Home » Archives for Mary | Just Take A Bite » Page 132

Author: Mary | Just Take A Bite

Granola

Homemade granola is such an easy breakfast or snack to have on hand in the cupboard or in the freezer. You can adjust it to your own taste.
 
Mary’s Granola
12 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (any mix or just raisins)
2 tsp. cinnamon
optional mix ins:
-1 1/2 cups wheat bran or wheat germ
-1 cup chopped crispy nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts work well)
-1 cup crispy seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, etc.)
-1 cup shredded coconut
-1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup honey and/or maple syrup
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil or combo of each
 
Heat oven to 325. Mix all dry ingredients, except fruit in one or two large bowls (however it is easiest to stir). (Mix a small amount of safe (oats, coconut, wheat bran, coconut, rasisins), dry ingredients in a smaller bowl for a toddler to mix and eat:) Heat honey and butter/oil in small pan until all melted/mixed. Pour over dry ingredients. Mix well. Spread granola onto baking sheets (you can do all of it on 2 sheets…they’ll be very full. Or you can do it on 4 sheets (2 batches) so that it bakes a little more evenly. You may have to cut the baking time down a bit if you do it on 4 pans). Bake 20 – 30 min., stirring 2 or 3 times throughout. Add fruit during the last 5 min. or after granola is done baking. Let cool. Store in sealed container or bag. Freezes well. I generally freeze it in gallon freezer bags then just take out a little at a time as we need it. It can even be eaten directly from the freezer. You can scale the recipe down if you don’t want to make a large batch. I make a ton and freeze it so that I don’t have to make it all the time.

 
Here is the recipe we have from Justin’s mom:
 
Granola
 
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup coconut
1 (1 oz.) can sesame seeds
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1 cup chopped dates (optional)
 
Heat oven to 300. Combine dry ingredients. Heat oil and honey to combine. Pour over dry ingredients. Mix well. Spread on baking sheet. Bake 12 min., stirring after 6 min. Add dates. Let cool.

Crockpot Pea Soup

I grew up eating pea soup, and it is one of my all time favorite foods. I make it a lot in the winter for an easy, healthy meal. And then I get most of the leftovers (since my family likes it…but not quite as much as I do). It is so easy to put in the crockpot first thing in the morning. Then at dinner time you’re all set.

Pair it with some muffins, bread or crackers. It is easy and very nutritious. Perfect!


Crockpot Pea Soup

1 lb. dried split peas (green, yellow or a combo of both, you can also replace some of the peas with lentils)
8 cups liquid (water and/or chicken broth)
nitrite/nitrate free ham or sausage (optional)
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced (optional)
1/2 cup onion, diced (optional)
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
ham bone (optional)

Rinse the peas. Combine all of the ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high 7-12 hours (the longer it cooks the thicker it will get). Stir the soup once or twice while it is cooking. Add more water/broth if the soup gets too thick. Remove the ham bone before serving.

More Pies – Blueberry and Apple

Since I started with a pie recipe I might as well add a couple other family favorite pie recipes and a basic pie crust.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour (I either do 1/2 ww, 1/2 white or all ww flour)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp. palm shortening or chilled butter
1/4 cup water w/ 1 tsp. vinegar

Sift flour and salt. Cut in shortening in parts. First 1/2 to look like corn meal. Second 1/2 to look like small peas. Add water/vinegar and mix well. Roll out on floured surface. Makes top and bottom crust.

**Edited 8/5/10 – Finally tried making pie crust in the food processor…soooo much easier than by hand. Instead of cutting in the butter with a pastry blender or by hand, just pulse the processor. Then pour in the water while it’s running and let it go until a ball of dough forms.

Blueberry Pie

4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sugar (organic cane sugar or sucanat)
3 Tbsp. cornstarch (or arrowroot…that’s what I use)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Heat oven to 450. Combine blueberries with remaining ingredients. Fill pastry lined 9″ pie pan. Add top crust. Put slits in top. Bake at 450 for 10 min. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 30-40 min.

Apple Pie

7-8 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup sugar (organic cane sugar or sucanat)
2 Tbsp. flour (whole wheat works fine)
dash of salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Heat oven to 400. Place apples in pastry lined 9″ pie pan. Mix sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to apples. Dot with butter. Add top crust. Put slits in top. Brust top crust with milk (sprinkle sugar on top if desired). Bake for 50 min.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

I found a good recipe for peach cobbler on AllRecipes. I modified it to be blueberry peach cobbler since I had both from the farmer’s market. I remembered to take a picture of the last piece 🙂

*Edited 7/28/11 with healthier ingredients.
Blueberry Peach Cobbler

4 peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped
2 cups blueberries, washed
1/2 cup cane sugar/rapadura or maple syrup or honey
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot

1 cup whole wheat flour (can be replaced with a gluten free flour mix)
1/2 cup cane sugar/rapadura or maple syrup or honey
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. butter, chilled and cubed
1/4 cup boiling water

3Tbsp. cane sugar/rapadura
1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 425. Mix 3Tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Set aside.

In greased 1 1/2 or 2 qt. baking dish combine peaches, blueberries, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and cornstarch. Toss. Bake 10 min.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend in butter until it resembles coars meal. Sitr in water until just combined.

Remove peaches/blueberries from oven. Drop topping by spoonfuls over fruit. Sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mix. Bake about 30 min., until topping is golden.

Welcome & Dutch Apple Pie

Welcome to my attempt at a food blog. I was inspired by some friends and family to start this and share my recipes. I am a SAHM that loves to cook/bake and make things from scratch (you won’t find a cake mix in this house!). I also try to make healthy food for my family. When I have the time and it’s not too hot I enjoy baking. My specialty is cakes (and I’m always open to requests :). We also have a garden, so I do as much as I can with our fresh produce, including canning and freezing. So far my canning has included spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, chili sauce, salsa, applesauce and jam. I’m hoping to try some new things this year. There is a local farmer’s market about 5 min. from our house, so I’ve been taking advantage of that as well for cooking, baking and canning/freezing. Finally, I am doing my best to provide healthy, homemade food for my family and cutting down on boughten/packaged/processed food and eating out (although we only go out to eat about once every 2-3 months as it is). It helps financially (now that we have 1 income), and I feel like I’m doing something good for my family. I am a major planner, so I plan my meals for the week on Sunday. I’ll try to post my meal plan and then some of the recipes throughout the week. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do. Feel free to pass along any good recipes you have as well.

Since the the name of my blog is Dutch Apple Pie I guess I should start with my family’s Dutch Apple Pie recipe. It’s one of our favorites! I don’t have a picture since I haven’t made it in a while. But the next time I do I’ll add it. I will also post a few other favorite recipes and will add pictures as I make them. Enjoy!!

Dutch Apple Pie

Filling:
5 large targ apples, pared, cored and cut into thin slices
1/2 cup light brown sugar (organic cane brown sugar or sucanat)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:
1/2 cup white sugar (organic cane sugar or sucanat)
3/4 cup flour (ap or whole wheat)
1/3 cup butter, chilled

Single pie crust:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. palm shortening or chilled butter
1/8 cup + 2 Tbsp. water w/ 1/2 tsp. vinegar

Pie Crust:
Sift flour and salt. Cut in 1/2 shortening until it resembles corn meal. Cut in other 1/2 until it looks like small peas. Add water + vinegar and mix well. (you can do all of this in a food processor for a quick dough). Roll out and place in 9″ pie plate.

Pie:
Heat oven to 400. Arrange apple slices in pastry lined 9″ pie pan. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over apples. Combine white sugar and flour. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Bake 40-45 min.