ally’s homemade granola

This honestly is the best granola you’ll ever have. Trust me on this!

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1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 1/2 cups lightly packed light brown sugar

6 cups quick cooking or old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups chopped walnuts (I use almonds)

1 cup toasted wheat germ

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup raisins

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries or cherries

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Place oven racks in two center positions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 jellyroll pans with vegetable spray. Set aside.

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In 1-quart microwave-safe bowl, combine oil, syrup and brown sugar. Microwave, uncovered, on high power 3 minutes or until sugar starts to melt. Remove from microwave and whisk until any lumps disappear.

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In 3-quart or larger bowl, combine oats, walnuts, wheat germ and coconut. Toss to mix well. Pour syrup mixture over oat mixture and stir until well mixed. Spread evenly onto jellyroll pans. Place one pan on each rack in preheated oven.

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Bake 10 minutes. Remove pans, stir granola and return pans to oven, rotating to opposite racks. Bake 8 to 10 minutes more, taking care not to overbrown. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature in pans. Sprinkle half the raisins and half the dried cranberries over each pan, then stir to mix well. Store in airtight containers. Makes about 14 cups.

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copycat eggo waffles

My kids LOVE Eggo waffles.  Kylie especially, that girl could probably live off of Eggo waffles.  A few days ago we (gasp!) ran out of Eggo waffles, so I got online and searched for recipe that would be close enough to fool everyone.  Well.  Let me just say that Kylie, who picky doesn’t even begin to describe, got a huge smile after her first bite, gave me a thumbs-up, and asked for more!  Success!

In a large bowl, combine:

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix on high for 1 minute:

4 eggs

2 1/2 Tbsp sugar

Add to the liquid:

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Take the liquid mixture, and add to the dry ingredients.  Mix on medium for 30 seconds, until combined.

Cook on low on your waffle iron for about a minute.  You do not want the waffles to brown.  Cook until “set.”  Then cool on a rack, throw in a freezer bag, and pop into the freezer.

Enjoy!

Yield:  10 – 6.5″ waffles

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recipe from Top Secret Recipes

 

 

 

 

 

cream cheese frosting

2 – 8 oz. pkg of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla (I used 2, because I like it rich)

*Whip the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until well combined.  Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time so it doesn’t make a huge mess.

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from Our Best Bites

 

*Tip!  If you don’t have powdered sugar, just put the required amount needed of granulated sugar into the blender.  Blend until powdery.  Works every time!

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easy-peasy pumpkin cake

This recipe is literally all over Pinterest, and I honestly just got tired of seeing so. many. pins, that I finally just made it myself.  And now I know why people keep pinning it.  It was simple, quick, & delish!  I’m sure the cream cheese frosting helped a little, but really, this cake was incredible!

2 ingredients:  yellow cake mix & canned pumpkin

That’s it.  Just the mix, and just the pumpkin.

Mix the two, pour into a 9×13 or 9×9 cake pan.  Bake at 350 until done.

Top with cream cheese frosting or apple cider glaze.

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creamy enchilada soup

This soup is absolutely de-lish!  I can’t remember where I saw it first, but I changed it up a bit, so I suppose it’s not important.  It was quick, easy, and sooooo good.  Perfect for a cold fall day!

Combine the following in a large saucepan:

• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 2 cups milk
• 1 can rotel
• 1 can chunked chicken breast, drained
• 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Heat over medium heat until heated through.  Serve with crushed tortilla chips (or if you have tortilla strips, even better!).

The rotel will make it a little spicy, so if you’re not down with a spicy dish (my kids don’t do spicy), omit, or add some sour cream after serving.

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