Have you looked at the ingredient list of those so-called “healthy” granola bars you buy at the store? If you have, then you’ve noticed that one of the main ingredients in these little babies is high fructose corn syrup. Occasionally, there’s also some modified corn starch and partially hydrogenated soybean oil in there. While these ingredients sound OK (corn syrup, corn starch, soy… those sound OK), they are anything but.

As of late, I’ve decided to make some of our snacks myself. This way, I know exactly what’s going into them. And they really don’t take that much time to make, which is a bonus. I make a batch of the following recipe for granola bars on the weekend, and they last throughout the whole week.

Originally found at: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Playgroup-Granola-Bars/Detail.aspx. I changed the recipe a bit and love the outcome.

Homemade Granola Bars (makes 18-20 bars)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup flax seed
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 crunchy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

One of my favorite things to make is Spaghetti with Clams from Giada de Laurentiis’ Everyday Italian. Her version is not the same as the spaghetti with clam sauce that you might find at your typical Italian restaurant — the one with the heavy, thick, cream sauce with canned clams that you suspect just might give you food poisoning the next day. This one is light and fresh, and best of all, so quick and easy to make. I took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

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Spaghetti with Clams (from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis)
Serves 4

• 1 pound dried spaghetti
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 5 to 7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 pounds Manila clams, scrubbed clean
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced into small cubes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, zested, for garnish

In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta, stirring constantly in the beginning to prevent it from sticking together. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. When almost smoking, add shallots and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the clams and wine. Cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until most clams have opened.

Add 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Whisk in butter to thicken sauce slightly.

Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water – this will remove the pasta’s natural starches. Place pasta into the clam saute pan and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning.

Pour pasta into large serving bowl. Zest lemon over the dish, being carefull not to zest the white part of the lemon, which is bitter. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve immediately.

I love peaches and I love me my pie, so you can imagine this is one of my favorite types of fruit pie. This is from a cookbook I don’t like that much, save their dessert section (Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, Limited Edition).

Use your own favorite crust recipe, enough for a top and bottom crust.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca (if you can’t find this, you can use flour to thicken the filling)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4  tsp ground nutmeg
• 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled peaches or frozen unsweetened peach slices
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar (I like dark brown)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 375F.

In a large bowl stir together granulated sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add peaches. Gently toss until coated. Let mixture stand for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you’re using frozen peaches, let stand for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare and roll out your crust pastry. Line a 9-inch pie plate with half of the pastry. If you wish, prebake the bottom crust for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Stir the peach mixture and make sure it’s not too runny. If it is, add flour and stir some more, being careful to not break the peaches. Transfer over the filling mixture into the pie dish. Trim the bottom pastry to the edge of the pie plate. Cut slits in the remaining pastry and place on top and seal. Crimp edge as desired.

Place the pie plate on a baking sheet. To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie plate with foil. Bake for 25 minutes (50 minutes for frozen fruit). Remove foil, and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or more until pastry is golden and filling is bubbly.

Meanwhile, for the pecan topping, in a small saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, water, and cornstarch. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly. Stir in pecans. Once the pie is done, spread warm pecan mixture over the hot crust. Return the pie to the oven and bake for 5 minutes more. Cool pie on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

***NOTE: I always close to double the pecan topping amount. I tried it once with the amount suggested here, but it doesn’t give as much of a decadent, candied taste.

Chicken Capri

1 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese

1/2 tsp dried oregano*

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper*

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 tsp garlic powder*

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup crushed tomatoes

4 slices reduced fat mozzarella cheese (or shredded)

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta with the oregano, salt and pepper until blended.  Rub the chicken with the garlic powder.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes per side.  Place the chicken breasts, side by side, in a large baking dish and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 350.

Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup tomatoes onto each chicken breast.  Top each with 1 slice mozzarella (or equivalent shredded).  Bake for 20 minutes or until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 170F and the juices run clear.

Makes 4 servings

**I used more oregano than listed…perhaps a tsp or so, and much more black pepper..probably close to 1 T.  I still found the flavor pretty mild, so season to taste.  Also, the oregano produced a delicious result, but next time I am going to replace the oregano with basil and try that…which I think would be a wonderful compliment in this dish.**

This picture is obviously from the “cooling” step, prior to the cheese and tomatoes.   As you can see, cooking them for 12 minutes on each side produced a nice result, but I think the time could be shortened a little.  I found them to be slightly overcooked if you follow the directions exactly.  I would reduce to 8 or so minutes per side, depending on the size of the chicken breasts.

