Granookies

Okay, really weird name, I know. You can laugh all you want. My husband and I came up with it late last night as we were eating the granookies for a late-night snack.

Basically a granookie is half chewy granola bar, half cookie. Make sense now? The granookie was spawned after I began making a cookie recipe I had found, realized I didn't have half the right ingredients, and so created something unique and definitely yummy.

The nice thing about these is, they're very adaptable (that's starting to become a theme for me, I think  . . . . what can I say? I like versatility in cooking!). You could totally add a little of this and leave out a little of that and have your own unique granookie.

I just like saying that word. Granookie. Granookie, granookie, granookie.

Ahem. Moving on . . . .

Another nice feature about these? They're completely gluten free! That's right, 100% no gluten. That means they're healthy. Very healthy. Packed full of protein, fiber, and  . . . yumminess! What's not to love?

Disclaimer: because they are so healthy, they are not super sweet . . . there's no added sugar. If you like things a little sweeter, try adding 1/2 cup or so of some honey or raw sugar. That should help make them even more delicious. Since I was making these as a snack, we wanted them to be a little healthier, so I left the sweetener out. Again, totally adaptable to what you'd like. :)

Okay, okay, enough about granookies! Here's the recipe:

Granookies

Makes about 2 dozen

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt or plain applesauce

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda 

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

3 cups oats

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped dates 

Mix the bananas and yogurt in a stand up blender for a minute or two, until well combined. Next add the peanut butter, again until just combined. Add in the egg, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves, and blend well. Then add one at a time the oats, chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, and dates, each mixing in until just combined. 

Scoop out rounded spoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, until they are started to golden on top. Let cool, and enjoy. 

(I kept mine in the fridge so they would last longer, not that that helped, since we ate them so quickly! They are probably perfectly fine left out too)

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

We tried creating a recipe recently. I love buttermilk pancakes, but I also like to use more whole wheat than white flour. I thought perhaps we could come up with something yummy by combining the two. Here's the recipe I came up with. We really liked them a lot!

Sometimes whole wheat pancakes are grainy, so it depends on the flour you use. I've been using the Prairie Gold Whole Wheat Flour, and I really like it. It's ground super fine, so it not too heavy, but still gives that nice, hearty whole wheat taste. I purchase mine at Walmart or Hyvee most often, but I'm sure it's pretty widely available. But anyway, here's the recipe.

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Makes about 6 smaller pancakes (which are pretty filling. Fed my husband, me, and our always-hungry toddler perfectly)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
pinch of salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (often I don't have buttermilk, so I make it. For 3/4 cup, use about 2/3 cup milk, and make up the difference with some apple cider vinegar. Measurements don't have to be terribly exact).

Heat a skillet or griddle to medium heat (it  really just depends on what you're using. I usually use my cast iron skillet on a gas stove, which needs to be low-medium heat. You might have to experiment a little if you haven't done pancakes before). Once hot, spray or butter the pan/griddle so the cakes won't stick.

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the egg and the buttermilk and mix in thoroughly until you have a nice batter. It shouldn't be too thick (like cake batter). It should be about the consistency of pudding, more or less. You can add more buttermilk if you like your pancakes a little thinner, too. These were nice and fluffy. This is what my batter looked like:

Using a deep spoon or a measuring cup, make a little circle of batter in the middle of your pan (or several on a griddle). I think I did mine about 1/3 cup, more or less, but that's completely up to you.

Cook the cake until the sides look golden and the middle is bubbly, about 2 minutes.

 Use a spatula and flip the cake over, and cook the other side for about a minute more. If the other side is golden like the top, it's probably just right. Continue doing this until all the cakes are cooked (or you can probably store the rest of the batter in the fridge for a couple of days. It will probably need to be covered well, and stirred well when you go to use it again).

Finally, use some butter and pure maple syrup (or whatever you love on your pancakes), and ENJOY!

Creamy Vegetable Chowder

So, here's a good recipe for a cold day. This is one of my husband's favorites. It's just a good, hearty veggie chowder that my sister and I came up with one chilly day when we were messing around in the kitchen. I suppose it could be made without the milk too, and it would be just a hearty veggie soup. Experiment, anyone?

Creamy Vegetable Chowder

(Serves approx 6-8)

4 cups water

3 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

 4 potatoes, chopped (I like to leave the skins on, to make it a little heartier. And I usually judge about 1 potato per person, or two smaller ones)

2 cans of corn (or about 12 oz of frozen corn)

1 large onion, chopped

1/8 cup lemon juice

2 cups milk

1/4 cup white flour

1 tsp crushed red pepper

salt and pepper, to taste

Chop all of the veggies into small pieces. (I was missing the onions this particular time. Not the same.)

