Cooking Thursday: Homemade Granola and a Fun Treat

 

Happy Thursday Friends!

I thought I had shared this recipe with you already, but I was looking back and I see that I never did. It's one I'd like to have in my recipe tab so I'm sharing it today, even though I made it a month or 2 ago. 

I think I found this in either a Taste of Home magazine? Or maybe my Country Living magazine where I have a subscription? As I mentioned, I made it a few months ago and I had taken a quick pic of the recipe... so I'm not certain. But it was really good and we used it in our desserts or for breakfast for a few weeks. 

The recipe was for this maple coconut granola. It was an easy and straightforward recipe. I mixed the ingredients, poured them on the sheet pan and baked it half way...took out the pan and added the coconut and then put in to finish baking. Then added in the chocolate chips and craisins when it came out of the oven and cooled a few minutes. I think I used whatever nuts I had on hand (sunflower and pumpkin seeds at the time). Then stored it in an airtight container and it stayed good for weeks. I had also halved this recipe and it still turned out great and lasted us a while. If you're not a coconut person I think you could easily omit it too. 

Here's the recipe:

With the yummy homemade granola we had this apple pie inspired yogurt treat for several nights. I don't remember where I saw inspiration for this recipe I sort of made up - maybe pinterest. I chopped and peeled a large apple and put it in a bowl. I then sprinkled the apple chunks with some cinnamon, ginger, ground clove and nutmeg. I drizzled all with some maple syrup and tossed it. I measured everything with my heart and no set amounts. I would guess a tbsp of syrup, a 1/2 to 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp each of the rest. Tossed it all together and microwaved it until it was warm and softened. Maybe a minute - every micro is different so check as you go. Then I put the warm cinnamony apples on vanilla greek yogurt and sprinkled on some granola. So good and gave apple pie/apple crisp vibes for less sugar and calories and added protein. It was delish! 

If you try these recipes I sure hope you 

enjoy! 

xoxo

Cooking Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie and a Fun Pretzel Treat

 

Hello Dear Friends!

First of all, thank you so much for all of the sweet comments on my blogaversary giveaway. I just love you all so much! And if you haven't seen the post or signed up there's still lots of time, so please look at the prior post and sign up. It makes my heart feel so good to share my gratitude that way (gifts are a love language for me - along with cooking and food! Lol)💗

Next up, please enjoy this gorgeous sunrise photo I took this morning. I love sunsets, but sometimes I forget how glorious a sunrise can be 😍 

God is such an artist!! 

 But on to the main agenda which is to share some Thursday recipes. Today I thought I would share a bit about the chicken pot pie I made the other day. And then I will also share how to make those yummy fruity pebbles white chocolate pretzels I shared recently. 

First up - the pot pie. It's no secret how much I love Ree Drummond aka the Pioneer Woman and have been making her recipes for years! I have several of her cookbooks and watch her cooking show. Every Thanksgiving I make her homemade pie crust for my pecan pie - and some years I make a pumpkin pie too. This year I only made the pecan so I had a leftover pie crust in my freezer. And that's what I used for this chicken pot pie. You can find the recipe for her homemade pie crust here. But I have no doubt store bought pie crust would work great too.

These are the photos I took of the pot pie when I made it. The recipe calls for making a yummy thickened chicken soup type filling. I made a roux with the veggies and then I deglazed the pan with cooking sherry and then chicken stock and finally stirring in the chicken and some half and half in the end. Then pouring it all into a deep pie plate. Topping it with the crust I had let defrost and then rolled out between parchment papers (great hack to keep the counter clean and not need more flour). Brushing on an egg wash to the sides of the pan so the crust would stick Then brushing the top of the crust too, and cutting a few slits for steam. Then baked it up and voila - amazing chicken pot pie! 😋

I had made her chicken pot pie many years ago from the recipe found on her website. And you can get that recipe by clicking here.  But this is her most recent cookbook that I got at Christmas time. And she has her chicken pot pie recipe in it. I love how her cookbooks always have very clear photos for each step too. So if you'd like to check out the recipe from that I will try to enlarge the pages big enough below:

I think this recipe is the best chicken pot pie I've ever had and Matt and my Mom and step Dad agreed! It is a winner - and especially with that decadent crust. But the filling is what is so flavorful. Don't expect it to come out in slices. It's something you would scoop or ladle into bowls. I definitely recommend it  - so comforting and delish.

And finally to share this amazing addictive treat (you've been warned!) I found this recipe from a gal on social media. I made it recently for my girlfriend Christmas party and it was a hit and everyone wanted the recipe. They said how much their kids would especially love it.😊 

WHITE CHOCOLATE FRUITY PEBBLES PARTY PRETZELS

Put a 15 oz bag of pretzels in a big bowl. 

In another bowl put a whole bag of white chocolate chips and add a little spoonful of coconut oil (it would probably be fine without that step but I did what was in the recipe). Melt the chips on high stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted. While that is going in the microwave put 2 cups of fruity pebbles cereal in a large baggie and crush with a rolling pin. After the white chocolate chips are melted pour over the bowl of pretzels. Use rubber spatulas to toss and coat the pretzels. Then pour the baggie of fruity pebbles cereal all over the pretzel mixture. Toss again and keep in a sealed container. Enjoy! 

💗💛💚