Oatmeal Addiction

Life can be simple one minute and crazy "busy" the next. It is spring break for my daughter. This whole Friday and Saturday has been spent on getting her ready to go to my Sisters' for the whole week. . .sniffle. . .and so we went shopping all Friday evening and then Saturday was "the trip". 2 hours down, several hours visiting, and 2 hours back. I have been too exhausted to get to blog and I feel terrible. There seems to be an addiction here. Life is not complete until blogging has been achieved. When did this become a "must do" on my list of daily things?

I decided that I must have a strange addiction to oatmeal for one simple reason. I made this granola and this is my lunch everyday for the last 2 weeks. The recipe takes 8 cups of oatmeal along with anything that your heart desires for extras. The granola also has wheat germ and bran flakes along with honey and brown sugar. The flavor was totally delicious over vanilla yogurt or by itself. I actually ate this whole batch of granola, minus 3/4 of a cup due to sharing with hubby, and have been craving it since. Okay, it has only been 2 days without my granola but I am now ready to make more! This time I am NOT going to stir the granola so much in the oven because I would like clusters and I am thinking that dried cherries and blueberries are the way to go along with pumpkin seeds, sun flower seeds, pecans, peanuts, and yogurt covered raisins. Last time I used dried cherries and apricots and I didn't enjoy the apricots as much as I thought I would. Going to the bulk section of the grocery store sure makes the cost of putting this recipe together inexpensive. I think I spent $6 total and filled 2 gallon sized ziploc bags full of granola. I found this recipe from a friend that goes by grizzlybear =).

Beautiful, Delicious Granola
Ingredients:

8 cups uncooked oatmeal
3 cups corn flakes or bran flakes
1 cup wheat germ
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
½ - 1 tsp. cloves & nutmeg mixed
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup canola oil
½ - ¾ cup honey
1 ½ cups water

Directions:

Mix all of the above ingredients in a very large baking pan so it can be spread out. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Add to the mix: 4 cups of nuts (raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, chopped walnuts) and bake another 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add: 3 cups of dried fruit (raisins, craisins; apricots, candied papaya, candied pineapple – diced into small bits).

As the mix cools, stir it to be sure that the entire mix is cooled and dried out. Store in airtight container. Serve with yogurt.

Texas Tortilla Soup

The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather and alison oresman has this Texas Tortilla Soup that is out of this world! Okay, I bought avocados at Costco. . .dumb me. . .they ALL got ripe at the same time so I tried to make the slices extra thick for the garnish (WHICH the recipe DOES call for =D, only thin slices) and I figured it would be a great way to use up a couple of avocados, but if you make this soup. . .don't do it! To hard to cut up with a spoon. The recipe called for 3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts but I went and bought a garlic seasoned rotisserie chicken. I actually ate one of the legs off of it before I got to the shredding of the chicken. It used to bug the heck out of me that my grandma would stick her fingers in everything and taste (not a spoon. . .her fingers) before assembling whatever she was making and here I am ripping the 'ol chicken leg off and munching. I almost feel so guilty! I haven't blogged in days because I am having a little trauma with my teenage, only child, daughter and I just can't concentrate. She is such a sweetheart but high school can be rough and I guess I am a little over protective. What Mom isn't, right? So that is why I have been away for a few days. . .that and my chirping kitty. She wandered into our lives on a cold, stormy, rainy night as a kitten with no age and starving. She is now a no age, plump kitty and I made an appointment to get her fixed and nature kicked in and now I have to wait a month. Let's just say she does this chirping thing NON-STOP for the last two weeks and I am seriously thinking about resorting to a squirt bottle if she doesn't at least keep it to 15 minute increments instead of hours on end. She is adorable but OMG!

Okay, back to this awesome SOUP! I used my homemade stock but purchased chicken stock will work almost as well. I am so proud of myself for making my own stock that I just had to say that =D. The dried ancho chile is simmered in the stock before pureeing and when I made this soup, I deseeded the whole chili before pureeing. Next time, I will leave some of the seeds so that there is at least minimal heat. This soup is gorgeous because the garnishes have so much color and added flavor. . .which this soup doesn't need but only increases the attraction.

Texas Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

8 plum tomatoes

4 T. olive oil

1 Medium-size yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 t. chili powder

2 t. ground cumin

4 c. chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 dried ancho chile pepper

1 (15-ounce) can peeled tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts

3 ears fresh corn or 1 (8-ounce) package frozen corn (optional but oh so worth it)

Garnishes:

2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced

Tortilla chips or strips

2 plum tomatoes, diced

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Sour Cream (optional)

Directions:

To Make the Soup: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the tomatoes in half. Spread 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on a baking sheet or pizza pan and arrange the tomatoes on top, skin side up. Drizzle the tomatoes with another 1 tablespoon of the olive oil Roast the tomatoes for 25 to 35 minutes, until the skins wrinkle and the tomatoes are slightly brown around the edges.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed, 4-quart soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and saute about 5 minutes, until the vegetables become soft. Stir in the chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and ancho chile. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, decrease the heat, and simmer about 15 minutes, until the ancho chile softens. Remove the chile from the soup and pull off and discard the stem. Cut the chile in half and discard the seeds, if desired. (Leaving the seeds in makes for a spicier soup.) Place the softened chile, the canned tomatoes with their juices, and the roasted tomatoes (including as much of the juices and browned tomato bits as possible) in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Puree the chile-tomato mixture about 1 minute. Transfer the chile-tomato mixture to the soup and continue simmering, covered, about 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with the cooked chicken, If using fresh cor,m, cut the kernels from the cobs, add the corn to the soup, and simmer for 5 minutes.

To Garnish the Soup: Ladle the soup into medium bowls. Lean 3 to 4 slices of avocado against the edge of each bowl, partially sticking out of the soup. Arrange the tortilla chips or strips in a similar way. Sprinkle each bowl with a handful of diced tomatoes, some cilantro, and 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Top with a spoonful of sour cream. Serve immediately.