RECIPE: Pumpkin Granola

Yes, I'm a bit obsessed with granola! Homemade granola is the only "cold cereal" my family eats. I've been know to go on rants about how ridiculously expensive (and lacking in nutrition) commercial cereals can be.

While I'm routinely urging folks to go forth and make their own granola, I've noticed there seems to be some misconception that homemade granola is a seriously labour-intensive endeavour. Not so! I can get a batch ready for the oven in under 5 minutes. Either hubby or I routinely does this while we're cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, so we're already in there when it needs to be taken out and stirred in-process.

Seriously, homemade granola is super easy to make, delicious, packed full of nutrients, and way less expensive than any boxed cereal you could buy. So what are you waiting for?

This pumpkin granola has a nice spicy kick to it, while the pumpkin flavour is fairly subtle. This is a perfect way to make good use of that jack o' lantern come Nov 1st!

Ingredients:

3½ cups rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

3 tbsp brown sugar

¼ cup honey

¼ cup coconut oil

⅓ cup pumpkin puree

Instructions:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, coconut, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. 
• In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, coconut oil and pumpkin puree. Heat gently and stir until thoroughly combined.
• Pour pumpkin mixture over oat mixture and stir until oats are evenly coated.Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake at 300°F for 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool, then store at room temperature.

Makes about 6-10 servings

Optional add ins:

If you want to jazz up your granola even more, try adding any of the following:

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder (for Chocolate Pumpkin Granola – add to honey mixture)

• chopped walnuts or pecans

• dried cranberries (add after granola is baked and cooled)

• dried apple chunks (add after granola is baked and cooled)

Want even more granola options? Check out these recipes:

Chocolate Chai Granola

Chocolate Peanut Granola

Christmas Granola

For more simple, tasty and family-friendly recipes like this one, check out my book: Cheap Appétit: The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) 

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QUICKIE RECIPE: Stir-Fried Quinoa with Scrambled Eggs

Even with the best planning, we all have days where we need to produce a meal in next to no time. Fortunately, it IS possible to make a decent meal very quickly, even from scratch!

This little number makes a frequent appearance at my house when I want something hot for lunch and there are no leftovers to be had (and that's most of the time, with two teenage boys in residence!)

If you have some cooked quinoa in the fridge, you can be eating this in 10 minutes. It's a surprisingly filling meal, and would work equally well for a quick weeknight dinner. (By the way, if you *don't* have some cooked quinoa in the fridge, it's a great staple to have on hand as this is just one of many things you can whip up with it in just a few minutes! You can always freeze it if you haven't used it all up after a few days).

Here's what you've gotta do:

• Heat about a tablespoon of your favourite cooking oil/fat in a nonstick pan (I love my cast iron!) 

• Toss in half a chopped onion and half a medium grated carrot and saute for a minute or two until they soften. Throw in about 1/4 cup of frozen peas and 3/4 cup cooked quinoa; cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the peas are heated through.

• Season with salt and pepper to taste (add about 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley if you have it on hand).

• Turn this mixture out onto your serving plate, getting the pan as clean as you can. 

• Put the pan back on the heat and add a small chunk of butter. Beat one or two eggs with a splash of milk; once the butter is melted and pan is hot, add eggs to pan and scramble to desired doneness. Place on top of quinoa mixture. 

• Top with a spoonful of sour cream and a couple of sliced green onions.

You're done!

How easy was that?!?

This makes one generous portion, and can easily be doubled/tripled/quadrupled to feed your desired amount of people (just adjust your pan size accordingly so you don't overfill the pan).

What's your favourite super-quick meal?

For more simple, tasty and family-friendly recipes like this one, check out my book: Cheap Appétit: The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) 

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Weekly Menu Retrospective #133

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here. 
 
Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92) with homemade yogurt, Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins (p. 96), Blueberry Clafouti (p. 223)

Lunches: 
leftovers, grilled cheese, sandwiches, stir-fried quinoa with veggies and scrambled eggs

Dinners:
Monday: Beef & Mushroom Stew over mashed potatoes

Tuesday: Spicy Peanut & Tomato Soup (p. 163) with Cornbread (p. 212)

Wednesday: Indian-Spiced Honey Garlic Chicken (p. 188), Coconut Rice (p. 199) and roasted carrots

Thursday: Classic Beef Burgers (p. 125) with homemade fermented ketchup & mustard, Easy Oven Fries (p. 194)

Friday: Pizza Night: Sausage, Onion and Red Pepper Pizza (my homemade thin-crust pizza dough recipe is HERE)

  
Saturday: Lemony Chicken & Spinach Pasta (p. 150)

