Tasty Tuesday!

I like breakfast. I don't like to eat right away, but I do need to eat eventually. And I'm generally too tired or too busy or too something to really make breakfast, but I want something healthy and something that's going to fill me up for awhile.

I had forgotten that I used to love meusli. Mmmm granola-y cereal topped with yogurt. And since I don't like nuts and just about every granola you can buy has nuts in it, I decided to make my own. Plus, then I can add my personal favorite -- dried cherries. Yum!

I've been making my granola in batches for over a year now, and everyone in the family loves it. Little Miss loves to help, too -- always good to have a family friendly recipe around!

I typically make up a batch once every week or two and then store it in an airtight container. I eat it for breakfast with milk or yogurt. Little Miss likes her with soy milk. And my husband? Well, it's possible he uses it as a topping for ice cream. To each his own, right?

Anyway, this is my very own recipe for granola, healthy and without all the yuck you get commercially. Plus, it takes me less than forty-five minutes to make breakfast for a couple weeks, and most of that is easily the baking time where I can get other stuff done. You know, like blogging!

Enjoy this week's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday with Blessed With Grace for more fun recipes and kitchen tips!

Cherry Granola

Ingredients:



4 c. old fashioned oatmeal
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. cold milled flax
3/4 c. shredded coconut
2/3 c. pine nuts (toasted)
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. honey
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. dried cherries

(Yes, you can leave out the wheat germ and flax... just add a little extra oatmeal -- but it does make it that much more healthy!)

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl except the cherries.



Add the oil, honey and vanilla and stir until coated.



It won't be wet but be sure to continue stirring long enough to coat all the dry ingredients.



Turn out onto a greased baking sheet (silicone pads work great here). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, stirring once two twice during cooking period - a large spatula works well for this.



Remove from oven and add the cherries. Stir to combine. Let cool then break up any large chunks and store in an airtight container up to a week.



Makes ~21 1/2 cup servings. Enjoy!

Mommy's Little Helper

Wow, I was looking back at my recent posts, and I’ve been in quite the crabby mood lately. Sorry for whining so much! Usually I’m more positive. I’ll have to assume it’s the never-ending winter, but that’s a bad excuse.

Anyway, today is a happier (and shorter!) day.

My kids generally eat fairly healthy foods. They’re little kids though, so there are definitely exceptions to this. But some of the things they eat and enjoy surprise me – salmon, edamame, miso-glazed chicken, mango pudding, beef stroganoff. I’ll toss it all at them and let them decide.

It’s sort of fun to watch them insist there’s no way they’re eating something. I inevitably remind them of our rule that they have to taste something – and no, tasting doesn’t mean putting your tongue in the general vicinity of said item and the insisting you don’t like it. You actually have to take a bite, chew and swallow. The swallowing part is key. Needless to say, I always ensure they have a glass of something to drink in case they don’t like it. And well better than 50% of the time, they decide they like it.

They also enjoy cooking and baking with me – at least until their attention wanders elsewhere. Whenever I’m at the island, Little Miss insists on dragging a stool over and climbing up to observe or – better yet – help me.

This morning, I had to make some more granola. Yeah I know, I make my own granola. It’s what I eat for breakfast most mornings with a bit of yogurt atop it. Yum!

Once we got Mister Man on the bus, we headed inside, and she climbed onto her designated stool. She helped me dump in the four cups of oats. Then she proceeded to pick them up a few at a time and eat them. “Mmmm, oatmeal!” Well, actually they’re oats, Sweetie. “No, OATMEAL! It’s oatmeal, Mommy.” I tried to explain the difference, but to no avail. But let’s back up a moment – she’s picking up dry oats and eating them. And likes them. What kind of a kid does that? Oh yeah, one who decides she likes baking soda.

Then we add the wheat germ. She doesn’t think she likes that one. Coconut is next. By now, I’m catching on, and I decide to add a little extra. Smart Mommy. She ate probably a quarter of the coconut I put in there. Apparently, she also likes coconut. In go the pine nuts. Yup, she apparently likes them, too. As I add the cinnamon, she starts dipping the pine nuts into the cinnamon. Granted, I’m combining the flavors in my granola, but dipping pine nuts into cinnamon wouldn’t be my first choice of a snack. Nutmeg? Same thing.

Of course we have to smell all the yummy ingredients. She now prefers to hold the jars and baggies herself. “No help, Mommy. I can do it myself!” So far, so good – knock on wood. We’ve yet to have a cinnamon-scented floor because the spilled something everywhere.

Well, sort of. As I was getting the olive oil and honey together, she decided she wanted to stir the dry ingredients by herself, just like Mommy did. Yeah, we had a little spray of stuff go all over the island. And the assorted items that somehow seem magnetically and irresistibly drawn there – the books, children’s museum membership card, children’s artwork, etc. Whoops. Fortunately, her stirring was fairly shallow, so only a bit of the ingredients went flying.

Smart girl knows that there are some things she can’t do. The last step is adding chopped dried cherries after the granola has baked. She pulled her stool back up to help me. Then she saw the knife. “This is adult work, Mommy. I’m just going to watch.” She paused for a moment, and then, “But, Mommy, I want some cherries, too.”