Upgraded!

So, I decided to make a few little tweaks to the layout of the blog:

1) Now there is a "search bar" so if there is a special ingredient or recipe you're hoping to find, you don't have to look through the Archives.

2) The Archive section has been cleaned up and you can browse for recipes by month, instead of having the actual post names pop up.

I promise I'll get better at tagging the posts, but it's always the last thing to do and I am so excited to publish that I forget!

oxoxoxo,

Sheila

Granola Bar Breakfast

As I said before: granola bars are a wonderful thing to have hanging around the house. Late night snacking, afternoon treat, or healthy and filling breakfast...they satisfy practically any occasion. I performed the following alterations to my previous recipe for granola bars:

2 cups oats

1/2 cup corn flakes

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp cardamon

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup banana chips, crushed

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup brown sugar plus 2 or 3 tsp white sugar

1 egg

Mix all the "dries" together - minus the mix-ins. Then add the wet stuffs. The consistency should still be malleable but not too watery, so continue adding either oatmeal or corn flakes (bran flakes might be a nice addition instead) until you reach the right consistency.

Dates are one of my all-time favorite snacks/throw-in for...anything

The dough for these bars is pretty delish by itself

So pretty - I love banana chips

Bake the mixture - after pouring into a well-buttered Pyrex at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Take them out and before they cool completely, cut into squares. Take out of the dish and let them cool completely before wrapping and they'll keep for two weeks.

Stir-fried Noodles with Chicken and Cabbage

Here's a quick dinner options when you have a lot of random veggies and some meat on hand.

Cut 1/2 pound of chicken and saute it will a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Julienne three carrots and fry it until soft, then add 1/2 head of red cabbage until it is just wilted, but hasn't lost it's crunch.

Add the chicken and 1/2 pound boiled Asian long noodles or spaghetti noodles

Add a sauce made of 1/4 cup sesame oil, a pinch red chili flakes, and 3 Tbs peanut butter.

Fry all together until the noodles get a little crispy.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with a wedge of lime.

Chocolate Truffle Currency

What to do with a whole lotta leftover cream?



Melt 1/2 cup Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips with 1 cup heavy cream. You can either microwave them together and be sure they don't burn OR heat the cream over the stove until it is just warm enough that it doesn't boil - then add the chips and allow them to melt off the heat. Let this mixture stand for about a half hour until it thickens. If it doesn't, add 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. You can flavor this mixture with rum or coffee or mint or raspberry liqueur.



Refrigerate again until the mixture is hard enough to drop into balls on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate once more. If you want, you can roll them in cocoa powder after they have set. They keep in the fridge, in an airtight container, for two weeks.



I made these delights for a friend in my program who loaned me her air mattress when my family came to visit for Thanksgiving. And a personal sidenote here: I like the warmed mixture better than the chilled truffles...call me crazy but mix it into some warmed milk and you've got some crazy good hot chocolate.

The perfect snack :)