And the final, cheesy, delicious product…

I have a few criteria for mac and cheese recipes that satisfy both the snob and the picky eater in me.  Snob criterion #1: The cheese sauce base must be a bechamel sauce — there’s just no better way of producing a rich and creamy sauce, plus “bechamel” is fun to say.

Snob criterion #2: The recipe needs to have at least two different cheeses — no good reason for this rule…I just like cheese and experimenting with different combos.  The more the merrier.  Picky eater criterion #3: No tomatoes in the recipe.  Mac and cheese shouldn’t have tomatoes or else it would be called “mac and cheese and tomatoes”.  Duh.  Picky eater criterion #4: No mustard or mustard powder in the recipe — I just really don’t like mustard.

This recipe fit all four criteria and it was super easy to make.  Normally I prefer to use panko to top my mac and cheese, but I really liked the white bread topping that Martha uses.

I also used the Gruyere instead of the pecorino romano and perhaps it’s my sensitive pregnancy nose but I found it just a tad on the pungent side.  But overall, the result was a creamy on the inside, crispy on the outside, not overly strong mac and cheese with a great macaroni to cheese ratio.  I don’t know if I’m ready to dub this “crack and cheese” but it’s definitely one of the better mac and cheese recipes I’ve come across.

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Martha Stewart’s Perfect Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 12

6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano
1 pound elbow macaroni

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

2. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.

4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer’s directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

Cajeta is a creamy Mexican caramel — very similar to dulce de leche — but usually made from goat’s milk.  Considering that finding regular milk that isn’t tainted with melamine is hard enough in Hong Kong, I doubted I would be able to find goat’s milk anywhere so I settled for whole cow’s milk instead.  I’ve made caramel from scratch before but usually from a sugar/water mixture.  Making it from sweetened milk is an entirely different experience altogether.  For one, it takes a lot longer to boil down the milk to the right color and consistency.  And for another, it requires a lot more babysitting since if you’ve ever cooked down milk before, you know that boiling milk will boil over very easily.  Despite the extra work, it’s definitely my preferred way of making caramel, resulting in an incredibly rich, creamy caramel that you can pretty much snack on by itself.

Because it takes so long to make, I made the cajeta the night before and just warmed it up for a minute in the microwave before drizzling it on the apple fritters.  It still took about an hour to finish the apple fritters in the morning but the time and effort was well worth it.  Baking and then frying the batter-dipped apple slices gave it a consistency not unlike apple pie and the sweetness of cajeta was a perfect counterpoint to the tartness of the granny smith apples.  It’s definitely one of the more decadent brunch dishes that I’ve made.

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Manzanas Fritas con Cajeta
from Doña Tomas: Discovering Authentic Mexican Cooking by Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky
serves 4 to 6

Cajeta (makes 2 cups)
3 cups goat’s milk or whole cow’s milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 inch canela stick
A rounded 1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cold water

Batter
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbs confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp ground canela

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs ground canela
3 to 4 cups canola oil, for frying
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

To prepare the cajeta, place the milk, sugar, corn syrup and canela stick in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking occasionally to prevent boiling over. In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the water (this mixture will help bind the caramel). Rapidly whisk the baking soda mixture into the saucepan, removing it from the heat if it threatens to spill over. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the mixture has cooked down and turned dark brown and thick. Remove from the heat and pass through a fine-mesh strainer and keep warm.

To prepare the batter, combine the egg, milk, and salt in a bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, confectioners’ sugar, baking powder and canela. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until there are just a few lumps left. Be careful not to overmix or the batter will become tough and chewy. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the batter to relax.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with a rubber baking mat or parchment paper.  Slice the apples into 3/4″ rings (you should get 5 to 6 per apple) and arrange in one layer on the baking sheet.  In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and canela.  Sprinkle the top of each apple with a generous layer of the sugar mixture.  Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sugar melts and caramelizes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Pour the oil into a skillet to a depth of 1/2″ and place over high heat.  Bring the oil to 350°F without allowing it to smoke, adjusting the heat as necessary; this should take no longer than 10 minutes.  One by one, completely dredge the apple rings in the batter and gently submerge them in the hot oil.  Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until browned.  Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Transfer the apples to a serving platter while still hot, drizzle with the cajeta and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.  Serve immediately.

