Granola

10 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 lb shredded coconut
2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
3 cups chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1-1/2 cups water
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Raisins or other dried fruits, if desired


Preheat oven to 300F. IN a large bowl combine oats, wheat germ, flax seeds, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and nuts. Blend well.
In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, oil honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Heat until sugar is dissolved, but do not boil. Pour syrup over dry ingredients and stir until well-coated. Spread into five 13"x9" baking pans with sides.
Bake 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally,. Bake 15 Minutes longer for crunchier texture. Cool. Add raisins or other dried fruit, if desired. Put in airtight containers. Store in cool, dry place. Use within 6 months. Yield: about 20 cups.


A good, healthy alternative to granola is muesli. It's got lots of health benefits minus the sugar! :D

hearty and yummy bran muffins

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup All-Bran cereal
1 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 milk
1/4 vegetable oil

Combine cereal and milk in a large bowl and let stand for 2 minutes. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add egg and oil to cereal mixture and beat well. Add dry ingredients all at once, stirring only combined. Spoon into greased muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Makes about 1 dozen. This batter may be refrigerated for up two weeks before baking.

** My Mom made these for me in CA and they were SO good. I love that it makes a small recipe, but can also be easily doubled. We added some cut up cherries and reconstituded dried cranberries. I think these would be delish with fresh blueberries. My favorite way to enjoy them has been just plain, fresh out of the oven with butter and jam.

German “Puffy” Pancakes of Love

German “Puffy” Pancakes of Love

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
6 TBS butter. Cubed (I never use this much, usually 4 TBS is enough)
* I also like to add about a tsp of vanilla because I am fancy like that*

Preheat oven to 425*.
In a blender, combine milk, flour, eggs, salt, and sugar. Blend until smooth; about 30-60 seconds.
Place cubed butter in a 9x13 glass baking dish and place in oven for butter to melt. Once butter has melted, remove dish and pour in mixture from the blender. Return to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes ... until golden brown.

These are great topped with fruit (strawberries are the favorite in our house) or maple syrup. My personal favorite way to eat is to squeeze a little lemon juice over my piece and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Yum.


**If you are not familiar with German pancakes, the batter rises a LOT. Make sure to leave at least 8 inches of 'growing room' in your oven, above the dish. Do not double mixture into one casserole dish! The corners and sides (and on occasion, the middle too) will raise about 6-8 inches and fall slightly when removed from the oven. Also ... this serves about 4 adults ... although, most of the time, my husband can eat half of the casserole dish himself. So, if you have a big crowd, plan on making a few casserole dishes to satisfy everyone. This also re-heats extremely well ... much easier than standing over the frying pan cooking pancakes all morning.

Pumpkin Muffins

1/2 cup butter (unsalted, softened)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 15 oz solid pumpkin
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal (I usually substitute oatmeal)
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Heat oven to 350 degrees. If not using silicone pans, lightly coat two 6 cup muffin tins with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium high speead, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to slow, add the remaining ingredients and beat for 3 minutes or just until smooth.

Spoon batter into the muffin pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

**Optional but very tasty is to add a small bag of chocolate chips to the batter right before you spoon it into the muffin tins**

French Toast Souffle

10 C (1-inch) cubed sturdy white bread (about 16 (1 oz) slices)
Cooking spray
8 oz 1/3-less-fat-cream cheese, softened
8 large eggs
1 1/2 C 2% reduced-fat milk
2/3 C half-and-half
1/2 C real maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tb. powdered sugar
3/4 C maple syrup

Place bread cubes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Beat cream cheese at medium speed of mixer until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add milk, half-and-half, 1/2 cup maple syrup, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over top of bread; cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°. Remove bread mixture from refrigerator; let stand on counter for 30 minutes. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until set. Sprinkle the souffle with powdered sugar, and serve with maple syrup.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice of souffle and 1 tablespoon maple syrup)