Nutty Granola Bars

Granola bars have, in many occasions, prevented me from snapping at someone. See, when I don’t eat for a few hours, I, as the commercial says, become the biggest diva ever. I guess I am addicted to sugar or maybe I just like to eat constantly, I don’t know. What I know is that if I am going to be on the road, I always put a granola bar in my purse. So when I start feeling like a diva – you know, when you start making unrealistic demands and want to hiss at everyone –  I rapidly get my granola out of my purse, open the package and start eating it. The old “me” is back and the diva behavior is gone. It works like magic, I swear.

When my friend Jen, and awesome cooking partner, suggested we make granola bars from scratch, I was beyond ecstatic. The recipe called for very healthy and good-tasting ingredients without all the preservatives contained in commercial granola bars. In addition, if you are watching your diet, a serving of this recipe has fewer calories than the average granola bar. The result is a sweet and crunchy granola bar that you are going to love!

Fruit and Honey Bars

Adapted from a recipe found in Weight Watchers Magazine

It serves 20 bars

Comments: We added chocolate chips to the recipe because to be honest, everything tastes better with chocolate. If you want to do the same, prepare the recipe as directed but after cutting the bars, sprinkle them with ½ cup of mini-chocolate chips.

½ cup of honey

2 large eggs

½ tsp. salt

½ cup instant nonfat milk

1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats

½ cup of unsalted pumpkin seeds

½ cup each shelled unsweetened shredded coconut

½ cup ground flaxseeds

½ cup dried apricots, chopped

½ cup dried cherries

¼ cup whole wheat flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick foil.

2. Beat the honey, eggs, and salt with a fork in a small bowl until blended. Put the oats, dry milk, pumpkin seeds, dry coconut, flaxseeds, apricots cherries, and flour in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add honey mixture to food processor and pulse until mixture is evenly moistened.

3. Transfer the dough to a baking pan; press into even layer with dampened fingers. Bake until center is set and edges are browned, about 20 minutes.

4. Let cool slightly on a rack, 10 minutes. Holding foil, transfer bar from pan to cutting board. Cut into 20 (1 ½ inch) bars. Let cool completely and peel off. 

Each bar has 118 calories.

Pollo alla Valdostana

A while ago, my husband and I, after a long day at work, decided to go out for dinner instead of cooking at home. We had passed this tiny restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood on our way to work and decided to give it a try. From the outside, the restaurant, which is called Dolce Vita, didn’t seem like anything special, but we went there anyway because we like to try new restaurants. What a nice surprise! The menu was very Mediterranean and eclectic, and best of all, it was BYOB, which meant we could bring a bottle of our favorite wine without being charged any corkage fee. I ordered mussels with pasta, which was delicious. My husband, who has a knack for choosing great dishes, ordered a chicken dish: chicken thigh covered with prosciutto and Fontina cheese in a wine and butter sauce. I had a bite of it and immediately fell in love with the dish. It had the same effect on my husband. It was rich but not greasy, the sauce had a slight wine flavor without being overwhelming. The prosciutto and cheese perfectly complimented the chicken.

Afterwards, my husband and I would crave the chicken dish we ordered at Dolce Vita. After what seemed to be a scavenger hunt, I found a recipe that resembled the dish we ate at the restaurant: Pollo Alla Valdostana.  I read the recipe and it looked suspiciously easy; I printed it and tried at home. The result: best chicken dish ever! You have to make this chicken dish. It is out of this world. It transforms bland chicken into a heavenly dish. And the best part is how easy it is to make. You can accompany this dish with pasta on the side or mashed potatoes…your choice.

Bottom line, if you can’t try Dolce Vita (http://www.dolcevitaenola.com), try this dish. You won’t regret it! If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at goodsazon@gmail.com

Pollo Alla Valdostana

Makes 4 servings

Adapted from www.chow.com

Comments: If you can’t find Fontina Cheese, you can use Swiss or Gruyere cheese. Also, and this is VERY important, please use real butter, it adds a great flavor to the dish. Do not use margarine!

·         4 (6 to 8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

·         ½ cup all-purpose flour

·         4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

·         ½ cup dry white wine

·         4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 oz.

·         4 thin slices fontina cheese (2 to 3 oz.)

1. Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper and use a frying pan to gently pound the breasts to an even thickness. They should be about 1-inch. thick.

2. Combine flour with some salt and freshly ground black pepper in a wide, shallow dish.

3. Coat each breast by dredging it in the flour mixture. Tap chicken against your palm to knock off the excess flour.

4. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add butter and melt until foaming. Add chicken breasts and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip and brown the other side.

5. Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine and scraping the pan with a spatula to incorporate the browned bits into the sauce. Reduce the heat low.

Place one slice each of prosciutto and fontina cheese over each chicken breast, and simmer until sauce slightly thickened, about three minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water if the sauce gets too thick. Baste chicken breasts a few times by spooning sauce over them (this will help the cheese melt).

6. Top with freshly ground black pepper and serve.

 

Orange Muffins

This was not my week. On Monday I fell down the stairs and sprained by ankle. On Friday, I woke up with a terrible headache and a sore throat that has not gone away. If you have a week like mine, I have a recipe that is going to make your day: orange muffins. They are very easy to make, and delicious. This is an old recipe that my mom and I have been making for years, so it is a keeper. The original recipe was sort of boring – vanilla muffins – so my mom, who is an amazing cook, tweaked it and added orange zest, orange juice, and raisins. It was a hit at our house. Now, each of us have a different version of the same recipe: She adds raisins to the recipe and I add pecans or walnuts. She bakes the batter in a Bundt cake pan and I bake it in muffin pans. Either way, the muffins are always moist, fruity, and sweet but not overwhelming. They are so good that I can assure you, you won’t be able to eat just one.

Orange Muffins

Comments: I only use ½ cup of oil and add about two tablespoons of ground flax seed.

·         2 Cups of Pancake Mix

·         1 Cup of milk

·         The juice of half an orange

·         Orange  zest (one orange)

·         1 Cup of sugar

·         ¾ Cup of vegetable oil

·         1 egg

·         Raisins or chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven (350 F). In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. In a small bowl mix the egg, milk, oil, and orange juice. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture. Add the orange zest and mix. Pour the mix into either a greased Bundt pan or cupcake pan. Bake for about 4 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the muffins with raisins or nuts. Put back in the oven until the muffins look lightly golden (about 15 to 20 min., depending on the kind of oven you have).

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at goodsazon@gmail.com

Empanadas

If you are looking for great finger-food to serve at your super bowl party, do I have a recipe for you: empanadas. They are the Latin American answer to the calzone, only smaller. Although I have always liked them, I had never made them until a few weeks ago, because I thought they were a time-consuming dish. I was wrong! They are very easy to make and a crowd pleaser.

A few weeks ago, my friend Jen and I got together to cook. She loves empanadas and wanted to learn how to make them. We wanted to try different types of empanadas and decided to make three very different recipes: meat empanadas (this recipe); crab empanadas (which we did not like, so I’m not posting the recipe ever); and sweet empanadas (delicious and I promise I will post the recipe soon). While I tackled the crab empanadas, Jen started preparing the filling for the meat empanadas. We were having a fine time: drinking wine, talking non-stop, and trying to follow the recipes. Now, that is multi-tasking! But sometimes multitasking is not a good idea. We put two tablespoons of crushed hot red pepper on the meat, instead of the one the recipe called for. Fortunately, we noticed our mistake before stirring the red pepper with the meat. We tried to take some if it out unsuccessfully. The meat was SPICY! And that is coming from someone who loves spicy food. Luckily the crust tamed down the spiciness of the filling (although Jen may disagree) and the empanadas turned out delicious.

Lesson of the day: Don’t drink (too much) and cook!

Empanadas Argentinas

Prep time: 20 min.

Cook time: 30 min.

Comments: You can find the empanadas dough discs at the grocery store in the frozen food section. If your grocery store doesn’t carry them, use puff pastry. Also, we did not fry the empanadas. We made an egg wash to brush the empanadas and baked them in the oven until golden (350 F).

Ingredients:

·         1 pound of ground beef

·         5 to 6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

·         ½ cup seedless raisins

·         2 tablespoons oregano

·         1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

·         1 tablespoon ground cumin

·         2 tablespoons paprika

·         2 roasted peppers diced

·         10 green olives pitted

·         3 eggs, hard boiled and sliced

·         Empanadas dough discs (you will need approximately 20 discs, maybe more, depending on their size)

·         Salt & pepper

·         1 tablespoon oil.

1. In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the ground beef and white scallions. Sauté until lightly browned. Add the raisins and spices and cook until meat is cooked through. Stir in the rest of the scallions and roasted peppers. Let mixture cool.

2. Fill empanada discs with meat, add 1 olive and one slice of egg. Seal the empanada.

3. Preheat oil in a deep pot. When the temperature of the oil reaches 375 F., deep fry the empanadas in the oil for about three minutes. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.