Category Archives: Recipes &Cooking

Recipe for Chewy Granola Snacks

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Here’s a recipe for some yummy, healthy granola “bars” (well…actually they’re round) that we really like. They have a good amount of protein, fiber from the oatmeal and Spelt Flour, and healthy raisins. The dark chocolate chips satisfy my sweet tooth!

* 2 cups oats

* 1/2 cup Spelt Flour & 1/2 cup flour (or 1 cup flour)

* 1 cup protein powder (I use chocolate whey powder with protein isolates)

* 2/3 cup brown sugar

* 1/2 to 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

* 1/2 cup raisins

* 1/4 cup canola oil

* 1 tsp cinnamon

* 1/2 tsp salt

* two 6 oz cartons of vanilla yogurt

Preheat the oven to 375F. Mix ingredients well. Spray cupcake pans with Crisco. (This recipe makes 24) Put a heaping tablespoon of batter in each cup and flatten out. Bake 12-15 minutes until edges are brown. Let cool.

Enjoy!

Ground Turkey Sausage Patties

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I tried a new recipe this week that we liked and it’s healthy. It reminded us of very mild sausage and was tasty. (Our son thought it was beef.)

1 lb ground turkey

1/2-3/4 cup chopped onion

4 garlic cloves or 2 tsp chopped garlic (I used the kind in a jar)

1 cup instant oatmeal

1/4 cup skim milk (I used 1%)

1 egg

3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Mix and form into patties. Cook in a little bit of olive oil in a skillet until done.

(For an even healthier version, spray a loaf pan with cooking spray, press mixture into pan, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 5/10 minutes until the top is brown and the center’s not pink. I haven’t tried this yet.)

Iced Tea – Southern Style

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Here’s an easy way to make good, southern style iced tea:

Boil 2 cups water (I use the microwave)

Then put in 3 family style tea bags and let steep 5-15 minutes depending on personal taste (I prefer 5 minutes)

Don’t squeeze the tea bags into the water – remove them from the tea

Add sweetener while tea is hot, either 1 cup sugar (or more to taste) or sweetener of your choice. (I like to use Stevia.)

Add 1/4 tsp baking soda to keep tea from tasting bitter

Pour tea into gallon container and fill with water, then chill. If you’re going to pour warm tea over ice, then only fill the gallon container half  to two-thirds of the way.

Enjoy!! 🙂

Recipe for Strawberry “Fruitlatti”

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This is one of our favorite recipes and is so refreshing on a hot day:

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled (wash well to remove pesticides)

1 banana (not green, ripe is better)

8 ice cubes

1/4 – 1/2 cup water depending on preferred consistency

sweetener (we use Stevia which is found at health food stores and Central Market)

Blend just until there are tiny pieces of ice still left.

This will make 3 large fruilatties or 4 small ones.

A Smoothie or Fruitlatti a Day Helps Keep the Doctor Away :)

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Well…maybe it is supposed to be an apple a day. 🙂 But there is something to be said for having fresh fruit every day. During the summer we have a fresh fruit smoothie or fruitlatti several times a week. They are so easy to make if you have a good blender. (I am blessed to have a great blender, a Kitchenaid, that I was able to get for half price.) My family’s favorite is a simple strawberry fruitlatti. But the fruitlatti and smoothies vary depending on what fruit I have on hand.

I think a banana is a basic must for any smoothie or fruitlatti. The banana thickens it up to a good consistency. Today I was short on fruit. All I had was one banana and a little fresh pineapple. So I looked in the freezer and found half a package of frozen peaches and a tiny bit of frozen strawberries. (Fresh is always better, but in a pinch frozen works fine. ) I blended it all together with a sweetener (Stevia), a little water and lots of ice. It needed a little more taste so I added some orange juice and then it tasted really great.

The awesome thing about using fresh fruits is that we get the natural enzymes that help our body so much, as well as the vitamins. It’s great for female hormones, stomach problems, stress, and for most physical problems and ailments. Enzymes are the “spark of life,” and I know that I feel better when I eat fresh fruit daily.

Easy Summer Fresh-Fruit Cake

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All You need an angel food cake, a large container of Cool Whip, and a mix of berries (thoroughly washed and dried) and kiwi. Place the cake on your serving plate, ice it with Cool Whip and decorate with the fruit. One thing that I’ve started doing is cutting the cake into individual pieces and putting the pieces side by side and then icing with Cool Whip to make it look like a whole cake. This makes serving so much easier. Otherwise, it’s hard to cut the Angel Food Cake with all the Cool Whip and fruit on it.

Here is an example of a pre-cut cake that looks like one whole cake. Serving it was real easy. I usually decorate the sides of the cake also, but I didn’t on this particular cake because of the cake carrier I was using. I use Lite Cool Whip so this low-fat cake is light and refreshing.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

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Our daughter gave me this recipe, and I’ve made it several times and have had numerous requests for the recipe. It’s so easy to make. People are surprised when they find out just how easy it is. This is not a “healthy” recipe, but it’s a great time saver when you need a homemade dessert to have for company or to take to a luncheon. I did change a couple of the ingredients to reduced fat.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cans crescent rolls (I use regular for the bottom crust and reduced fat for the top)
  • 2 pkg of 8 oz. cream cheese (I use reduced fat)
  • 1 stick butter ( I’m going to try it with less butter)
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Cinnamon

Unroll one can of crescent rolls and place in the bottom of a 9″x13″ ungreased baking dish. Pinch together the seams to mostly make a solid layer. In a mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese and 1 cup of the sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mixture needs to be well blended. Microwaving it for a few seconds at a time improves being able to pour it in the pan. Pour mixture and spread over crescent roll layer. Unroll other package of crescent roll and lay on top. Don’t worry about pinching the seams together. In a small microwavable dish, melt butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Pour over top and spread. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. (we use a lot) Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until top and sides are golden brown. Let cool about 15 minutes before cutting into squares and removing from pan. I usually cut it into 24 squares. Enjoy!

Osgood Pie from Dixie House (Canton, TX)

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For a pie, this is healthier with the raisins and pecans:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 3 teaspoons vinegar
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon allspice

Mix well and pour into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Check out my post to read about Canton’s First Monday Trade Days.