Add this to your favorite yogurt and it will make you want to leap out of bed for the shear pleasure of this start to your day.

One little, teeny, weeny promise you have to make though, is that you absolutely can NOT go skimping on the honey and oil.  Promise?  Promise!? Okay, then here it is:

3/4 cup canola oil
2 cups natural honey
2 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. 2 oz. box old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

6 oz. almonds

8 oz. walnuts OR if you are feeling amazingly decadent make that 8 oz. macadamia nuts instead
8 oz. cashews
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 300-deg F
Heat oil, honey and vanilla until warm

Meanwhile, in a large aluminum roasting pan (17 x 12 x 2) stir oats, seeds, nuts and coconut together. (NOTE: Raisins and cranberries are added at the very end.)  Add warmed honey mixture and mix until evenly coated.

Bake for 1 hour.  Stir every 15 minutes with a fork or wooden spoon.  During the last 15 minutes add the raisins and cranberries or cherries.

Remove from oven. Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the fridge.  I store any extra that I won’t be eating within the week in quart size bags in the freezer indefinitely.

The best Key Lime Pie I ever ate came from The Cake Box Bakery in Marathon, Florida.  We were living  south of Miami and had spent the day on Key West.  One time we stopped mid-way down the Keys and camped on the beach on Long Key. By morning we had a river running through our tent and we were encased in huge sleeping bag sponges, but I digress.  Anyway, on the drive home from Key West, we stopped and bought a Key Lime Pie.  Cake Box Bakery included their business card with the recipe on the back.  I’ve kept it all these years.

It is Andrew’s favorite dessert and the easiest thing you’ll ever make!  For his birthday he wants Key Lime Pie, for an anniversary he wants a Key Lime Pie; for Father’s Day he wants a Key Lime Pie; for; well, you get the idea.  When we moved to Oregon, the real Key Lime juice was not available but now you can get it most anywhere.

With a ready-made graham cracker crust, a can of condensed milk, a bottle of Key Lime juice, and a few eggs, you are prepared.  The recipe doesn’t even call for baking it.  The lime juice thickens the milk and eggs.   But I do bake it for about 10-15 minutes at 350º just to be sure.  And I only use 2 egg yolks not 4 and I never bother with the meringue because Andrew prefers it without (but really you should).

Every Friday is our pizza night and I usually make it.  Over the course of nine years I have pretty well perfected the technique and since I  always keep the ingredients on hand it makes for a pretty easy dinner.  The one thing that makes the pizza even better is to eat it with a movie.  That is our Friday night ritual and the kids love it.   And if truth be told Eric and I really look forward to it too.  We seldom deviate from it.  If we happen to have Friday night guests they too are subject to pizza.  Even in the summer when it is really too hot to have the oven on, we grill it.

The dough is really simple but I have discovered that if I make it in the morning, not adding all the flour, and let it rise forgotten in some corner until dinner time, then the dough is not too tough and puffs up very nicely when it hits the oven.

So here is the dough recipe:

1 1/2c. flour (you will add more later)

1 Tbsp. yeast

11/2 t. salt

1c. warm water

Mix all the ingredients together and let stand several hours.  When you are ready to make your pizza, you will need to mix in enough flour, about 11/2 more cups, to make a dough.  Knead and roll out to fit your pan.  I use a pizza stone which works beautifully.  I also pour olive oil and cornmeal on the bottom of the stone for added texture, flavor, and to keep the pizza from sticking.

For the sauce I just use a can of tomato sauce and add a bit of sugar, some salt, and garlic and it simmer a bit on the stove top.

The toppings are of course the fun part.  Of late we have been loving fresh mozzarella cheese with clipped herbs from the garden, oregano, chives, thyme, and basil.  The basil has to be added after baking the pizza or it turns black.

You can't go wrong with Lindsey's suggestions for simple sides for last minute entertaining. Who doesn't love this combo?

