Honey Pecan Granola

Honey Pecan Granola
From Martha Stewart 

I have a love-hate relationship with Martha Stewart.  On the one hand I want to be her (minus the divorce, then I'd have to change the name of my blog! jk).  She makes everything look perfect and effortless.  She makes you think things like "why wouldn't you give beautiful homemade gifts to everyone on your Christmas list??"  So true, Martha!  I'm on it!  I saw her show about homemade granola a few weeks ago and was immediately compelled to do what she was suggesting - make a massive batch and put it in adorable jars and give it to everyone I know.  Great idea!

But following every great Martha idea comes the inevitable moment when I hate her guts for causing me such grief.  This time that moment came in the form of a Ball Jar wild goose chase.  I'd decided to use Ball Jars with special storage caps to package my granola because they are cheap and I have been seeing them in every grocery store for months now.  Little did I know, the "months" I had been seeing them are also known as "summer."  Since Illinois is not one for a December harvest, the canning season officially ended about a month ago.  So after driving to 3 city grocery stores during rush hour 4 days before Christmas, I was about ready to compose some hate mail to one Ms. Martha Stewart.  In a last resort I started calling every grocery store in the city (side note, most customer service people have never heard of a Ball Jar and a few almost hung up on me for what they thought was a prank call...), I finally located the ONE store that still had some in stock.

Long story short, anyone who doesn't read this blog and received this granola was probably very impressed and will forever think that I am that much closer to being Martha Stewart.  As for the rest of you, you'll always be able to imagine me wearing sweats and glasses in a fit of rage at my 3rd grocery store, seriously contemplating punching the bell ringing Santa guy and/or bursting into tears...  At least the granola itself is easy to make!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


Ingredients

• Pam or other nonstick cooking spray
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups rolled oats (there's a million kinds of oats out there, make sure you buy ROLLED OATS)
• 2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cup dried fruit (any kind you like)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and place racks far enough apart to allow 2 baking sheets at the same time.
2. Lightly coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.  Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine oil, sugar, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.
4. In a large bowl toss oats and pecans to combine.
5. Pour liquid mixture over oats and pecans, scraping the small bowl to get all the liquid out.  Stir until thoroughly combined.
6. Spread mixture out on baking sheets.
7. Bake for 27-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and immediately add fruit and toss.  It will seem a little soft, but don't worry, it hardens before you know it.
9. Allow to sit 10 minutes or until granola is cooled and crunchy.
10. Store in airtight containers for up to 3 weeks, or freeze.

Makes about 7 cups of very addicting granola.

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Chipotle Cranberry Sweet Potato Salad

Chipotle Cranberry Sweet Potato Salad
From Cooking Light 

Happy Halloween!!  I wish I had a really cool series of Halloween themed recipes for you, but for the first time in, well, ever, we aren't doing much to celebrate this year.  Normally we do the requisite costume party (NEVER in couples costumes...proof that John does win the occasional argument), and sometimes that even means bringing a spooky-themed appetizer or dessert.  But this year it never really came together.  We had a few costume ideas that never materialized, and the party we've been going to for the past 3 Halloweens isn't happening this year.  The final nail in the coffin (hehe) was a chance to dog sit John's parent's ADORABLE little rascal, Ellie.  They're not puppies forever, and we were determined to parade her around the city before she lost her "awwww" factor.

Long story short, the best I could do was this sweet potato recipe I made recently.  Hey, at least it's orange!  And for what it's worth, it's a really really really good recipe.  It called for fresh cranberries, but we always have dried ones on hand so I adapted it to work with those.  If you happen to have fresh, just check out the link to the original recipe.  I imagine it would turn out a little saucier, which could be a nice touch, but definitely not necessary.


Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 (3.5-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (it called for toasted pumpkin seeds, which would probably be awesome, but I'm allergic...sad story)
• 3/4 cup green onions, chopped 
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toss to combine.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing after 15 minutes.
4. Take 2 chilis from the can and chop them.
5. Place 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon chopped chilis, 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, cranberries, water, and honey in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-low heat.
6. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes.
7. Use a fork to mash the sauce up a little, releasing any juices from the reconstituted cranberries.
8. Combine potatoes, sauce, sunflower seeds, green onions and cilantro.  Gently toss to coat.

Serves 4-6.

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