Easy Granola Bars

This basic granola bar recipe can easily be modified to fit your tastes. Add nuts, substitute the raisins with other dried fruit, add different grains, the sky is the limit with these granola bars. Shoot! Add some chocolate chips! Yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup wheat germ

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup honey

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Mini Philly Cheesesteaks

Miniaturized sandwiches don't usually float my boat, or submarine, as they're almost always not as good as the full-sized versions, but these mini Philly cheesesteaks really captured everything I love about the classic.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter, or as needed

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or as needed

• 1 cup cold milk

• 2 ounces shredded provolone cheese, or more to taste

• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

• salt to taste

• 1 (12 ounce) skirt steak

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided, or as needed

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/3 cup diced onion

• 1/3 cup diced sweet peppers

• 2 baguettes, or as needed, cut into 48 1/2-inch thick slices

• 1/4 cup shredded provolone cheese, or as needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with aluminum foil.

2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk flour into hot butter and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is pale and flour taste cooks off, about 1 minute. Pour milk into flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is hot and thickened, 3 to 6 minutes. Add 2 ounces provolone cheese, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and salt; stir until cheese is completely melted. Remove from heat.

3. Season steak all over with salt and ground black pepper.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook steak in hot oil, turning occasionally, until meat is slightly firm and pink on the inside, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate.

5. Return skillet to heat and pour water into the skillet; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Pour liquid from the skillet over steak. Cool steak to room temperature; dice meat and place meat and accumulated juices from the plate into a large bowl.

6. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; saute onion and peppers in hot oil until softened and slightly translucent, about 5 minutes.

7. Stir peppers and onions mixture into diced meat; season with salt and pepper.

8. Spread bread slices out on prepared baking sheets and drizzle remaining olive oil over the top. Turn slices over so that the oiled-side is facing down. Spread a thick layer of cheese mixture onto each slice. Spoon meat mixture over cheese. Sprinkle provolone cheese over the top of each slice.

9. Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cheese is melted, 12 to 15 minutes.

Orange Pumpkin Bread

You can try this moist loaf with an orange cream spread, butter, or leave plain. For a variation, try substituting dates for the raisins.

Ingredients

• 1 large orange

• 1/3 cup butter, softened

• 1 1/3 cups white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup canned pumpkin

• 1/3 cup water

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/2 cup chopped raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. Cut orange into wedges, and remove seeds. Place orange, peel and all, in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the pumpkin, water, and the ground orange. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir into batter just until moistened. Stir in nuts and raisins. Spoon into the prepared loaf pan.

4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

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Image by Rebecca Siegel

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Stella's Crock Pot Chicken Noodles

Hi.  John Morgan here.  You might have noticed a lack of posts on our website and social media over the past couple of weeks.  On Friday, September 14, my mother, Stella Morgan, passed away after complications following a medical procedure a week earlier.

If you didn’t know my mom, you might think Corena’s Kitchen would be a weird place to share this news.  However, for those of you who knew her, this is the perfect place.  She loved to cook!  During her funeral service, my uncle shared fond memories of family gatherings where mom would cook enough food to feed a small army.

One of mom’s signature dishes that was passed down through our family is homemade chicken noodles.  She would fix a five gallon kettle of them for Thanksgiving!  However, sometimes when it was just a few people over for dinner, she would fix a crock pot version using Reames brand frozen noodles.  This was faster than going to the trouble of making noodles from scratch.  In honor of mom, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 Chicken Breasts

• 2 Cans, Cream of Chicken Soup

• 1 Box, Chicken Broth

• 1 Stick of Butter, melted

• Pepper, to taste

• 24 oz, Frozen Reames Egg Noodles

Instructions

1. Combine chicken, cream of chicken soup, broth, butter, and pepper in a crock pot.  Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low in a crock pot.

2. Take it out so it can cool.  Then cut into pieces.

3. Put 24 oz of frozen Reames Egg Noodles in the crock pot after removing the chicken.

4. Add chicken back in.

5. Continue cooking 1 hour on high or 2 on low.  Stirring every 15 minutes away from the sides and bottom.

6. Add up to 2 more cups of liquid (broth or chicken bouillon) if needed.

Breakfast Pies

These tasty breakfast pies can be made ahead of time, and microwaved as needed. Kids love them, and they are finger food for the little ones on their way to school. The big guys love them too. Fix hash browns and gravy as side dishes. It will be a huge hit!

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound breakfast sausage
• 1/8 cup minced onion
• 1/8 cup minced green bell pepper
• 1 (12 ounce) can refrigerated biscuit dough
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat, combine sausage, onion and green pepper. Cook until sausage is evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
3. Separate the dough into 10 individual biscuits. Flatten each biscuit out, then line the bottom and sides of 10 muffin cups. Evenly distribute sausage mixture between the cups. Mix together the eggs and milk, and divide between the cups. Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until filling is set.

No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

Today is my birthday, and I love chocolate.  .... Who doesn't?!  Check out this amazing recipe.  This isn't a hint or anything to drop off sweets at my office.  Really.

-John Morgan, Web Editor  (1334 Second Street, Mason)    ;-)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions

1. Grease a 9x9 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in the oats. Cook over low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until ingredients are well blended. Press half of mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Reserve the other half for topping.
3. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust in the pan, and spread evenly with a knife or the back of a spoon.
4. Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate layer, pressing in gently. Cover, and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before cutting into bars.