English Muffin pizzas and homemade Granola....

I've got two recipes to share with you all today... the first is sort of a re-do on my usual mini-pizzas. I decided that instead of tortillas I would use light plain English muffins - to give it more of a "thick crust" feel.

MINI ENGLISH MUFFIN PEPPERONI PIZZA

1 lite English muffin - (90 calories)

8 Turkey Pepperoni slices

1/4 cup skim milk shredded mozzarella

3 tbsp. of tomato sauce

italian blend spices

basil

garlic salt

I throw this in my new toaster oven and it's super easy. I just use whatever tomatoes I have on hand - if you have leftover pasta sauce you can use that, or even diced tomatoes and crush them with a fork then add your spices to give it some flavor. Basically you layer your ingredients just like you would a pizza and then place in the toaster oven until you have the desired melty-ness. Yes, that's a word. 

2 mini pizzas (one whole english muffin) = 230 calories

Next up - Granola!

Now as we all know, granola is high in calories pretty much anyway you make it / buy it... I've been perusing different recipes and decided to put my own twist on it.

ALMOND RAISIN GRANOLA

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking)

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup loosely packed raisins

2 tbsp. whipped butter

1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup

splenda and cinnamon to taste

Toss all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well - since we're dealing with syrup here you may want to opt for a spoon rather than your hands. Unless you're into that kind of thing. You can choose honey over maple syrup if you don't want a maple flavor but it will add a substantial amount of calories (200 calories for 1/4 cup of honey vs. 35 calories for 1/4 cup of sugar free syrup). After ingredients are mixed place a layer onto a sprayed cookie sheet - bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Flip clusters over and bake another 8 minutes or until desired crispiness. 

This recipe makes about 11 servings = 75 calories for 1/4 cup

Way behind, Thanksgiving dinner update!

Somehow in the holiday madness I missed posting about Thanksgiving. I suppose that's what happens when you now work at a grocery store during one of the most food influential holidays of the season!

This year, I made my first Thanksgiving dinner - just for two - but I didn't skimp!

Honey brined Turkey breast - check!

Homemade orange-cranberry sauce - check!

Sweet Potato casserole - a hybrid version - check!

Cheesy, garlic mashed potatoes - check!

Green beans with bacon - check!

Sausage and Apple cornbread stuffing - check!

various rolls & of course... Pecan pie - check & check!

and I ate everything on that plate and then some!

The two items I was most impressed with were the hybrid sweet potato casserole and the stuffing. The stuffing recipe came from the Pioneer Woman blog and although I didn't follow it exactly, I did most of what she said, just skipped some steps, omitted three types of bread and opted for two, didn't use a cast iron skillet, etc. but I think mostly it was the same recipe. 

Now for the sweet potato casserole - I really went all out with the rich toppings - I took your pecan & corn flake topped casserole and added some marshmallows, some sweetened flaked coconut and some Jamaican rum cream and wow! All I'm saying is... I essentially had two desserts... but soo, soo, sooooo good.

I'm gearing up for making my first big Christmas dinner too - this is what happens when you move away from all your family and friends and you must now create your own smorgasboard instead of that of three or four house stops! Updates to follow - hopefully in a more timely fashion.