Cook the water, celery, carrots, potatoes, onions, and corn in the crock pot on high heat until vegetables are soft, about 3-4 hours. Turn the heat to low.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour into the milk. Slowly pour this mixture into the soup, whisking until fully incorporated. Do not let it boil. Add the lemon juice*, red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the flour's starchy flavor is cooked out. (This means you have to keep sampling your soup . . . darn.) The soup will be slightly spicy. 

*I add the lemon because i gives the vegetables a nice "pop."

I like to serve this with homemade rolls. I will try to post my recipe for those soon! Enjoy! 

6 Ingredient Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So my mom is on a Gluten-free diet for her health. Bummer. Sure doesn't sound like fun to me, but then  . . . I am a carbaholic. Anything involving bread, dough, chocolate . . . . I'm addicted . . . .

Anyway, confessions aside, I've been trying to find some recipes that she can eat. But of course, I have to try them out first, right? And if you're like me, a lot of gluten-free recipes are scary. Half of the ingredients, I have never heard of! So, simple and familiar has been my goal.

I found a recipe on this blog. Hers was a 5 ingredient recipe, and I just had to add one more to the mix . . . oats. I love chunky, hearty cookies, and oats seem to fill the bill pretty well when it comes to expanding your cookie dough.

Today was the perfect day for the "experiment." I mean, how many afternoons do I have the baby sleeping peacefully in her bouncy seat, the dishes done and the kitchen clean, dinner in the crockpot?, and me with practially nothing to do but have fun in the kitchen? Not many, lately. So I launched into the recipe.

(Here's a picture of Molly peacefully sleeping. And I didn't even tell her to!)

Anyway, here are the 6 ingredients. Drum roll please . . . .

6 Ingredient Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes about 1 dozen) 

1 cup of Creamy Peanut Butter

1 cup of firmly packed Brown Sugar

1 large Egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup Oats (I only had Quick Cooking, but Whole would work too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Gently mix all the ingredients together.

 Form small 1 1/2 inch balls and flatten. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 9 minutes. Let cookies cool at least 5 minutes before removing them. 

The last step is always my favorite. Get a big glass of milk (hopefully you're not lactose-free too!), and try them out! 

They turned out to be delicious. A little bit crumbly, but as they cool they firm up a bit more. And with no butter or flour, they are a quick, easy cookie to make . . . which is probably not a good thing in my case. :) 

All right. Success! Time to give mom my recipe! 

Butternut Squash Soup

So tonight for dinner I tried a new recipe.

Not new as in, I've been searching for just the right one, recipe. New as in, never made this dish before. Ever.

That can be intimidating. Especially when you're cooking with a vegetable you've never cooked with before, and you're not even sure where to start. Thank goodness for the internet. Butternut Squash can be conquered with the proper know-how.

So I have a confession. I don't follow recipes. Well, I mean, I do . . . to an extent. A recipe to me is more like a launching pad for me to create my own unique recipe. Generally this works out great. There have been a few incidents . . . which we won't mention . . . but those are few and far between.

So saying, I did need to see a recipe today, to at least get an idea of what I was doing. If you're interested, it is here.

Here is the recipe I finally came up with after some tweaks. I made some homemade bread bowls to put it in and when hubby came home for dinner, it was a hit! I will definitely be making this one again. It is just a nice, lovely fall day soup, and it has so much rich flavor! Plus, it's healthy! Great for people on a vegetarian diet.

Butternut Squash Soup

3 pounds of Butternut Squash (about 1 large Squash)

3 cups of Water

1 large Onion

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups milk (or cream, if preferred)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2 tsps of Cumin (to taste)

Olive Oil

Parsley

Thyme

Cut the squash in half and scrape out all the seeds. Cut it into pieces, about 8-10. Lay these on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with olive oil until lightly coated. Bake at 350 degrees  in the oven until the squash is soft when a fork is inserted (approximately 1-1 1/2 hours). 

Meanwhile, chop up the onion and boil it with the garlic in the 3 cups of water. Do this about 20 minutes before the squash is done, so it can get a strong flavor. Add salt and pepper, parsley and thyme, to taste (should be a nice, full, flavorful broth).

When the squash is done, let it cool, and then take the peel off and puree it in a food processor with the onion and garlic water. While pureeing, add the milk. When it reaches the consistency you want, transfer back into the pot and heat, stirring often. Do not boil. Add the cumin. When heated through, take off of heat and serve. 

Top with cream, grated cheddar cheese, or fresh herbs. Serves approx 6.

(***Sorry, I don't have any of my own pictures. This one's just an online photo. Still working on getting a card for our camera. Soon, though. :) ***)