Homemade Granola

Earlier this year, we were responsible for bringing snack to our small group, a responsibility that I look forward to to say the least. Anyway, I knew that one of the girls in our group did not care for sweets and also didn't eat gluten. It took some proding but I finally found out what her guilty pleasure was...granola.

And who knew that granola was so easy to make! Especially after seeing how much it can sell for in the grocery stores, this was definitely something I knew that I could do on at least a semi regular basis. So easy, so tasty, and definitely capable of variation. Success!

Granola
by Alton Brown


3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Directions

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar. 

• In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
• Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

 

Almond Butter Cake

Since today is the last day of September, it seems somewhat fitting for me to take the time to transport you towards the beginning of the month for my brother's birthday. A few months before, he had asked if I would be able to make an Almond Butter Cake as he is a huge fan of almond butter. I gladly took the challenge and was awaiting anxiously for the 12th to come. I figured I could use almost any kind of peanut butter cake recipe since almond butter is made in the same way. Some called me crazy, saying that they didn't think it would work due to the texture difference between the two but I was determined to try it. Especially since cakes make from almond butter are hard to find (though cakes made from butter and almond extract/paste are in an abundance).

Anyway, so the day came I decided to try my own variation of Ms. Paula Dean's Peanut Butter Cake. Now, the reason why I didn't post this recipe right away is because I'm still kind of unsure how this whole cake was received. Granted, people said that they enjoyed it (and/despite it's richness) but when I came time for my brother to go home, he asked if he could leave it here so that he didn't have to carry it while he rode his bike/walked (I don't remember the mode of transportation he took that night, I just know it wasn't a car). I said sure and off he went with his girlfriend and another friend of ours.

 

Fast forward to three days later and the cake was still sitting on our counter...3/4 full. We weren't eating it because we thought my brother was coming back and my brother just never came back despite the fact that we basically live down the street from one another. So come Wednesday I made the executive decision to cut some of the cake and leave it for my brother, eat a couple of pieces ourselves then haul the rest over to Michigan for my family to enjoy as we were making a quick trip to my homestate. By this time, the cake obviously was starting to loose some of it's peak flavors but it was still received well. So was this a success? Um, yes?

Almond Butter Cake
recipe adaptation from Paula Deen's Peanut Butter Cake

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup Almond butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 eggs

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F if baking with a metal dish; 325 degrees F if using a glass dish.
• Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Add graham cracker crumbs
• Cream almond butter and butter together. 

• Add one egg at a time, mixing until combined before adding the next egg. 

• Alternate sifted dry ingredients with milk and vanilla mixture (dry, wet, dry, wet, dry). 
• Beat mixture with electric mixer on low until moistened, and then beat on medium for 2 minutes. 
• Bake in greased 9-inch by 13-inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes.  
• Do not remove from pan to cool.

Now, as far as the frosting goes..that was a headache. I had a very hard time getting it to the texture that I liked so I'm not even sure what I ended up adding here and there. But basically, I creamed almond butter together with a little shortening and chocolate along with some vanilla and almond extract then began to add powdered sugar, heavy cream, and cocoa powder until it was a decent taste and texture

Mandarin Chicken Bake

A couple months ago Brad surprised me with cooking dinner. Well I should clarify that the surprise wasn't the cooking part as he will do that from time to time but rather that he pulled out a cookbook to find a recipe! You see, Brad is more of those "a little of this, and a little of that" and doesn't like anything that requires too much effort, time, and more importantly dishes.

Anyway, Brad found a recipe for Pineapple Chicken Bake in my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. And guess what, we didn't have pineapple in our pantry for whatever reason so he thought, why not mandarin oranges? Also, I have yet to buy curry powder since Brad isn't a big fan so we decided that chili powder would be an acceptable substitute and we chopped whole almonds in our food processor rather than going out to buy sliced ones. 30 minutes later, we had a deliciously spicy yet sweet chicken with the wonderful crunch of almonds. This has in fact becomes Brad's Signature Dish. Quick, easy, delicious, and not too many dishes. One last mention, we made this recipe again last night only to find that we didn't have soy sauce, so we used teriyaki and it still turned out great. Plus, we use one of our corningware dishes that fits right inside of our Toaster Oven which Brad loves...you know, less energy used therefore cheaper ;o)

Mandarin Chicken Bake
adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Pineapple Chicken Bake

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), trimmed
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 cans (11 ounces each) Mandarin Chicken in juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds

 
Adjust an oven rack to the upper position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Lay the chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish coasted lightly with vegetable oil spray.
Drain the mandarin oranges, reserving 1/2 cup of the juice (about the amount of one can). Whisk the mandarin juice, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, chili powder, and Tabasco together in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer, whisking often, until the mixture has thickened, about 8 minutes.

Quickly dissolve the cornstarch in the water, then whisk into the honey mixture. Stir in the mandarin oranges.

Pour the mandarin sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the almonds.

 Bake until the chicken registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 15 to 18 minutes.