Jen Babe's Granola

2 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats then cook and stir until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.
Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Pour out onto the cookie sheet cook in the oven at 350 for 5-7 minutes.
Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and stir in the almonds and dried cranberries. Any additional nuts and fruit can be stirred in at this time also.

This recipe was inspired by Mitt Romney.

Mom's Granola

A healthy start to the day!

6 C old fashioned oats
1 C wheat germ
1 C sunflower seed, raw
1 C nuts (I like almonds)
1/2 C sesame seeds
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C oil

Mix all together and microwave until toasty, or you can put it in the oven at 350 until brown (5-10 minutes). Let it cool. Store in an airtight container.

Serve w/ milk.

Thai Peanut Pasta

Kelli's Thai Peanut Pasta

Linguini
1 lb. cooked and cubed chicken
Pineapple chunks drained
Handful of snow peas
Sauce: (serves 2)-
¼ c. chicken broth
2 T. peanut butter
¼ tsp. crushed red peppers
1 T. lime juice
1 garlic clove
1 T. soy sauce
(The sauce is so great that I triple it, but only use about ¼ tsp. of red peppers still. You can add more for a hotter sauce. You will want more sauce on it too!)

Cook pasta, and then drain in colander. Put snow peas and chicken cooked and cubed in colander. Put back in pan and add pineapple, and add the sauce.

Sauce:
Heat chicken broth and Peanut Butter until PB melts then add other ingredients and pour on pasta.
We make this all the time in our house, and it is a staple in my recipe box!

My friend Kelli sent this to me and it's DELICIOUS!

Tortilla Surprise!

1 lb. ground beef
1 green bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 can tomato sauce (16 oz)
1 bag frozen corn or 2 cans of corn
olives
grated cheese- Cheddar, Mexican blend, Co Jack, it's all good!
corn tortillas
salsa

cook ground beef with pepper and onion. Drain.
Grease 9x13 pan and pour a little tomato sauce on bottom (about 1/4)
Lay corn tortillas down until bottom is covered. Add meat mixture, then layer frozen corn and grated cheese. Add another layer of tortillas until covered. Pour remaining tomato sauce and salsa on top. Sprinkle remaining cheese and sliced olives.

Bake 350 for 45 minutes. This is delicious and freezes well if you want to double the recipe.

Corn Enchiladas

This recipe is from my friend Alice, who I think got it from her sister's in-laws.


1dozen corn tortillas
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bag frozen white sweet corn
1/4 c. butter
Jack cheese, grated (I usually have Co-Jack)
Las Palmas green enchilada sauce (no substitutes!)

Saute diced pepper and corn in the butter; add salt and pepper to taste. Lightly fry tortillas in a small amount of oil, just until they are pliable. (I don't do this. I just dip them in water for a second to make them pliable.) Place a scoop of the corn mixture on a tortilla; add a sprinkle of cheese and roll up. Place in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Pour sauce over the top, and sprinkle with additional cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through (about 20 minutes). Serve with a salad on the side, or topped with lettuce and tomato.

**To make it healthier you can saute the pepper and corn with Pam, but it sure tastes fabulous with the butter.

Andes Chunk Cookies

Ingredients
· 1/2 cup salted butter - softened
· 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
· 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
· 1 tsp baking soda
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 2 tsp vanilla extract
· 2 eggs
· 1 package Andes creme de mente baking chips
· 2 2/3 sifted all purpose flour

Directions

Mix butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until well blended. Stir in baking chips and then flour. Chill for about one hour in the refrigerator. Form 1 ounce balls and flatten with a fork. Raise the oven rack one level above the middle. Bake on non-stick baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Cool on pans for 2 minutes before removing. Makes around 4 dozen cookies.

This is like a chocolate chip cookie but with the mint instead of chocolate chips. They were yummy!

Chicken Pot Pie

2 frozen pie crusts, thawed
1 small bag mixed vegetables, thawed (peas, corn, green beans)
3 small chicken breast, cooked, cubed
2 cans cream of potato soup
1/4 C milk
salt and pepper

Mix vegetables, chicken, soup and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into pie crust and add pie crust on top. Crimp.

Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.