Sunday: Pan-fried pork chops with southwestern seasonings, sauteed zucchini, red pepper and onions, Skillet Millet, Chocolate Chip Squares

 
In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil, coconut milk, raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, quinoa, fresh ginger,  coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), tamari, oregano, basil, parsley, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea
 
Local: potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, apples, pears, garlic, salsa (home-canned), honey (unpasteurized), sour cream, whole wheat flour, ground beef (antibiotic and hormone free, pastured), sausages, milk, buttermilk
 
Local AND organic:  zucchini, oats, millet, cornmeal, eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar, green onions*, tomatoes*, red peppers, herbs*

*from our backyard garden

Tired of figuring out what to make for dinner? I've completely overhauled my budget menu planning service over the summer! Many of the simple and affordable recipes are NEW and NOT on the blog or in the book. Plans include complete menu plans and grocery lists featuring inexpensive, seasonally-focused ingredients. Click HERE to find out more!

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 
 

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MAKE IT FROM SCRATCH: {Fermented or Not} Ketchup & Mustard

You may have gotten the impression (from this post, or maybe this one) that I've really gotten into fermenting things lately, and if so, you'd be right!

After my initial abysmal fermenting failures, I forged on and kept trying different things until I had a success or two under my belt, which gave me enough encouragement to experiment further. Since kombucha's one of the things I've found to be the most forgiving, and because my family really enjoys it. I've got a very steady supply of it on hand. So, of course, I'm always looking for new ways to use it!

This ketchup and mustard are super easy to whip up and a great way for beginners to give fermenting a try. It's also a simple way to start introducing fermented foods to your family if you have kids (or spouses) who might balk at the sight of kombucha or sauerkraut. If you don't have your own supply of kombucha on hand, see if a friend's willing to part with a litre or so (maybe in exchange for some of your finished product!) or you could also purchase some kombucha (if you can find a plain, unflavoured raw one somewhere, which I'm guessing might be kind of expensive!) For those of you who are making your own kombucha, this is a good way to use up a batch that's gotten a bit too vinegary for drinking straight up - it's actually optimal to use a more vinegary kombucha for these recipes.

You can absolutely make these recipes *without* fermenting them if you wish, although their shelf life will not be as long and you won't get the benefits of the probiotic bacteria. Simply substitute apple cider vinegar where it calls for kombucha. If you use a good quality, raw apple cider vinegar (I always have a bottle of Filsinger's on hand) you will still be getting some beneficial prebiotic bacteria in your condiments.

Fermented {Or Not} Ketchup

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, rough chopped
½ cup raisins (use unsulphured if fermenting)
½-1 cup water*
11 oz tomato paste (2 of the 5.5 oz tins)
¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp dry mustard powder

⅛ tsp cinnamon

⅛ tsp cloves

⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

⅛ tsp black pepper

⅛ tsp allspice

1-2 tsp sea salt

about 1 cup kombucha or raw apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

• In a small saucepan, simmer the onion, garlic and raisins in the water for a few minutes until softened. Pour into a blender and blend until smooth.

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the pureed raisin mixture with the tomato paste, sugar and seasonings. Let cool to room temperature (this is important as if it's too hot you'll kill the beneficial organisms in the kombucha or ACV).

• Add kombucha or apple cider vinegar to desired consistency. If using ACV, store in fridge immediately. If fermenting with kombucha, transfer to clean Mason jars and cover with lids. Let ferment at room temperature for 3-5 days, then store in refrigerator.

*If you're fermenting your ketchup and using tap water, be sure to dechlorinate it by boiling for 15 minutes or letting it sit overnight.

Fermented {Or Not} Mustard

Ingredients:

¾ cup whole mustard seeds (yellow, brown or a combination - brown are milder!)

2 cups kombucha (or 1 cup apple cider vinegar and 1 cup water)

2-4 tbsp honey or maple syrup

4 cloves garlic, rough chopped

1 tbsp sea salt 

Instructions: 

• In a clean quart jar, combine the mustard seeds and kombucha (or ACV and water). Cover and let stand at room temperature for 4-7 days, adding more kombucha as needed to keep seeds covered as they swell (if using ACV and water, refrigerate for 24-48 hours then proceed with remainder of recipe).

• Pour soaked seeds into a blender and add honey, garlic and salt. Process until desired consistency, adding more honey or salt to taste. Refrigerate.

Both the ketchup and mustard will keep for months in the fridge if fermented (although I doubt they'll last that long if your house is anything like mine!) They will not keep as long if not fermented, but should be good for at least 2-3 weeks or so (you could freeze extra for longer storage). 

I shared this recipe at Full Plate Thursday.

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