cook at home and serve the pork in a tortilla with beans and cilantro lime rice. The pork freezes well and can also be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge.


Cilantro Lime Rice

3 cups water
4 t chicken boullion
4 t garlic-minced
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles
3/4 t salt
1 T butter
3 c rice
juice from 2 limes

Blend cilantro, green chilies and onion in food processor or blender. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes (or until rice is soft).

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 cup mayo
1 cup copped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 chopped tomatillos (peel paper off)
1/3-1/2 cups buttermilk, to consistency
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Put all ingredients in blender and mix.

Cafe Rio Here I come!

Well yesterday I had the day off so I thought I would put my cooking skills to the test. It turned out okay. I made a mock Cafe Rio Salad. You might be wondering where I got this recipe, Well I found it on MyFoodStorageDeals.com. Thanks to a friend for referring me to this site. I made the wonderful PorK, Green RicE, and Tomatillo DressInG. It was pretty good if I say so myself. The FamiLy liked it. I should have taken a picture of how much ParKeR piled on his plate. It was bigger than the salad they serve at "Rio". He ate the whole thing. Well I will be making it again soon to make a few teeks.

Can You say FOoD StoRagE???

I would like to say that I have a good supply of food, but I really don't know how long it could possibly last with all five of us eating it. It is my goal to start cooking with the things I am storing. Last Year I decided that I would start storing things that we would eat rather than just WHeAt and FLouR and SugAr. I had heard so many times that we should store things we are going to eat. Now, I LoVe WheAt BrEAd, but could I make it???

Well I have been following this wonderful blog http://everydayfoodstorage.net/. She uses everything she stores. It is my goal to be more like her. I am so inspired, that I already put a bin in my fridge. I cleaned out my pantry by the fridge and moved stuff to the hall closet to make my kitchen more functioning. As most of you know, I don't have a big kitchen with lots of cabinets. Well I used to love to cook, and I think if I try some of her ideas It will bring the love back into cooking.. Well maybe..
I will post pictures later to show what I have been up to..
Have a great weekend...