Granola bar anyone?

I am a big Jon and Kate Plus 8 fan, I have been watching ever since I learned about the show soon after Hayden was born.  Whenever I thought my day was hard, I could watch the show and regain perspective.  This past week, Emeril visited the show and made some amazing looking food for the fam.  Since then, I have been recreating the recipes.  I started with granola bars, because who doesn't love granola?  I made a few changes to fit what I had in my kitchen and they were delicious!  Emeril's recipe called for a combination of dates and raisins, I replaced those with dried unsweetened blueberries and then used almond extract instead of vanilla.  They were delicious and a big hit with the kiddos at the park!  (always a big compliment!)

Emeril's Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8- or 9- inch square baking pan and line with parchment. Lightly grease the parchment and set aside.

Place the oats and almonds on a large baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees F.

While the oats are toasting, combine honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat until butter is melted and honey is hot.

When oats come out of the oven, transfer to a large bowl and add hot honey, dates, raisins, brown sugar, salt, and almond extract and stir to thoroughly combine. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking pan.

Cut a piece of wax paper and place on top of the granola mixture. Using your hands, press the granola mixture very firmly into the pan. Remove wax paper and discard.

Bake the granola for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Remove from the pan by pulling up on the edges of the parchment. Using a sharp knife, cut into 10 (or desired number) even bars.

Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve.

Yield: 10 to 20 servings, depending on the size of the bars

Zucchini Nut Muffins

I started making these muffins for my husband to eat on the go in the morning.  When Hayden asked to try some, I gave him a bite and they have become his favorite treat.  This recipe makes about 30 muffins but the stay fresh for a while if you cover them with plastic wrap.

Zucchini Nut Muffins

3 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1 /12 tsp of salt

1 tsp of ground nutmeg

2 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of  cinnamon

3 cups of sugar

1 cup of vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups of grated zucchini (about 3)

1 tsp of lemon juice

1 cup of chopped pecans (omit if your little one is not ready for nuts)

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Mix dry ingredients.

2. Mix wet ingredients in mixer.  

3. Slowly add dry ingredients, fold in nuts.

4. Bake with muffin cups four about 35 to 35 min, until toothpick comes out dry.

Dips

When I started asking around about making my own baby food, one of my friends pointed me in the direction of a wonderful cookbook.  First Meals by Annabel Karmel is a great guide to feeding kiddos from 6 months to 7 years.  It has tips about successful feedings, recipes and fun ways to present food to little ones.  It really helped me get started and when I feel like we need a change now, I go back to it every few weeks. 

Here is one of my favorite dip recipes from her cookbook:

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

1 small red pepper (I used canned roasted red peppers, about 1/4 cup)

1/2 tsp of vegetable oil

1 shallot

1 ripe tomato, skinned, deseeded and chopped 

1 1/4 cup soft cream cheese

1. Roast the red pepper, peel and then roughly chop

2. Warm oil in pan, add the shallot, and saute until softened but not colored.

3. Add red pepper, tomato and cream cheese, and blend together to make a smooth cream.

Hayden LOVES to dip.  I use dips as a fun way to introduce new flavors.  Hayden especially likes the red pepper dip but I also make him avocado dip and hummus.  I usually buy my hummus at Trader Joes and there has never been a flavor he didn't love.  I started with the plain Mediterranean Style then then got into more complex flavors.  His favorite is Spicy Red Pepper.