Figgy-Flax Granola

Lots of recipes lately!  I've had time to cook this week and am trying to use up some of my pantry items that I've moved twice this summer.  Today, I wanted to make a snack that would be easy to take to work as the weeks will be starting to get busier as the new semester approaches.  I usually make cinnamon and flax granola but I found a good deal on dried figs  (yum!) at our downtown natural foods market on Thursday and thought they would be a great addition! 

This recipe can be changed to meet your tastes.  Don't like sunflower seed?  Use almonds!  Can't find figs?  Use dried apricots or dried pineapple!  Aren't as cinnamon crazed as I am?  Leave it out!  Like something sweeter and/or a more chunky granola?  Add more agave!  I've always found homemade granola to be a trial and error food.  Everyone likes something different.  You can substitute however you'd like.

The best part about making your own granola is that you control how much fat, sugar, nuts, fruit, etc. that is in it, which is really important if you are on a special diet.  Plus, have you seen the price on regular granola, much less gluten free granola?  Yikes! 

Figgy-Flax Granola

Makes about 18 - 1/4 cup servings

Nutrition Information for every 1/4 cup serving: 120 Calories, 2 g Fat, 21 g Carbohydrates,  3 g Fiber, 2.7 g Protein

Ingredients
2.5 cups whole grain rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats)
1/2 cup whole ground flaxseed meal (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flaxseed Meal)
1/4 cup (~1.4 oz) raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (~2.3 oz or 10 items) dried black mission figs, chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup blue agave nectar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a silicon mat (or oil the baking sheet very well to prevent sticking).  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until the agave, cinnamon, and flax coat everything well.  Spread onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toasted.  Stir 2-3 times to ensure even cooking.  I have always found the edges of the pan burn easily, so keep a watch on it during the last few minutes of baking.   Allow the granola to cool completely on the pan before storing.  Store in an airtight container in your pantry for up to 1-2 weeks.  This also freezes well for a longer shelf life.  Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Sorbet & GF Onion Rings (but not together!)

Today, I decided I wanted some sort of frozen treat to cool me off but I was too lazy to get my car out of the garage (it's an underground garage and my assigned spot is right between a fancy car and a cement wall so it's hard to get in and out of).  It's also too warm for me to walk down to the store and not have anything frozen completely melt on the walk back home.  So, I decided to make sorbet!  I don't have an ice cream maker, but I think this turned out well.  It requires that you stir every 1/2 - 1 hour for the first few hours so you have to stay fairly close.  You can make this sugar free by using Truvia or Stevia or you can use agave nectar.  This would be a great treat on an Indian-summer day in the fall!  Check further down for my gluten free onion ring recipe!

Apple Cinnamon Sorbet

FYI for those who have a hard time sticking to a serving size when it comes to frozen treats (like me!), use smaller bowls!  I love to use these small prep bowls.

Makes 4 - 1/2 cup servings

Sugar-free version is 84 calories per serving

Agave nectar version is 144 calories per serving.

Ingredients

2 large gala apples, cored and cut into 1/4" chunks*

1 large Bartlett pear, cored and cut into 1/4" chunks*

1 cup water

1/4 cup Truvia -OR- Stevia-based sweetener -OR- Agave Nectar

1 tsp cinnamon (if you are as cinnamon-obsessed as I am, you can use 2 tsp of cinnamon)

Add all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil on the stove top.  Reduce heat and simmer until the apples are very soft.  Take off the stove and puree using an immersion blender or a regular blender.  Place into a freezer safe container and let cool on the counter for a 1/2 hour.  Chill in the freezer for 6 hours, stirring every 1/2 to 1 hours for the first 3 hours.  Enjoy!

*You can peel the fruit if you want a very smooth sorbet.  I prefer to leave it on for a chunkier sorbet as the skins of fruit add extra fiber and nutrients.

Oh...onions!

I love onions!  Since needing to go gluten free, I have missed onion rings.  I don't love fried foods, but onions rings are great!  I have made the following recipe a number of times and, even though the onion rings look a little messy and look a little homely, they are crunchy, fantastic, and completely hit the spot!  You will not want to share these, which is fine because the entire batch is about 240 calories!  Chow down!

Gluten Free Baked Onion Rings

Serves 2, unless your really hungry or craving onion rings, then it only serves 1.

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion, cut into thick rings and separated

1 egg white

1 tbsp ground flax meal

2 tbsp medium grind corn meal

1 slice gluten free bread, toasted and crumbled (I used Udi's)

Salt and Pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Dash smoked paprika (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix the egg white and a dash of water into a shallow dish.  In another shallow dish, mix the flax, corn meal, crumbled bread, and spices.  Dip the onion rings into the egg white and then into the dry breading mix.  Spread out onto a sprayed (or oiled) baking sheet.  Once done breading all of the onion rings, spray the top of the rings lightly with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the breading is golden brown.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Long time, no blog!  It's been a busy summer!  But, now that I'm back to work preparing for the 2011-2012 school year, I'm back to having a little more time to do this! 

On my way back from a 4-mile walk yesterday, when I was literally 2 blocks from my apartment and directly in front of work, I tripped on a raised piece of sidewalk and fell flat on my face.  You've never seen anyone fall and stand back up so fast!  Now, normally, I laugh this off and I did a little last night.  I thought I just had some scrapes on my hands and left knee and a bruise on one of my wrists.  However, as I was walking around town for a meeting this morning, I started getting very stiff and sore and now I have a small bruise on the side of my stomach that hurts like you wouldn't believe!

I still am laughing at myself with the mere thought of me falling flat on my face while just walking (typical!), but I am also really not feeling well.  Which leads me to my Stuffed Pepper Soup recipe.  I didn't have any leftovers in my fridge tonight and all my lettuce still needs to be cleaned up before I can eat it so I was looking for a quick fix and a way to use up some peppers that I had left over from last week's farmers market and my dad's garden.  So, stuffed pepper soup was the best answer to an easy fix meal when I'm not feeling well!  I don't remember where the original idea for this recipe came from, if I remember, I'll add it to the comments section.  However, I've made quite a few changes to the original recipe and this is a recipe that I keep in my head.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Serves a lot of people :)
Ingredients:
1-2 sprays olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb 99% lean ground turkey breast
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28oz can of crush tomatoes
3 c chicken stock
1/2 c rice of your choice (*see note below)
2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
2 large or three small bell peppers of assorted colors (I used green and purple this time around), cut into 1" bite-sized pieces
Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Spray a large dutch oven or soup pot with olive oil and add in the onion, ground turkey, and garlic, breaking up the turkey as it cooks.  Once the turkey is no longer pink and the onions are translucent, add in the tomatoes, stock, rice, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium-low.  Simmer the soup until the rice is soft and almost fully cooked.  Add in the bell peppers and stir.  Simmer for another 5 minutes.  That's it!  Yum!  Leftovers are amazing!

*Note on the rice:  You have to use non-instant rice in this recipe!  You will regret instant and quick cook rice when you go to reheat the leftovers and all the rice is mush!  Regular rice only takes about another 15 minutes to cook vs. quick-cook brown rice.  You can really use any rice you like, I'm sure white rice is great in here.  I've used brown, brown basmati, and "forbidden black rice" (pictured above).  All have been equally tasty!