Peanut Butter and Honey Granola

Have I mentioned next week is Spring Break? If I haven't, next week is definitely Spring Break, and my wife and I will definitely be in New York all week! I've been twice, but this will be Ashlynn's first time going... and we couldn't be more excited. I can't wait for her to see everything. She's only been out of the south once, and that was when I took her to Vegas for her 21st birthday... good times!

Anyways, I obviously won't have a kitchen in my hotel room, but I have plans to blog at least every other day about the restaurants we visit. We have several "off the beaten path" restaurants we plan on trying, and I can't wait to share them with you! It's going to be a blast. We can't wait!

I decided I wanted to fix us a healthy snack for our flight... something easy to carry, and that wouldn't spoil. I found Elvis Granola on Eat Live Run, and decided to give it a shot. I adapted the recipe slightly... only because I didn't have all the ingredients, and I cooked this at 11:00pm... after Whole Foods was closed.

If the aroma doesn't take your breathe away, the taste surely will! It's the perfect blend of sweet and salty... and so peanut buttery... it will make your mouth water. Anything with peanut butter makes my mouth water.

Here's a slight disclaimer... completely disregard the note above about coconut oil, and cacao nibs... I left that out... I'm sticking to my roots.

I hope you like it!

Peanut Butter and Honey Granola
*adapted from Jenna at Eat Live Run

1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 275*

On the stove, bring the oil, honey, peanut butter, salt and cinnamon to a simmer for approximately 3-5 minutes.

Next, combine the mixture with the oats thoroughly, and spread them out on a sheet pan, and bake for 40 minutes.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Have you ever been to those mexican restaurants that make their own tortillas?? If you haven't, you haven't lived. I only go to those specific places, because I love fresh tortillas. After eating at our favorite tex-mex restaurant several nights a week, breaking the bank, and becoming best friends with everyone from the waiter to the manager (because they saw us on a daily basis), I decided I would try to make these at home!... and am I glad I did. These are crazy good. I'm talking words can't describe how good.

...It almost reminds me of biscuits... just because the ingredients are very similar.

Make your dough, and knead for a couple of minutes, and then roll out the dough, and cut into individual pieces. You could try to do it equally... but I mean, who wants the same size tortilla shells?? Not me!

Next, roll each piece into a ball...

Then, with a rolling pin, flatten them out, trying to evenly distribute the dough.

After that, you cook them on a griddle or in a skillet for about 30 seconds on each side, and your done! I used a cast iron skillet for mine, but that's just the southerner coming out in me.

Although I used whole wheat pastry flour for this, I have also used all purpose flour as well, and you could split it up... half whole wheat, half all purpose. I've done all of the above, and they all turned out great!

I hope you like it!

Whole Wheat Tortillas
*makes 12 tortillas

2 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose), plus extra for rolling the tortillas
2 1/2 tablespoons Crisco
2 1/2 tablespoons room temperature butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup tepid water

Combine the flour, crisco, and butter in a large mixing bowl working the the crisco and butter into the flour with a fork until completely incorporated. Make sure there are no lumps of butter in the mixture.

Next, dissolve the salt in with the water, and begin pouring over the dry mixture. Incorporate slowly, adding a little bit of water at a time until the mixture is completely moistened and becomes a doughy texture.

Then, roll it out onto a floured surface and knead for about a minute, just until the dough becomes smooth. Next roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 inch, to 1 inch thick, and cut dough into 12 smaller pieces, and roll each piece into a ball.

At this point, let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

On a floured surface, begin to roll out your balls of dough, trying to evenly distribute dough.

Lay the dough in a hot griddle or cast iron skillet, and cook for about 30-40 seconds on each side.

*Be careful not to overcook the tortillas. If you do, they won't bend properly.

Pepperoni Calzone

Let's talk comfort food... Italian comfort food! We have a local italian restaurant here that makes the BEST calzones, and you can get just about anything you want in them. The first time I tried them, I knew I had to make them at home. How hard could it be... right? I was right... my method was a piece of cake!

My wife and I were having a date night at home watching a movie, so I thought it'd be great to make these for us. The easiest part is the crust. I'm all for making a homemade pizza dough... believe me, they're awesome, but if you're looking for a quick dinner with little effort, this is your meal. I used a whole grain pizza dough from the local grocery store, and it never fails. Each ball of dough makes two calzones.

I start with the dough, roll it out slightly on a cutting board, and cut it in half. Then, I roll it and stretch it out until it's about 1/4 inch thick.

Let me fill you in, if you're new to the whole pizza dough thing. A few years back, when I got my first pizza dough, no one told me this, so I feel obligated to let you know. Pizza dough is very elastic, and you have to work with it, and be patient. Here is a great video on preparing pizza dough. I prefer the throwing method myself, but this works fine too.

Next, I start adding my ingredients! Pepperoni... fresh parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Then, you fold the dough over...

Pinch it closed...

Then finally, crimp the edges with a fork to seal it completely. Brush the top with an egg wash and throw it in the oven, and your done! This is GREAT for dipping in homemade ranch! I hope you like it!

Pepperoni Calzone

1 Pizza dough
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
1 egg
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 375*

Roll your pizza dough out slightly, and cut in half. Then begin to work each half rolling it out, and stretching it into a flat, 1/4 inch oval.

Next, add your pepperoni, and cheeses. Let's get crazy. Add as much as you want... as long as you can still seal it!