Another complete menu from one of our fabulous cooking friends! Here’s what she has to say about creating a meal for last minute guests:

“This is not so much of a recipe as it is a menu.  It is my absolute favorite go-to on busy days, especially if I think people might be dropping in for dinner.  It is also excellent for an after church meal, and works great for any season.”

Recipes: Roast dinner

From: Lindsey
1. Throw a roast in the crock pot with 4 cloves of minces garlic and some soy sauce.  Turn on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
2. Set the table.
3. Do your makeup, clean the house, carpool, get the oil changed, nurse the baby, water the lawn, feed the dog, run errands…
4. While running errands, stop by the store and pick up a pound of sharp white cheddar, grapes (or whatever fruit is in season), a bottle of Cabernet, and your favorite hearty bread.
5. When you get home, open the wine, slice the cheese, wash the grapes, and throw it all on the table with some salad greens and balsamic vinaigrette (1/4 C olive oil, 1/2 C balsamic vinegar, 1 T lemon pepper, 2 T brown sugar).  We like to serve the meat juices in small ramekins for dipping the meat in.

Comfort food kicked up a notch with lots of flavor!

This is a family favorite of Sarah Rose, who says it’s a go to meal for her sister-in-law and mother too. It reminds me very much of the soup our Granny would make every time we came to visit. It would be waiting on the stove with a bowl of tortilla chips nearby for all 9 of us to happily devour after the long car ride. It is one of the best comfort foods I know.

Recipe: White Chicken Chili

From: Sarah Rose
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 med onion, chopped
1 T. oil
1 can (15.5 oz) white hominy, drained
1 can (15 oz.) white beans
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz. each) chopped green chilies
1 t. garlic salt
1 t. dried basil
1 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. white pepper
1/8- 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (I leave this out, for the kids)
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup half & half
2 T. minced cilantro, divided
In a large saucepan, saute the chicken and onion in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the hominy, beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the sour cream, half and half and 1 T. cilantro. Garnish with remaining cilantro. Yield: 6 servings.

Shari shares with us her full menu for a quick and healthy weeknight meal, as well as her fabulous, generational knowledge on the virtues of saffron and old- fashioned savory roasting pans! She, like all our family back east, is an incredible cook who knows how to make everything with perfection.

Recipes: Roast Chicken Breasts, Grilled Rainbow Peppers and Blue Cheese Dressing

From: Shari

I had to give second thoughts as to what my “go to” “standby” dinner is…….it doesn’t sound too exciting to be honest. I always have bone in chicken breasts on hand  because they are healthy and just about any vegetable or potato can go with them.

That being said, I do have my standards for baked chicken breasts, they must be drizzled in EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper….and ta da! …..saffron.  When Lola was your Grandmother and Mary, Ethel, and Helen are your Moms and Aunts…….you know about the virtues of saffron. Not only that, they keep you supplied with the precious stuff.

And here is the final touch for my baked chicken– it’s always done in a Savory roaster– if you don’t know about them….Google.  They are not just any roaster, actually they ARE your Mother’s roast pan. At this point in my life, with decreased population in my house, I use my Savory, Jr. the most and they do seem to be hard to find…..though they can  be hunted down– mostly as second hand stores or estate sales.  They say the secret is the hollowed out bottom. All I know is that they do a great job…..roast faster and yield lots of juice.  They come in 3 or 4 sizes.  Check e-bay….though you usually can find them in Lancaster County much cheaper.

So, all that being said, this is what I do:

Roast Chicken Breasts

Drizzle with EVOO
Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle each breast with a few threads of saffron.

Bake covered at 350 about 45 min…….and I ALWAYS bake mine in a Savory Roaster.  Because of the saffron……the result will be golden brown with beautiful amber colored juices.

This night I served with some left over rice from night before and a new favorite which is a recipe from the March Southern Living.

