Hippie Munch

Granola is one of my absolute favorite foods. In fact, it's one of my favorite things in general (it's even listed as one of my facebook interests)! Unfortunately, I've yet to find a granola that truly satiates my hankering. Some have the cinnamon honey flavor that I crave and others have the chewy raisins that I desire, but not one of them has every component of my dream crunchy chewy cereal.

After a morning of munching on some store-bought oats I mustered the motivation to make my own. Who knew that granola was so easy to make? After whipping up a batch this morning, I'm never buying pre-made granola again! it takes no time and one batch will easily last my whole family for a week! It has TONS of cinnamon and raisins, plus almonds, and oat bran making it healthy and flavorful. The spicy aroma emanated the kitchen throughout entire day. I'm posting the recipe for the granola I made this morning, but feel free to adjust the nuts, spices, and fruit to your taste! Next time I'm going to make one with dried apricots and pecans or with walnuts and dried apples.

Low-Fat Granola

4 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

1/4 cup flax seed

2 tbsp wheat germ

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup apple sauce

1 tbsp canola oil

1/2 cup raisins

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds

3 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Combine the oats, wheat germ, flax seed, sesame seeds, cinnamon, salt and oil in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
2. Combine the apple sauce, honey, and oil in a separate bowl and stir to combine.
3. Stir the wet mixture into the oat mixture until all of the oats are evenly coated. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Stir twice throughout the process.
5. Remove from the oven and mix in the dried fruit.

Serve with milk, yogurt, fresh fruit, or on top of ice cream!

Lemon Garlic Kebabs

After a day of baking, I was craving something light and easy for dinner.  After a few minutes of thumbing through cookbooks, I decided that a middle eastern meal would compliment the warm weather well.  I had been craving pasta and kebabs for a while, so my mom and I decided on chicken-vegetable kebabs and a couscous salad.  In an effort to keep the flavors light and fresh we used lots of herbs from our garden and grilled the kebabs outside.  The lemon garlic marinade provided a tart kiss, which complimented the cherry tomatoes and bell peppers well. The couscous' salty olives contrasted with its sweet caramelized onions and sour lemon dressing perfectly.  I don't like feta, but my parents said that the creaminess of the cheese worked really well with the chewy pasta.  Next time we make this dish I think we're going to look into replacing the couscous with whole wheat pasta or even lentils.  Also, next time we're going to let the kebabs marinade longer, because they weren't quite as flavorful as we would have liked.  Overall, these were great dishes for an outdoor summer dinner.  Delicious, healthy, and refreshing!  

Chicken-Vegetable Kebabs

2 boneless skinless chicken breast (the small ones)

1 green bell pepper

1 eggplant

1 zucchini

10 cherry tomatoes

Marinade

1 tablespoon oregano

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves (crushed)

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Couscous

2 cups couscous (uncooked)

10 chopped kalamata olives 

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 caramelized vidalia onion (saute with 1 tbsp of olive oil on a low heat with salt and pepper until they darken in color and become soft)

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley 

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

1/4 cup feta cheese

1. Prepare the kebab marinade by combining ingredients and set aside in a large bowl.
2. Cut the chicken  2'' chunks and add to the marinade.  Slice the zucchini and eggplant into 3/4 inch thick slices and cut the pepper into 2'' squares.  Add the cut-up vegetables and tomatoes to the marinade and stir.  Cover the bowl and set aside for 30-45 minutes.  
3. In a separate bowl combine the lemon juice, olive-oil, chopped kalamata olives, feta, garlic, parsley, and coarsely chopped caramelized caramelized onion (that's a mouthful!).
4. Add the 2 cups of couscous to 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  As soon as it boils, cover the pot and remove from the heat.  Let the water absorb for 10 minutes.  
5. Add the couscous to the dressing and stir to combine.
6. Skewer the chicken and vegetables, alternating between them, with about 3 pieces of chicken per kebab.  
7. Grill the kebabs until the chicken springs back to the touch.  About 15-20 minutes.  Rotate the kebabs throughout cooking.  

Enjoy!