Olive Oil & Granola Love Fest

olive oil.....

 

You do not need to be a hippie to enjoy this yummy granola. But after just one bite don't be surprised if the word "grooooovy" slips past your lips. This is one delicious breakfast cereal that will delight even the pickiest of eaters. Olive Oil Granola is a staple in our kitchen. We use it for everything from yogurt fun, to topping our  ice cream sundaes. 

It is especially a great treat for people who must swear off gluten and/or dairy. But don’t let that scare you, as this cruncher has converted many a die-hard junk cereal fans into healthier breakfast eaters. If you want less sweet skip the sugar; it's delicious either way.  

If you really want to be in good morning heaven, pour a little of your cold homemade almond milk over the top.... and oh baby!!!

Ingredients:

6     cups rolled oats

1½  cup chopped pecans or almonds

¼    cup cashews or sunflower seeds

1     cup dried apples (optional)

1     cup corn flakes

½    cup krispy rice cereal

1½  cup shredded coconut

½    cup dark brown sugar (optional)

½    cup honey

½    cup mild tasting extra virgin olive oil

1     tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1½  teaspoons sea salt

1     cup craisins

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F °

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, apples, cereals, coconut, and brown sugar.

3. In a small saucepan add honey, olive oil, vanilla and salt. Heat over a medium flame until very hot, but not boiling.

4. Evenly pour hot honey mixture over dry mixture, and toss to combine. 

5. Divide mixture and fold out onto 2 large sheet pans (jelly roll). Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, turning with a spatula every 20-30 minutes to achieve an even color.

6. Cool for 20- minutes and transfer into a large bowl. Add craisins, and blend until evenly distributed.

This is a very large batch and stores well in mason jars or Ziploc bags.

Dave’s Epic Vegan Sammy ( V*)

I once won an award from the Taste of Home Magazine for a sandwich I make for my family and friends all of the time. My hubby now makes a vegan version which is to die for. By Implementing the Vitamin C boost of lemon essential oil, this flavorful meal (in between bread slices) can actually brighten your mood!

Ingredients:

4 slices hearty grain bread- Toasted Bread (we love Dave’s Killer bread)

1 whole avocado

1 drop lemon essential oil (optional)

½ red onion, thinly sliced

1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tomato, thinly sliced

Alfalfa sprouts

Mojo Picon sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Toast Bread and set aside.

2. Slice avocado and remove the pit. In a small bowl, gently blend avocado, essential oil, salt and pepper to taste.

3. Spread avocado blend on both slices of bread and assemble remaining veggies in the order listed.

4. Lightly salt and pepper over sprouts, place a tablespoon of Mojo sauce of sprouts. Place slice of bread on top and slice in half.

*Vegan

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa Verde V* GF**

The perfect match for Garlic & Lime Vegan Tostadas

I love shopping at a small Mexican Market near my home. I walked in today and noticed that everything had changed inside and quickly learned that they were under new management. Right in front of my eyes was their amazing meat showcase. The man behind the case wasted no time in trying to tempt me into buying some of their tantalizing marinated thinly sliced beef (which is why I usually go there in the first place). Just as I was starting to salivate, there it was …. The biggest ugliest cow head, or Cabeza I have ever seen in my life! Actually, I can’t say that I have ever seen just the head of a cow before, ever…eeeeek. He said, “oh, Senoria, you must try it, it’s delicious”. To which I replied, “he’s looking at me, and I can’t eat anything that is looking at me” “oh, no… he is not looking at you, he winking at you”. At that point, I pulled out the Vegan card and kindly asked…”where’s the tomatillos?” To which I bought a pound, headed home and made this sauce …..

Save a cow head today and make this tangy and tasty Tomatillo Salsa Verde instead…

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

1 pound tomatillos, husked

½ jalapeno pepper, seeds and all

4-8 cloves garlic (the more the better)

½ lime, squeezed

½ avocado

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Place tomatillos in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat for about 10 minutes.

2. Drain water, and carefully place tomatillos inside a blender with remaining ingredients. Place cover on blender and pulse about 4-6 times. Once pulsed, turn blender on high speed until ingredients are smooth and creamy

*Vegan

**Gluten Free

Garlic and Lime Vegan Tostadas

Garlic and Lime Vegan Tostadas

Now, let me get one thing straight.... I am not a Vegan.... Well kind of... I guess I am what I like to call a temporary Vegan. I always said that I would be a vegan except for the fact that I love the taste of meat and cheese. But for health reasons and as hubby and I are rounding a corner, & pushing the big 30, 40, or 50 (I will let you guess), we are ... dare I say.. eating an all veggie diet. And I mean ALL VEGGIE. (except for when I cheat and eat prepackaged pecan snack crackers).... Did I just say that out loud?

You got it; we are drinking green smoothies in the morning, and mixing and matching lots of vegetables all day long. The truth is that we do seem to have more energy. So, here comes the shocker.... Are you sitting down?

I have not had one cookie, slice of cake, pie, or sweetbread for three weeks. Yes, ME the queen of dessert, the princess of pie , the "let's have cake for breakfast"....yes, the woman who would rather have dessert than air, is not eating dessert!!! I can't believe I am still alive for heaven's sakes!!! What do I do? I eat fruit instead. I know, I know, I always said that fruit is not dessert. But for me at the moment it temporarily is.

At this point you must be thinking ...."eating nothing but Veggies seems crazy", but if hubby and I can do it, than you can at least share in our feast and try a Tostada or two. And the next thing you know you will be drinking spinach for breakfast.

But for heaven saves, whatever you do, don't go overboard and give up dessert.

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups fresh or frozen corn

1 sweet onion finely minced

1 small red and green pepper, seeded and diced

2 heads garlic, unpeeled

Carne Asada Seasoning to taste

White pepper, to taste

3 limes

3-4 baked potatoes, skins removed and cubed

½ head cabbage, thinly sliced

½ Bunch cilantro leaves chopped

2 ripe avocados, sliced

2-3 roma tomatoes, diced

Preparation:

1. Place olive oil, corn, ½ of the onion, and red and green peppers in a large pan and fry until mixture begins to brown about (10-15 minutes).

2. Stir in minced garlic and the juice of 1 lime and begin adding the carne asada salt, and white pepper to taste. Turn heat to off position and cover

3. In a small bowl, mix minced onion, cilantro, and juice of ½ lime together.

4. Starting with a corn tortilla on the bottom, place a spoonful of potatoes, sliced avocados, corn mixture, cabbage, cilantro mixture. Top with tomatoes, and serve with ¼ lime wedges.