Grilled Rainbow Peppers

Quarter number of peppers (mix of red, orange and yellow) you intend to prepare.  Coat with vegetable cooking spray.  Grill on a 350-400 degree heated gas grill…..covered….five minutes on each side or until tender.  Arrange cut sides up on plate or serving platter.  Whisk together 3 T. EVOO, 2 T. balsamic vinegar and 1 T. brown sugar and drizzle over peppers.  Sprinkle with crumbled feta or goat cheese, torn basil leaves and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

I served this with a salad……I include that in this meal plan because of the dressing that I always have on hand.  Long ago, my friend shared her Mom’s Blue Cheese Dressing recipe with me…..it’s a staple in this house…….we know it’s one of the more high fat dressings but we use it sparingly.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/4 lb. blue cheese, crumbled (I use a bit more)
1 qt. mayonnaise
6 oz. sour cream
1/3 can evaporated milk (about 4 0z)
1/4 c. vinegar
1 heaping t. garlic powder

Blend and refrigerate!
Note:  you’ll have plenty to share…..makes a nice gift…but if you want to hang on to all of it……it keeps for a long time in the frig.

Enjoy!!

Here is the first dinner in a hurry recipe.  Submitted by Jackie who says this dish is great for weeknights because prep time is less than 10 minutes!

Recipe: Artichoke Chicken
From: Jackie

1 c. sour cream
1 c. mayo
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. green onion
1 can artichoke hearts
6 chicken breasts, thawed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop artichoke hearts and combine with sour cream, mayo, cheese and green onion. Lay chicken breasts in casserole dish and cover with sour cream mixture. Bake for 1 hour. Serve a la carte or over rice.

To equate home made mayonnaise a.k.a. aioli with store bought mayo is like comparing home baked fresh out of the oven bread with the store bought sandwich bread in the plastic bag at your local grocer.

I read My Life in France and was very intrigued by Julia Child’s obsession with mayonnaise.  She just kept talking about and perfecting her recipes for mayonnaise to the point I wanted to give it a try too.

But… before I began I wanted to research the whole oil/ egg emulsion process.  So I read up on it in On Food and Cooking and then I was nervous: “Because mayonnaise is chock-full of oil, so much so that the droplets press up against each other, its emulsion is easily damaged by extremes of cold, heat, and agitation…”  I am not much into following a recipe exactly so that had me worried.  And then the book went on to tell of critical things like, “the ratio of oil to water: there must be enough of the continuous phase for the growing population of oil droplets to fit into…”

If a recipe is too long, my eyes glaze over and I begin to skim it wondering where I can cut corners, omit silly details, just get the thing made.

But then I begin to think surely this is not as big a deal as all that and besides what did I have to lose?  A couple eggs and a bit of oil.  So, if you are like me, the recipe is in red, proceed as follows and you will be done in 5 minutes- max.

So here are the things I learned to make foolproof mayonnaise a.k.a aioli:

Ingredients should be at room temperatures (yes they should, so go do something else until they are)

You can use any kind of oil but unrefined extra virgin olive oil is more apt to separate after you’ve made the mayonnaise.  I used olive oil and it worked fine!

When the recipe says add the oil slowly they mean it, don’t dump it in and hope to speed up the process; a few extra minutes are worth the success.

The recipe:  Do you promise to follow the directions??  Promise!? OK, then proceed as follows:

1/2 t dry mustard               1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 T lemon juice                   3 cloves garlic- small is good or just 1 large clove

1/2 t salt                                 1 C olive oil

All at room temperature.  Put the mustard, whole egg and yolk, lemon juice, garlic (whole cloves) and salt and 1/4 C of olive oil  in food processor with metal blade so the garlic gets chopped to bits.  Process for 30 seconds.  Then with the food processor running slowly, slowly, in a thin steady stream pour in the remaining 3/4 cup of oil.  Watch it and when it emulsifies (thickens up) stop.  The end.  That’s it.  Now go give it a whirl!

Now, if any of you make this and use a blender instead of a food processor, I would love for you to give any instructions in the comments.  I am assuming it would be the same.

This mayonnaise was so good I ate spoonfuls of it before dinner and then slathered it all over our French bread sliced lengthwise and stuck sliced deli ham on one half of the  bread and jarlsberg cheese on the other half, then broiled the sandwich.  Delicious!