It Inspired Me

1 cup water 8 tablespoons butter ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 3 eggs 1 ½ cups vegetable or canola oil ½ cup sugar Combine water, butter, salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon in 1 ½-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring pot to rolling boil. Reduce heat to low. Add flour and stir vigorously until mix forms a ball. Remove from heat and let rest for 5-7 min. Add eggs, one at a time, and stir until combined. Set aside. Heat oil in medium skillet or 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat or until temperature reaches 350˚. Spoon dough into piping bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe 1-inch strip of dough over saucepan, cut with knife, and drop into hot oil. Repeat until churro bites fill saucepan with room to fry.  Fry churro bites until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon or mesh spider strainer. Drain churro bites on paper towel. Mix sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl. Toss in churro bites until coated. Place...

2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats 1/2 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped 1/3 cup honey 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon chia seeds 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup dried golden raisins, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus extra as needed INSTRUCTIONS Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom of a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. Then lightly spray the parchment with cooking spray. Combine the oats and roughly chopped almonds to a small baking sheet then bake 7-10 minutes until lightly toasted. Transfer to a large bowl. While the oats are toasting, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract seeds, chia and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter melts and the sugar completely dissolves, making sure to stir occasionally. Pour the butter mixture over the toasted oats and almonds and add the cranberries and golden raisins. Mix well. Le...

These are Chris' favorite pumpkin seeds. A little tedious in its prep, but pretty tasty in the end. Cut open the pumpkin by cutting a circle around the stem end with a sharp knife (knife blade angled in), and pulling off the top. Use a strong metal spoon to scrape the insides of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place the mass of pumpkin seeds in a colander and run under water to rinse and separate the seeds from everything else.   Measure the pumpkin seeds in a cup measure. Place the seeds in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pan for every half cup of pumpkin seeds. Add more salt if you would like your seeds to be saltier. Bring the salted water and pumpkin seeds to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan or thick baking sheet with olive oil, about a tablespoon. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan in a single layer, and toss the...

1 cup dates (pitted) 1¼ cups crisp rice cereal 1 cup quick-cooking oats ¼ cup coarsely chopped peanuts 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch salt ½ cup peanut butter 2 T sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 1. Spray an 8x8-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside. 2. Place the dates in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Combine the pureed dates with the cereal, oats, peanuts, flaxseed, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. 3. Combine the peanut butter and brown rice syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and completely blended. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. 4. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until well combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly to pack the mixture into the pan. Let the mixture sit until completely cool and set, at least 1 hour. Cut into ...

1 c. butter, softened 1 c. honey 4 1/2 c. rolled oats 1 ½ c. whole wheat or spelt flour 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. baking soda Add-ins to equal 2 cups total: mini semi-sweet chocolate chips chopped walnuts dried fruit sunflower seeds coconut other nuts… Lightly butter a 9”×13” glass pan. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, honey, and vanilla. Tip: If your butter isn’t softened, use a rolling pin and roll it between two sheets of wax paper. Or mash it with your hands while in the wrapper. Our secret. Add the oats, flour, and baking soda. Beat well until combined. Stir in add-ins by hand. Press mixture hard into pan. (You can use your hands!) Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-22 minutes until just golden brown on the edges. You will think they are too soft. They are not. Just remind yourself that there’s not even any egg in the recipe, so you can’t hurt anybody if you underbake. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and ...

Easy and delicious chex mix recipr. Enjoy.  3 cups Corn Chex cereal 3 cups Rice Chex cereal 3 cups Wheat Chex cereal 3 cups Cheerios cereal 3 cups pretzel sticks 1 can mixed nuts 1 cup vegetable oil or melted butter 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder Mix all three Chex cereals, Cheerios cereal, pretzel sticks, and mixed nuts in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Whisk together vegetable oil or butter, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt and garlic powder and pour over cereal mixture. Mix well. Cook uncovered on high for approximately 90 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn the slow cooker down to low and cook for an additional 20 minutes, again stirring frequently. Spread on a cookie sheet to cool .

