Elvis Granola

Happy Easter! If you can believe it, I am actually finished with classes for the semester (and forever). With Holy Week and Easter being so late this year, it has been stress and anxiety central at the Divinity School. Fortunately, I think I have everything generally under control, and being able to participate in Holy Week services actually calmed me. Graduation and my ordination are coming up quickly, which is surreal. Just a few more weeks!

With all of the craziness of Holy Week and Easter and the end of the semester, there hasn’t been much cooking or blogging. I have a take on a beloved local restaurant salad that I want to show you, but every time I make it, it’s too dark to take a picture! So I made granola instead.

Granola, unfortunately, is one of those foods that seems really healthy but is usually a calorie-bomb. I do love it though, and I can’t believe that I hadn’t made my own before. I made this on Good Friday in between writing papers and going to church. After it cooled, Joe and I couldn’t resist eating some of it. We almost ruined our dinner! Even though I messed up by putting the chocolate in too soon, the peanut butter and chocolate flavor still came through. I adapted the recipe based on what I had around the house. The fortunate thing about granola is that it is extremely adaptable! I’ve enjoyed nibbling on the granola by itself or eating it with some Greek yogurt to add some crunch.

 

Elvis Granola
source: Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup chia seeds (or ground flaxseeds)
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/2 cup slivered almonds (or sunflower seeds)
2/3 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

Preparation

Preheat oven to 275.

Bring the canola oil, maple syrup, peanut butter, salt and cinnamon to a simmer on the stove. Cook for three to five minutes.

While that’s cooking, mix together the oats, chia seeds, peanuts and almonds. Pour hot syrup mixture over the oats and toss well to coat. Spread out granola onto two lined sheet trays and bake for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and turning trays midway through.

Let granola cool completely before adding the chopped chocolate.

Peanut Butter Fudge

I have a mental list of dishes that I want to try to make, though I really should write some of these down one of these days. Mostly the list consists of foods that are carbo-licious or a caloric splurge: biscuits and gravy, biscotti, bagels. Apparently, on this list, everything also starts with ‘B’. And then there is candy, like fudge, which I always assumed required a candy thermometer and knowing what the “soft-ball stage” looked like.

This fudge required no such thing. Four ingredients, a microwave, a refrigerator, and it was done. I wish I didn’t know how easy this was. I quickly packaged up the majority of it for gift-giving, but I also snuck a few pieces that happened to crack (or something) while I was cutting them. You will love this. Your friends will love this. How could anything that contains peanut butter, sugar, and butter be wrong?

Peanut Butter Fudge
source: Alton Brown via Erin’s Food Files

Ingredients

1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar

Preparation

Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

In-a-Flash Chicken-Broccoli-Peanut Pasta

Pasta is one of those foods which I have a difficult time controlling my portion sizes. But when chicken and broccoli bulk it up, 2 oz of pasta goes a long way. The peanut sauce was a little thinner than I normally prefer but was still very flavorful, and we bumped up the spiciness with some Sriracha. This came together very quickly and is a perfect, balanced weeknight meal.

In-a-Flash Chicken-Broccoli-Peanut Pasta
source: Cara's Cravings
Yields 2 servings

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 small or 1 large chicken breast, 8-10oz total
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1tsp ground ginger
4oz whole grain pasta
10oz package frozen chopped broccoli
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp natural creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp agave nectar or honey
fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish

Preparation

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. When there are about 5 minutes remaining, add the frozen broccoli. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, blend together chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, and agave until smooth.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cut the chicken breast into bite-size chunks and season with salt & pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and brown on all sides; remove from pan. Add scallions and garlic, cook one minute more. Add ginger and red pepper; cook for about 30 seconds more. Add the sauce and the chicken to the skillet with the onions, garlic, ginger and pepper. Simmer over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until thickened. Toss with drained pasta and broccoli and heat through. Serve with fresh chopped cilantro.


Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 522.8
Total Fat: 13.4 g
Cholesterol: 74.0 mg
Sodium: 818.2 mg
Total Carbs: 64.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 11.7 g
Protein: 44.6 g

Peanut Butter Cookies

On Wednesday, my friend L grabbed me after theology and asked me if I would be interested in baking for our field ed group the next day. Another friend and member of our group, J and his wife had just had their first baby, and we wanted to acknowledge and celebrate J's entry into fatherhood. I, of course, jumped at the chance.

Sometimes I over-think baking for people, especially in a group. Is anyone vegan or gluten-free or allergic to nuts? I decided to make these peanut butter cookies and prayed that no one was allergic to nuts and would feel left out. The first time I made these cookies was with my best friend Abby when I visited Bloomington last May. She rightly calls them crack cookies. They are seriously addictive, and I ate 5 (at least they're small) while they were cooling on the rack. Sure enough, the cookies that I brought were quickly devoured, and I was encouraged to bring more baked goods to field ed group should I feel the urge to bake again.

These cookies have a great peanut butter flavor, and I appreciate the addition of chocolate chips. I skipped rolling them in more sugar, since I didn't feel like they needed it. They can be easy to overbake, and I thought they weren't done enough, but when they cooled, they were perfect.

Peanut Butter Cookies
source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.