The Best Cereal Ever...

is the one that you make yourself... unless you love cornflakes. LOL. I have no recipe for that ;-).  Since moving to Puerto Rico I have had a hard time getting the breakfast cereal that I love.  My first choice is Kashi's lean crunch, A loves it too.  My cereal has lots of protein, fiber, vitamins, etc. without a cup of sugar to go along with it.  Here I could keep buying Kashi but it costs twice as much and isn't always fresh.  So I've looked up some recipes and got the basic ingredients and decided to make my own... and I wondered why I didn't do this a long time ago. The ingredients may seem to cost a lot on the front end, but I've made about 4 batches and am only half way through my supplies.

Ingredients - Everything varies based on your preferences

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup puffed wheat

1 cup puffed rice

1/2 cup oat bran

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup flax seed

1 cup walnuts (finely chopped)

1 cup almonds (finely chopped)

1 cup pecans (finely chopped)

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 cup honey

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp. powdered ginger

1 tbsp. nutmeg

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. olive oil



Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (sin spices). Mix the olive oil, honey, and maple syrup in a small mixing bowl. Put the oil in first to keep the honey and syrup from sticking to the sides. Add the spices to the honey and syrup. mix the "wet" ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the coconut. Put in a shallow pan lined with foil (to make it easier to remove when done). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 mins. Remove and let cool. Add the cranberries and move to a container. You should store it in a cool dry place. This should make about 1 bag of cereal. Enjoy!

The Spice of Life

My favorite seasoning right now is garam masala. It is a blend of common Indian spices that add flavor to what ever it is that you’re cooking – I usually like to add it to meat, poultry or fish.

Last weekend I took whole chicken split down the back and seasoned it with garlic, onion, allspice, cayenne pepper, and garam masala. Bake covered at 300˚F for 1½ hours then uncover and turn up the heat to 375˚F for the last 30mins – basting ever 10mins or so. Everyone loved it, including hubby who is sick of baked chicken lol.

Quick Dinner Idea

This worked really well for me the other day and I was surprised how quickly and well it all came together.

Menu

Mushroom Cream Chicken

Asparagus

Couscous

Sweat Potato Fries

Mushroom Cream Chicken – Chicken breast – cut in strips - seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Sauté until cooked through, add cream of Chicken soup and water to thin out slightly.

Asparagus – lightly sautéed with garlic powder and olive oil

Couscous – follow package directions, but this only takes 5 mins to prepare (great rice substitute)

Sweet Potato Fries – bought frozen - 20mins in a preheated oven, start this when the chicken goes on and everything is done at once

It’s Colorful & Delicious. Very little prep time, very short cook time – this is my version of fast food ;)

My Mexican Night

This dish is a little labor intensive but completely worth it. There is enough to feed a small family for a few days or a large family for not much money. It’s also a good way to sneak in lots of veggies for funny eaters. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
2 cooked chicken breasts
2 Tbls vegetable oil
½ a bell pepper
1 a large tomato
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1 Tsp cumin
1 Tsp cayanne pepper
1 package of Spanish rice
1 can of dark red beans
1 can of red enchilada sauce
10 large whole wheat tortillas
2 spring onions
1 small avacado
1 lb of Mexican blend cheeses

1.) Take cooked chicken breast and string it into little pieces – this is done by running a fork along the direction of the meat until it is shredded.

2.) Dice garlic, chop bell pepper, onion and tomato – put ½ of the diced tomato aside for later

3.) Heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet, add the ingredients through the cyan pepper

4.) In a separate saucepan cook the Spanish rice per the directions

5.) Add the Spanish rice and beans to the chicken and vegetables

6.) Add the beans and ½ of the enchilada sauce simmer for a few minutes.

7.) Line the center of the tortilla with cheese and fill with the enchilada mixture – make sure to save some cheese for later. Wrap and place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan with the seam facing down.

8.) Once all the enchiladas are in the pan pour the remaining enchilada sauce over them. Then chop the spring onions and avacado then add them to the pan along with the remaining cheese and tomatoes.

9.) Bake for 15 minutes at 350˚F degrees