Granola Obsession

Sadie2 Comments

I used to think that granola was one of those things that you had to buy from a store.  I didn’t realize you could make it at home until I saw a post on the blog Chocolate and Zucchini in 2010.  It looked so easy and delicious that I decided to give a try.  The rest is history.  These days I make some serious granola.  I highly recommend giving it a try.  The great thing is that you can add, subtract, and substitute ingredients as you feel like it.  Beware, it’s addictive.

This is my favorite version:

Sadie’s Granola

Ingredients

  • 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I add a half cup each of sliced almonds, pecans, and walnuts)
  • 1/2 cup seeds (I only use sunflower seeds, unsalted)
  • 2 Tbs oil ( I use olive oil)
  • 6 Tbs maple syrup
  • 1-2 Tbs honey
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp coarse salt
  • 1 Tbs vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 egg white
  • 3/4 cup chopped dried fruit (I use half dried cranberries, half raisons)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300.

2. Combine oil, syrup, spices, salt, sugar, and honey.

3. Combine oats, nuts, and seeds.

4.  Add wet to dry and mix so everything is evenly distributed.

5. Add egg white.  (this will help make little clumps of oats and nuts, it makes a good texture)

6.  Spread mixture out on a greased cookie sheet.  (make sure the cookie sheet has sides, otherwise the granola will get all over the place)

7.  Bake the granola about 40 minutes depending on the oven, or until golden brown.  Check on it every  10  minutes or so and mix it up or turn it around in the oven to ensure that it bakes evenly.  You should be a little conservative because the granola will continue to crisp up after you take it out of the oven, you don’t want to over do it.

8.  Add the dried fruit when the granola has cooled off.  Allow to cool completely before you store it in a sealed container (you don’t want trapped moisture raining on your parade).

I like enjoying my granola with a little almond milk.

FYI: This is a great food-gift.  It’s my go-to hostess gift.  I buy a cute container like a mason jar, fill it with some fabulous home made granola and tie it with a pretty ribbon.  Voila!

Atlantic City’s Newest Gem: The Revel

CarrieLeave a comment

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity of checking out the Revel in Atlantic City.  Here’s a tip if you plan on checking out this new destination…plan on staying at another casino and take advantage of the cheaper room rates.  I happened to have a comped room at Harrah’s which allowed me to save money on the room and gamble it away instead.  I took a taxi over to Revel so I could take advantage of the complimentary drinks while playing the slots and table games.

When walking in the door of the Revel, here’s what you see.

 

This crazy escalator is only the first set of three escalators spanning the floors of entertainment that await you.  The first floor is the casino floor as seen in the picture below.
There are extravagant light fixtures and furniture everywhere.  This is the preview to the grand opening over Memorial Day weekend so not everything is open and fully functioning.  There is a band that performs every night off to the side of the casino in what I’d like to call a mini auditorium.  I am looking forward to going to the burlesque club in the fall.  It was not open when I was there last week but the sign said that it was opening over Easter weekend.  If it is anything like what I’ve seen so far, I’m sure it is every bit as extravagant as the lounge in the movie Burlesque.  Who knows? Maybe Christina will perform there some day.
Those are the bathrooms!  It’s so pretty I had to take a picture.
Beyonce is performing three nights over Memorial Day weekend for the grand opening.  The tickets start at $95 and go up to $500.  Better save up if you plan on attending that concert.  I think I’ll just wait until September and take advantage of the off-season…Sorry Sasha Fierce!

 

Nothing Beats a Classic

Sadie1 Comment

First order of business: Happy Birthday to my Best Best Friend Karla!

Sometimes when I’m in the mood to bake and I haven’t gone shopping for specific ingredients, I play the pantry game.  What can I make (that I would want to eat) with the items that I already have?  I’m usually short on anything perishable, but if I have butter, the answer is usually: shortbread.  And frankly, it’s hard to get better than shortbread.  Delicious.  Plus you can eat it with some tea and pretend to be British and sophisticated.

Classic Shortbread

Adapted from Ina on the Food Network

yeilds 20 cookies (depending on the size you choose)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 lb unsalted butter (that’s 3 sticks)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups AP flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 8 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Ina uses bitter-sweet)
  • chopped nuts or sprinkles for decoration

Method

  1. Cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer.  Add vanilla.
  2. Sift in flour and salt.  Mix until dough starts to come together a little bit.
  3. Turn the dough out onto the counter and form into disks to chill in the freezer.
  4. Allow dough to chill for at least 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 350.
  6. Roll dough out to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch think and use desired cookie cutters to cut shapes.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  These are probably better a little on the blond side.
  8. Allow cookies to cool.  Heat chocolate up in microwave for 30 seconds at a time.  Use a fork to stir chocolate and make it shiny.
  9. Use fork to paint chocolate on desired portion of cooled shortbread cookies.  Dip chocolate portion into chopped nuts or sprinkles.  (During the holidays these look great with red and green bead sprinkles)
  10. Stick them in the frige or freezer to help accelerate the cooling process.