Granola bars

I have made this recipe many, many times the past couple of years.  I've adapted the original recipe to make it healthier.

cooking spray

2 cups quick cooking oats

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

¾ cup raisins/ dried cranberries/ seeds/ chopped nuts/ chocolate chips, etc.

½ cup ground flax seed

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon (depending on what kind of bar I'm making, I'll use more or less)

½ cup vegetable oil*

½ cup honey*

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

*sometimes I sub applesauce for some of the honey/oil- too much applesauce will make a cake-like/crumbly bar, so don't completely substitute.

• Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.
• Combine oats, flours, brown sugar, raisins, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.
• Combine egg, oil, honey, and vanilla in a bowl, mix well.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
• Mix well and spread into a 9x13” baking dish.
• Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.  Cool completely, then cut into squares and place in a freezer bag.

Mango black bean salsa

This was great with fish and with tortilla chips.

1 large mango, peeled, pitted, finely diced
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, finely diced
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 or 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Stir all ingredients gently, combine and refrigerate at least 10 minutes before serving.

Perfect Piecrust

Martha Stewart's recipe for 2 crusts:

2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup ice water

Lay out three-quarters of the butter pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate rest of butter.

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor.  Add refrigerated butter and pulse to combine 10 times.  Add frozen butter and pulse until mixture resembles course meal with some blueberry-size clumps.

With food processor off, add ice water all at once and immediately pulse until water is just incorporated- about 10 times.  Don't pulse so long that it forms a ball.  Squeeze a small amount of dough to see if it holds together.

Lay out two pieces of saran wrap.  Empty half the dough onto each piece.  Bring the edges of the dough together and press into disks.

Roll out disks, still wrapped in plastic, to 1/2 inch thick rounds 8 inches in diameter.  Refrigerate at least 45 minutes (and up to 2 days).  Can be frozen for 1 month.

Low-fat blueberry muffins

From Cook's Country

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 teaspoon grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.  Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.

Whisk eggs and brown sugar in medium bowl.  Gradually whisk in butter, buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until well-blended.  Fold into dry mixture (a few streaks should remain).  Toss blueberries with remaining tablespoon flour and gently fold into batter.  Bake 25-30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking.

Apple-Cranberry-Walnut pie

Ocean Spray recipe

4 cups sliced apples
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
two pie crusts (refrigerated store-bought or homemade)

Preheat oven to 325.  Line a deep pie plate with one pie crust.  Mix remaining ingredients, pour into pastry-lined plate, and cover with top crust.  Seal edges and cut several slits in top crust.  Bake 50 minutes or until golden brown.