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Cooking notes
Canela is Mexican cinnamon. Regular cinnamon is made from the cassia bark, or Chinese cinnamon. You can tell it’s cassia because when sold as sticks, the bark rolls inward from both ends. Canela is much thinner, lighter in color and rolled only from one end. The taste and aroma of canela is much softer and more complex than cassia and adds a subtle citrus overtone to dishes. Use canela if you can find it but don’t sweat it if you can’t. I used a combination of canela sticks and regular ground cinnamon when I made this. The difference is very subtle but it’s there if you’re looking for it. Still, regular cinnamon works just as fine.

Oatmeal Carmelita Bars (preheat oven to350*F and grease bottom and sides of a 9”x 9”x 2” pan)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick rolled oats
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients well, then slowly pour and mix melted butter into dry ingredients to form a crumblike consistency. Press half of these crumbs into bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes.

6 oz. semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (whichever you prefer)
½ cup chopped walnuts

Sprinkle these over baked crust.

¾ cup caramel ice cream topping
3 tbsp. flour

Mix these two ingredients well. Drizzle this mixture over chocolate chips and nuts.

Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top. Bake for 15-20 more. Chill in fridge for easy cutting.

• a neutral oil (I like canola best, olive oil…not so good)
• garlic (about 1 to 2 cloves per person), minced
• eggs (1 to 2 per person), scrambled
• cooked rice (about 1/2 to 1 cup per person), day-old rice is better than freshly cooked because it’ll be drier. Be sure to break up any large clumps.
• soy sauce
• salt
• pepper

Heat a frying pan or wok over high heat and add a little bit of oil. Seriously, you only need a tiny bit — especially if you already have a nonstick pan. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and scramble them in the pan. If you’re uncertain about garlic bits in your eggs, just push the garlic off to one side while you scramble the eggs on the other side. Add the rice and mix everything together well in the pan. Add the soy sauce (start off with just a small dash — a little soy sauce really goes a long way — and continue to add more if you feel you need it. I mostly use the soy sauce because it gives the rice a nice color so I base how much to use on how it looks), salt and pepper to taste. Stir everything together well, making sure the rice gets warmed up and is evenly colored from the soy sauce, and serve. Five minutes total and you’re done. Super easy.

Cooking Notes and Variations:
In my house, fried rice is a leftover dish so I’ll also toss in whatever I meats I have laying around from the night before — chicken, pork, shrimp , crab. I will also raid my freezer for frozen veggies to toss in. Frozen veggies you can toss in the pan frozen but I still like to defrost mine just a bit to cut the cooking time. Corn and peas almost always makes it in, as well as the occasional diced carrot. You can pretty much toss in whatever you want — you’re only limited by what’s in your refrigerator. Of course you can also use uncooked ingredients — raw meats and fresh veggies — if that’s the way you roll. If you choose to do that, the only thing you need to remember is to dice them — fried rice is meant to cook quickly and the smaller the ingredients are cut, the faster they’ll cook. I usually add the meat and fresh veggies to the pan after the eggs and before the rice. Add your ingredients in order of cooking time — longest cooking time gets added first, shortest cooking time last. I add frozen veggies after I add the rice and before the soy sauce.

So there you have it — one of the very first things I ever learned to make. So everyone go out and make rice like my mom, ok? Ok.

So to help her out — and to show her that it’s not such a bad deal after all — I’m posting a few of my favorite South Beach Phase 1 recipes here to get her started. (All recipes are from The South Beach Diet Cookbook by Arthur Agatston, M.D.)

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Breakfast: Asparagus Omelets with Goat Cheese
serves 4

1 cup liquid egg substitute
4 eggs
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 Tbs. chopped scallions
2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbs. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
1/4 cup water
4 Tbs. crumbled reduced-fat goat cheese
chives, for garnish

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg substitute, eggs, and milk. Stir in the scallions, thyme, parsley, pepper and salt. Place the asparagus and water in a large microwaveable bowl. Cover with vented plastic wrap and microwave on high for 4 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Stop and stir after 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Pour one-quarter of the egg mixture into the skillet, allowing it to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottom just begins to set. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs. of the cheese. Add one-quarter of the asparagus pieces. cook for 5 minutes or until the eggs are almost set. Using a large spatula, fold the omelet in half. Cook for 3 minutes or until the omelet is golden and the cheese is melted. Turn onto a plate and keep warm. Coat the skillet with cooking spray and repeat process to make 3 more omelets. Garnish with chives.