I followed the directions on this and only baked for 15 minutes.  They tasted quite doughy so I returned them to the oven for a bit longer.  I'd like to make them once more and try again baking it longer this time.  I used only pumpkin spice, no individual spices with it.  1 3/4 cups quick cooking oats 1/4 cup oat flour/finely ground oats (may use whole wheat or all purpose flour) 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. ginger, 1/8 t. nutmeg, 1/8 t. cloves) 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans Optional 1/4 cup mix-ins of your choice such as: wheat germ, dried fruits like cranberries, apricots, cherries, or raisins; chopped nuts like walnuts, peanuts or almonds; seeds like sunflower, sesame, pumpkin or flax; even fun additions like crushed pretzel or graham cracker pieces, white chocolate chips, shredded coconut flakes, M&M's, or candy pieces 1/4 cup vegetable oil* 1/4 cup pure map...

I love cooking on parchment.  So easy to get out of the pan and cut. 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/3 cup light brown sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used all natural creamy) 2 small ripe bananas, mashed 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips *Optional - add 1/2 cup peanuts (unsalted, dry roasted) for extra crunch! 1. In a large bowl, mix together oats, flour, brown sugar and salt (you don't need to use an electric mixer, this is really easy to mix by hand). Then, begin adding in all the wet ingredients (oil, egg, vanilla extract, peanut butter and mashed bananas). Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, then add in the chocolate chips (and peanuts, if you are adding them). Preheat your oven to 350 deg F. 2. Next, line a 9x13 inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the granola bar mixture onto it, and pat it down with your hands to form an even rectangle, leaving about an inch ...

These are pretty good.  They are a bit dry but still taste good. 1 1/3 stick butter, softened 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking soda 4 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 2 tsp ground flaxseed (optional) 1/2 to 1 cup nuts or dried fruit (we used coconut, chopped almonds, and chopped dates this time) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cream together the butter, brown sugar and honey. Add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, ground flax seed, and baking soda. Add gradually to the creamed butter mixture. Add the oats, nuts, and dried fruit until incorporated. The picture below shows what it should look like. Everything should hold together but not be too sticky or wet. Pour onto a greased 9×13 and press down mixture. See picture below. You want the mixture to be compacted, so it will stick together. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown. Allow to cool completed in the...

Since we love granola bars so much in my house, I needed to try yet another recipe. These were very good. Making the recipe as it calls for creates a fairly sweet bar. I would like to try my next version a tad less sweeter. 2 cups rolled oats 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup wheat germ 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup raisins (optional) 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup honey 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do n...

This recipe is from Taste of Home.  Many of the reviews said to omit the PB chips so I did the same, but only because I don't have them right now.   They are in the oven now, so all I can attest to is that the dough is very good.  We'll see on the rest of the verdict. 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1/3 cup honey 1 egg 2 tablespoons canola oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup peanut butter chips 1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, honey, egg, oil and vanilla until blended. Combine the oats, brown sugar and salt; add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. Stir in chips. (Batter will be sticky.) Transfer to a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

Again, looking for a new recipe I looked to allrecipes.com and found this recipe.  The cinnamon chips were fantastic!  The fruit salad was good as well.  I did deviate slightly by leaving out one apple and adding two pears.  I think any fruit that was in season, would be good here. 2 kiwis, peeled and diced 2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced 8 ounces raspberries 1 pound strawberries 2 tablespoons white sugar 1 tablespoon brown sugar 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas butter flavored cooking spray 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).   Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single laye...

Made these tonight to bring to our scrapbook day tomorrow. I brushed my teeth before trying them. But, the hubby gives them a large thumbs up! 1 egg white 1 teaspoon cold water 4 cups whole almonds 1/2 c sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.  Lightly beat the egg white; add water, and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts, and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat, and spread evenly on the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool, then store nuts in airtight containers.

Who knew that you can make microwave popcorn by putting popping corn into a paper bag?  It is fantastic.  I added a small amount of butter flavored oil.  I do not think the oil was necessary but I had a hard time accepting that.   Okay so that may not be a recipe but it's too good of a find to pass up!