Great granola

I made a huge batch of granola last week, after my youngest son saw a similar recipe on television and was intrigued. I loved the idea because you can control sugar and fat in homemade granola, a product that is notoriously high in both in store-bought versions. And it made the house smell like childhood! The aroma was a cross between oatmeal cookies and pecan pie -- yum!

What you'll need:

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup of nuts (I used a combination of pecans and sliced almonds)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2-3 tablespoons of honey
1/2 cup of raisins

I had my best helper on hand for mixing and stirring.

Blend all the ingredients in a large bowl, except for the raisins.

Use two sheet pans and spray them lightly with non-stick spray. Divide the granola between the pans and bake for an hour to 75 minutes at 300 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes. (Yes, like making Chex Mix!)

Here's what it looks like after baking...

Let the granola cool completely, then add the raisins.

This recipe makes about 5 cups of granola, or about 10 half-cup servings. Miles enjoyed this with milk, but it could also be added to fruit or yogurt. Adjust the ingredients to your liking -- you could add dates, currants, white raisins or other ingredients. Enjoy!

Holbert's special hotdogs

Ronnie Holbert of Morristown, TN offered this fun recipe that he and his wife enjoy. It’s a different twist on the Monte Cristo sandwich -- a fried ham and cheese sandwich that typically is made with Swiss cheese. The recipe varies regionally and sometimes is made from French toast, with jam or jelly spread inside. Here is Holbert’s interpretation, with beef hotdogs.

Holbert’s “Monty Cristo” Hotdog

2 beef wieners
1 1/2 hotdog buns
3-4 slices Swiss cheese
Strawberry jelly

Slice the wieners lengthwise, but not in two. Place the wieners, cut side down, on a non-stick griddle and cook to desired doneness. Flip the wieners so the cut side is facing up. Place Swiss cheese slices on the wieners. Open hotdog buns and place face down on griddle; cook until toasted. Spread the grilled side of the buns with strawberry jam. Once the cheese has melted on the wieners, place them on top of the strawberry jelly-covered hotdog buns. This makes 1 serving, to be eaten with a fork.

Ronnie recommends Oscar Meyer Bun Length beef wieners or Hebrew National brand beef wieners. He also recently tried a local Polish sausage and aims to use it in this recipe in the future.

Ronnie also says he prefers strawberry jelly over jam or preserves. (The difference? Jelly is smoother since it is made from juice. Jams and preserves are made from crushed fruit and contain more fruit pieces.)
And what of the ½ bun in this recipe? He uses 1 ½ buns for one serving, but his wife loves this recipe, too. Find a friend to try this dish, use three buns, and avoid wasting any bread.

Bring on the weiners!

Cocktail weiners are always a hit at parties because they embody that "perfect bite." They are spicy, sweet, tangy and salty and just the right size to pop in your mouth. And for ease of preparation, cocktail weiners were made for the slow cooker. Mix up all the ingredients, dump it in a slow cooker, set it to low. All you need to serve are some plates and toothpicks.

This recipe is pretty basic: ketchup, vinegar, jelly or jam, mustard and black pepper (plus the weiners, of course!) I have tried many versions of this dish over the years, but this one, first shared by Myra Marshall of Norton, Va., is my favorite method.

Cocktail weiners

1/2 pint (one cup) currant jelly
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup prepared mustard (you may use yellow mustard, or brown mustard)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds small cocktail weiners

Melt the jelly over low heat in a medium sauce pan. Once melted, add the remaining ingredients, except weiners, and blend thoroughly. Place the weiners in a 6-quart slow cooker and pour the sauce over all. Stir to blend. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours before serving. Can keep cooking on low until all the weiners have disappeared.

You may substitute another favorite jelly for the currant jelly, but I love the tangy taste from the currants. Also, you can cut up 4 packages of hotdogs to substitute for the cocktail weiners. Slice each into about 5 pieces.

Savory favorite for Christmas

According to the box, people have been chowing down on the original Chex brand party mix for more than 50 years. I remember my grandmother bringing it to us in Norfolk, Va., from her home in Raleigh, N.C. And today when I smell the mix toasting in the oven, I think of her.

It is a Christmas favorite in my house and I have made countless batches of the stuff over the past 20 years. But the thing about the mix that makes me chuckle is the fact that I have never made it precisely like the “original” recipe – one I doubt is truly original. This year the recipe promoted on the Chex website gives microwave directions first. There are also methods for cooking it in a slow cooker. The directions used to urge you to melt the butter in a 9x13-inch pan, add the other flavorings, and then dump the cereal on top. Big mistake, unless you wanted some cereal soaked in Worcestershire sauce and some pieces with nothing.

The “original” recipe also calls for bagel chips (Seriously? We are supposed to believe that in the early 1960s people were commonly eating bagel chips? I couldn’t find more than two kinds of pasta at the grocery store 20 years ago.) It also calls for garlic powder and onion powder; I’ve never used either in this recipe.

The original recipe is available on any box of Chex brand cereal you might buy, so check it out for yourself. But I still think the best part of making this savory Christmas favorite is putting your own spin on it. Two favorite additions in my recipe are Bugles snacks and Cheerios. I am not a fan of the wheat cereal in this mix, so the other cereals make up for it in volume. Former coworkers in Norton, Va. suggested addding the Bugles and Cheerios. Both win rave reviews. But to be clear: I hardly ever buy the name brand cereals, especially when I am making snack mix. The generic versions are cheaper and, in my view, you can’t tell the difference. Yes, I am a cheapskate.

And I never follow the dump method suggested in some recipes. Don’t add the dry cereal to a pan of butter and Worcestershire sauce, unless you want a soggy mess. Instead, melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds, add the Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt. Stir well and slowly add it, while mixing, to the cereal, pretzels, nuts, etc. that are in the baking pan.

My version:

Savory snack mix

3 cups square corn cereal

3 cups square rice cereal

1 cup Bugles

1 cup round oat cereal

1 cup mixed nuts (I often add extra raw pecans, if I have them on hand)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine (half a stick)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup small pretzels (I often use sticks)

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Mix cereals, nuts and pretzels in a 9x13x2-inch pan. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish for 30 seconds. Add Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt; mix well. Pour over cereal mixture, mixing well. Bake for one hour at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes.

The original recipe gives storage instructions (airtight container). We just gobble it up at our house.