Then, fold it over, and pinch dough together with your fingers. Then crimp with a fork. Beat one egg, and brush the top with the egg wash. **Be careful to evenly distribute the egg wash. If it collects near the bottom of the crust, and it create a harder crust.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, and dig in!

Garlic Bread

I have to admit... I kind of stole this from Joy the Baker... who in turn stole it from the Pioneer Woman. The only difference is... they know each other, and they don't even know I exist. One day, I hope they will. Even though Joy the Baker sent me an email saying how incredibly awesome my blog was... I'm not so sure she'd remember it!

Meet the newest addition to our family...

Some people have children, get a dog... or a fish. We collect Le Creuset...

I made this bread tonight, and I have to give props to Joy... and/or Ree, because they said it was easy... AND IT WAS. I love baking bread, but hate the clean up, and this is the easiest clean up I've ever had, not to mention came together perfectly just like they said it would.

I altered the recipe slightly to fit our lifestyle. It's a little lighter than the original, but if that's not your thing, just do what comes natural... add butter.

I hope you like it!

Easy Spicy Garlic Bread in a Pot (makes 1 round loaf)

**recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 cup (8 ounces) of warm water (between 110 and 115 degrees F)

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 Teaspoon granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

3 ounces unsweetened almond milk (or regular milk is fine)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

3 cloves of garlic, minced

about 4 cups (20 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting

a few big pinches of coarse ground black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

*olive oil, coarse sea salt, and pepper for topping

Sprinkle yeast over warm water, add sugar and stir gently. Allow yeast and warm water to rest, foam for about 5 minutes.
Melt butter in a small saucepan. When butter is melted, remove from heat and add herbs, milk, and garlic. Set aside.

Place flour in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a bread hook. Add salt and pepper. Pour in activated yeast mixture, and butter mixture. Stir on low speed, with the dough hook, for about 10 to 12 minutes. The dough ball should clean the sides of the bowl and not stick to the bottom of the mixing bowl. The dough will be relatively smooth and supple, with some firmness from the bread flour.

Place dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

When doubled in size, place on a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 2 minutes.

In a large Dutch oven, coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil. Place dough in pot and slice a fairly deep cross into the dough. Drizzle about more olive oil atop the bread. Sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt and pepper.

Cover with tight fitting lid and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees F, remove lid, and allow to make for about 15-20 minutes more.

Lighter Blueberry Muffins

Since December, I've been on a search for an amazing, yet healthy blueberry muffins! After nearly two months of exhausted research... here it is!

These muffins taste as amazing as they look. This batch makes 12-14 cupcakes at around 200 calories a piece. Starbucks can't touch that.

I hope you like it! It seems like a lot of ingredients, and a lot of work, but it's really not... just roll with it!

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Truvia
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 390 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12-14 paper liners.

Mix together everything except flour and blueberries.

Next, fold in flour, stirring just until incorporated. Then, sift flour and blueberries with a strainer. This will ensure the blueberries don't turn your batter blue. Then, gently fold in blueberries to the batter.
Divide batter evenly. The batter will reach the top of the liner... don't worry.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes. When 5 minutes of cooking time remain, reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F to prevent muffin tops from browning.

**You can also substitute coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, but if you do, everything must either be room temperature or tepid. Otherwise, the coconut oil will harden.

Eight Weeks...

If you've been following my blog, you probably know that my wife and I decided just before New Years that we were going to make a change in our lives. That change started eight weeks ago today! We decided instead of dieting... losing weight, and gaining weight back, that we would completely change, not only the way we cooked and prepared food, but also the way we thought about food. And that's what we did. I'm learning it's all about balance, right? What's the saying... have your cake and eat it too? I think Paula Deen always says that?

But really, it's all about balance... so you want a piece of cake? Okay! But not every day. I'm learning it's okay to indulge every now and then.

Let's talk about results: Along with changing our lifestyles, my wife and I have been watching calories, and working out on a regular basis. In eight weeks, we have collectively lost nearly 50 lbs, and how do we feel? Amazing. I could go on all day about how much better we feel... but I won't. I will say that we sleep more soundly at night. We also have more sustained energy throughout the day. I used to drag by 2:00 pm every day, but now, 99% of the time, I have sustained energy all day long.

We've received a lot of criticism from people around us because we won't eat meat that comes from McDonald's... or chicken from Purdue or Tyson, or anything that isn't free range, but I mean... life's what you make it... and this is our life. We don't even eat fast food anymore... we just don't want it. If I'm going to eat a burger, I want grass fed, grade A meat, particularly here. I still think you should watch Food Inc. It's changed our lives forever. As a matter of fact, heres the trailer.




I want to suggest something for y'all to try... it's called Amazing Grass!

This is the chocolate flavor Amazing Grass Superfood! This is a great supplement for anyone that has a busy, active lifestyle. A lot of people don't know, but I'm allergic to raw fruit (weird, I know), and drinking this twice daily gives you up to nine servings of fruits and vegetables. The taste? VERY...VERY close to chocolate milk. I mix mine with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and one packet of truvia, and it makes it very creamy, and thick, almost like s shake.

This stuff has cacao, flax seed, probiotics, antioxidants, among tons of other nutritional ingredients. I love the way it makes me feel!

Once again, thanks for all the support! I love seeing how popular this blog is becoming! I'm working on a healthy blueberry muffin recipe! Hopefully, it'll be up tomorrow!