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