Weekly Recipe #113: Peanut Butter Granola

By Rylee Ahnen, University of Minnesota Nutrition Major

One of my favorite things to have for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack, is some Greek yogurt mixed with granola. This combo is delicious, and usually packs a pretty nutritious punch. Greek yogurt is a good source of calcium, and also boats a protein content that is usually twice as high as plain yogurt (depending on the brand). This makes it a great snack food! However, Greek yogurt does have a high fat content so I recommend searching for a fat-free version that you love!

Granola is great too. Granola has the ability to provide us with some much-needed dietary fiber, and also can be a good source of iron. The only down side is that granola from the grocery store can be so dang expensive. So today we’re going to share a recipe from The Hen Basket for some easy to make, delicious granola.

Peanut Butter Granola 
(From www.thehenbasket.com) 

4 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp. honey
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups oats


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325° 
2. In a large bowl, mix honey and peanut butter. Microwave the mixture until the peanut butter melts. (approx.. 30 seconds) 
3. Combine with all other ingredients. Mix the oats well, making sure that they are all covered with the peanut butter mixture. 
4. Spread mixture out onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. 
5. Let cool before eating. 

Weekly Recipe #112: Hummus

By Rylee Ahnen, University of Minnesota Nutrition Major

This week we’re going to keep the recipe nice and simple. We’re going to make hummus! Hummus is a delicious Middle Eastern food that is fast and simple to make. Even better, it is a great source of iron, vitamin C, folate, and vitamin B6! Way cool.

Also, the recipe below calls for an ingredient called tahini. Tahini is a paste that is made from ground sesame seeds and is essential for the silky texture of the hummus. You shouldn’t have much trouble finding some at your local grocery store.


Hummus
(From: What to Cook and How to Cook It ) 
Ingredients: 2 (14-oz) cans of chickpeas, drained
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp tahini
2 lemons
3 tbsp olive oil

Directions: 

1. In the bowl of a food processor (or in a blender) squeeze the juice from both lemons. Add the chickpeas, chopped garlic, salt, tahini, and olive oil. 
2. Blend the ingredients together until you create a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as needed. If the hummus is too thick add a bit of water. 
3. Serve with warm pita chips, and enjoy!

Weekly Recipe #111: English Muffins from scratch

By Rylee Ahnen, University of Minnesota Nutrition Major

I think, and I’m sure that most of you will agree, that this weather is really bringing everyone down. It’s just so darn grey. So this week I made it a point to try and actually enjoy what I’m being told is Spring. How did I do it? English. Muffins.

There are few greater ways to start your day than with a homemade English muffin, slightly toasted, with a heaping spoonful of jam. Eat one of these bad boys for breakfast with a big hot mug of black tea, and you just might be able to convince yourself that the sky is really only grey because you’re on a vacation in London.


All joking aside, these muffins are delicious and are the perfect breakfast for people who enjoy lighter fare when they first wake up. And of course, baking any type of bread can be incredibly therapeutic.

Recipe:
(Adapted from www.thehenbasket.com)


Ingredients:1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter
3 cups of flour, divided
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cornmeal

Directions:

1. Mix your yeast, sugar, and warm water together in a mixing bowl. Allow the yeast to rest for 5 minutes in order to activate.
2. In a separate bowl, mix 1 ½ cups of flour with the salt.
3. In another bowl, heat your butter and your milk in the microwave until the butter is completely melted. (About 1 minute)
4. Add ¾ cup of flour to your yeast mixture. Turn out onto a well-floured surface, and knead the dough for 4 – 5 minutes.
5. Place dough in a greased glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest until it doubles in size. (About 1 hour)
6. Once the dough has risen, turn out onto a floured surface and punch down. Rollout the dough about ¾ inch thick, and cut out muffins with a biscuit cutter. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest another 45 minutes.
7. Heat a heavy skillet or frying pan to medium –low heat. Cook muffins for 7-10 minutes on each side. Allow to cool before eating.

Weekly Recipe #110: Chicken Stir Fry

Recipe from Asei Tendle, Food Services Director at Open Arms

6 Servings

Ingredients

2 large bell peppers, seeded and julienned
1 small broccoli, chopped or snapped into small bite size "trees"
3 stocks celery, sliced to 1" slivers
2 carrots, sliced to small slivers
1 onion, julienned
1 cup water
1 store bought and fully cooked rotisserie chicken, skinned and cubed or pulled
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 large green onion, chopped
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry ginger
2 garlic cloves, sliced 

1 package rice stick noodles

Directions
1. Soak rice noodles in warm water, covering the noodles for ½ hour.

2. Meanwhile, bring soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and garlic to a boil in a small sauce pan. Boil for 4 minutes and remove from heat.

3. Over medium high heat in a sauté pan, place half of the oil. Let the oil get hot -- about 30 seconds -- and add drained noodles. Sauté noodles until soft, about 2 minutes, remove and place in a bowl.

4. Using the remaining half of the oil, sauté onion and carrot, for about 1 minute. Then add celery, orange zest, peppers and broccoli. Sauté for and additional 2 - 3 minutes. Add chicken and sauce. Heat till warm. 

5. Serve vegetables over noodles and eat!

Recipe #109: Date Cake with Chocolate Icing

By Susan Pagani

Why do we love this cake? If you ask Chef Cassie and Volunteer Extraordinaire Lisa, it's because it is tender, spongy and delicious, and as everyone knows, dates are so good for you they cancel out every ounce of sugar and butter.

In all seriousness, dates add a wonderful sweetness and moisture to this cake, much like a banana or applesauce will in baked goods. And they pack a nutritional wallop with antioxidants, iron, calcium and dietary fiber, so you can have your cake and feel healthy about it, too.

Dates and chocolate are a classic combination in Middle Eastern cooking -- and a tasty one, as this cake demonstrates. We think it goes down marvelously with a cup of coffee and highly recommend eating a slice at breakfast.

 Date Cake with Chocolate Icing

Cake:

1 cup (6 oz.) chopped dates
1 cup hot water
1 3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp. cocoa unsweetened
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter (at room temp.)
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 lg. eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and then:
1.  Grease two 8-inch layer cake pans or one 9x13-inch pan. If using layer pans, cut and grease wax paper and line pans. You can also fill a muffin pan with liners and make cupcakes by scooping each liner 2/3 full of batter.
2. Put dates in small bowl and cover them with hot water. Set aside in refrigerator to cool.
3. Mix flour, cocoa and soda. Set aside.
4. In large bowl mix butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended. 5. Stir in flour mixture alternately with dates and water (now somewhat cool/not boiling) until well blended. Fold in chips.
6. Spread the batter in prepared pans. Bake for 25-40 minutes -- depending on if you are making cake or cupcakes -- or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache Icing:

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. Light-Corn Syrup
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Extract

1. Heat the cream in medium saucepan until just simmering; remove from heat.
2. Add chocolate chips, corn syrup (for shine) and vanilla bean paste and stir until melted.
3. Drizzle icing onto the cake and spread with an icing spatula or dip tops of cupcakes into the warm chocolate ganache mixture. Let set in the fridge - enjoy!