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Snack: California Wrap
makes 1 wrap

1 leaf red or green lettuce
1 slice turkey breast
1 slice ham
1 thin slice tomato
1 thin slice avocado
1 tsp. lime juice
1 leaf watercress or arugula
1 Tbs. sugar-free Ranch dressing (I usually used hummus instead)

Fan the lettuce leaf on a plate. Top with the turkey, ham and tomato. In a small bowl, combine the avocado and lime juice, then spoon onto the tomato. Top with the watercress or arugula and dressing. Roll up and secure with a wooden pick. (This is a great take-away snack. prepare it the night before and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to keep it fresh for the next day.)

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Salad: Balsamic Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
makes 4 servings

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. flaxseed oil (not necessary but is a really good source of Omega-3. If you don’t use it, just increase the amount of olive oil that you use instead)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
2 large red bell peppers, halved and seeded
2 large tomatoes, cute into 1/2″-thick slices
2 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 4 slices
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned

To roast the bell peppers (if you don’t have time to raost fresh peppers, you can use jarred roasted peppers instead):
Preheat the broiler. Coat a broiler-pan rack with cooking spray. Place the bell peppers, skin side up , on the prepared rack. Broil, without turning, for 10 minutes, or until the skins are blackened and blistered in spots. (You can also roast whole bell peppers over a gas flame on your stove. Just be careful holding them and rotate them when the skin begins to char.) Place the peppers ina paper bag and seal. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin from the peppers and discard. Cut the peppers into 1/2″-wide strips.

In a cup, whisk together the vinegar, oils, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Arrange the tomato slices on a platter. Place the cheese slices over the tomatoes. Scatter the pepper strips on top and sprinkle with the basil. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Let stand for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

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Side Dishes and Accompaniments: Cheesy Baked Artichokes
makes 4 servings

2 packages (9 ounces each) frozen artichoke hearts
1 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. ground pecans
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Coat a 9″ glass pie plate with cooking spray.  Place the artichokes in a clander and rinse well with cold water to separate.  Drain well, then pat dry with paper towels.  Place in the prepared pie plate and sprinkle with the lemon juice.  In a small bowl combine the pecans, cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic and oil.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the artichokes.  Bake for 15 minutes or until the topping is golden.

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Vegetarian Entree: Baked Portobello Caps with Melted Goat Cheese
makes 4 servings

1 cup low-sugar spaghetti sauce
4 large portobello mushroom caps
1 package (4 ounces) reduced-fat goat cheese, cut into 4 pieces
2 Tbs. pine nuts, finely chopped
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
sprig of basil for garnish

Preheat the over to 375ºF. Spread the sauce in the bottom of a 9″x9″ baking dish. Arrange the mushroom caps, gill side up, on top. Place a piece of goat cheese on each mushroom. Sprinkle evenly with the pine nuts. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Top with the chopped basil. Garnish with the basil sprig. (Serve with a fresh green salad for dinner or lunch)

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Fish: Bombay-Style Sole
makes 4 servings

1 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1 tsp. curry poweder
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground paprika
1 tsp. dried cilantro
1 1/2 lbs. fillet of sole, skinned
salt
ground black pepper

In a blender or food processor, combine the yogurt, curry powder, cardamom, paprika, and cilantro. Process to blend. (You can also use this marinade for boneless, skinless chicken breasts — just increase the cooking time to 20 minutes.)

Place the sole in a rectangular baking dish. Cover with the yogurt mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, turning the fillets about every 30 minutes. Preheat the over to 350ºF. Cook the sole for 10 minutes, or until it flakes easily. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Dessert: Chilled Espresso Custard
makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups 1% milk
2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbs. sugar substitute (Splenda works best)
2 tsp. espresso powder or instant decaffeinated coffee
1 tsp. vanilla extract
ground cinnamon, for garnish

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar substitute, espresso powder or coffee, and vanilla until well-blended. Pour into four 6-ounce custard cups or ramekins and place in a 10″ skillet.

Fill the skillet with water to 1/2″ from the tops of the custard cups. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the cups from the skillet, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the pudding (to prevent a skin from forming) and refrigerate for 3 hours or until chilled. Garnish with the cinnamon.

Chili con Queso dip

Serve with tortilla chips

1 pkg. Velveeta Mild Mexican Cheese
2 cans chili (I like Hormel mild with beans)

Cut Velveeta into chunks and mix in chili.  Mix in large ovenproof bowl, and nuke for as long as it takes to melt everything together.  Can be reheated for further eating pleasure.  Serve with beer, cokes, and other unhealthy stuff.