Blueberry Walnut Maple Granola

Uh, this was really supposed to be Blueberry Walnut Maple Granola, until I found out that I used up all of my walnuts on the previous batch. So could you all just pretend that all of those pecans that you see in the pictures are really walnuts? I'd feel ever so much better if you would just play along. Good, I'm glad that's out of the way now. Welcome to today's post. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to have a great batch of granola squirreled away in the pantry. Especially if it's Blueberry Pec-uh, I mean Walnut Maple Granola. You won't want anything else for breakfast besides some vanilla yogurt and a heaping pile of Blueberry-uh-Nutty Maple Granola. It's simple to make, honest. You take some oats and douse them with some maple syrup and vegetable oil, then a dusting of cinnamon and a sprinkle of walnuts- or nuts of your choice. (Pecans are also good.) Toast it for a good half hour, stirring here and there. When the house smells like an Autumn weekend in Vermont, take it out and stir in some dried blueberries. (You can make your own dried blueberries by setting your oven temp to 150 and baking them on a cookie sheet for about ten hours.) Now go ahead and grab a handful. I'm going to the store. You know what I'm out of. Walnuts. And pecans now, too. At least I've got my Granola.

Money Saving Tips:

Did I mention you can substitute other nuts if you don't have walnuts? (Pecans, anyone?) Well, you can. And the same goes for berries. Use what you've got and what's on sale. Amen, sistuhs. Oh, and real maple is best but pancake syrup works in a pinch.

Blueberry Walnut Maple Granola

Estimated Cost: $4.00 for 5 cups

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Scatter oats on cookie sheet. Toast oats for ten minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. In a medium bowl, combine syrup, oil, and cinnamon. Pour over oats and continue to toast, stirring often, for thirty minutes. Remove from oven and stir in berries. Let cool on counter. Store in airtight containers.

Next Up: Honey Vanilla Caramel Apples

Blueberrry Maple Overnight French Toast

Last month, I spotted a tasty recipe on Corner Cooking and I knew, I just knew without trying, that it would be something to hang onto for keeps. I copied it right away in indelible ink into one of my favorite cookbooks. And now you see the way that I organize important recipes. I've never had a knack for hanging onto pieces of paper. They're as slippery as falling leaves to me. I was the grade school child that had to have the permission slipped pinned on the front of her Holly Hobbie iron-on T Shirt. And even then, I usually ripped it off to read it, lost it on the walk home and forgot all about it. Thank goodness my 11 month-older sister Michelle and I were in the same grade. She was the ideal-child type, and usually asked her teacher for an EXTRA permission slip, knowing full well I would lose mine.
I can never lose this recipe for overnight French Toast. I made it one night when we had 12-yep TWELVE, twelve overnight guests spending the night in my house. I know you'll want to blame me and my extraordinarily large Italian family, but this time it was Quiet Man's uncle in law's father's funeral, so it was his big family this time. Dizzy now? They were wonderful guests, willing to sleep on cupboard shelves in Star War's kid-sized sleeping bags. The least I could do was make them a lovely mapley french toast breakfast, bejeweled with sweet blueberries.

Trust me: write this recipe down in permanent ink and pin it to the front of your shirt. You'll want to have it forever. Money Saving Tips: This is perfect for those day old loaves of french bread you can buy for less than a dollar at the market. Use frozen berries like I did, if fresh are too expensive.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Adapted from Corner Cooking

Estimated Cost: $3.00

1/2 cup flour
1 and 1/2 cups low fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
6 eggs
about 3/4 of 1 loaf french bread sliced about 3/4 inch thick
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

In a large bowl, combine flour, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and eggs. Grease a cookie sheet. Place as many slices of bread as will fit on your cookie sheet; reserve the remainder for another use. Pour milk mixture over bread pressing down bread with fork to soak in. Flip bread to other side. Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle tops of french toast with blueberries. Bake for 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar.
Coming Next: Super Fast Grilled Cajun Chicken and Vegetables

Blueberry Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes

At 4 AM this morning, my five year old cowboy stood by bedside and poked me in the shoulder. "Mom....Mom.....Mom, I'm really tired." At 4 AM.
It just isn't necessary to express every thought. Some things go without saying. Like the fact that you're really really tired at 4AM.
Or these pancakes, for instance. I could poke you in the shoulder and tell you how delicious they are, that they taste like something to eat in a beach house in Maine in the early morning hours, with a little crunch of Midwest sensibility from the cornmeal. I could tell you all that. But it really isn't necessary. You already know. I sure as heck won't wake you up at 4 AM to tell you all this, but when you do wake up, you're going to want these for breakfast.
Money Saving Tips: If you don't have buttermilk on hand, make some by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a 1-cup measuring cup and pouring milk to the top. Let stand for five minutes. Frozen blueberries work marvelously well if you don't have fresh. Raspberries, dried cranberries, or even kernels of corn would also be lovely here.
Blueberry Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes-adapted from the old Joy of Cooking
Estimated Cost: $4.00
Notes: I almost never make pancakes with butter in the batter, because frankly I want the most bang by putting butter on the top.
1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
2 eggs
zest of one lemon
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
butter and maple syrup, for serving
In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, powder, soda, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, eggs, and zest. Pour over dry ingredients and mix very briefly, until just combined. Do not over mix. Gently mix in blueberries. Cook about 1/3 cup on lightly buttered griddle. Flip pancakes when bubbles form on raw side. Serve with butter and maple syrup.
UP NEXT:
Tomato, Zucchini and Summer Squash Gratin with Parmesan and Garlic

Fourth of July Breakfast: Cran-Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Scroll down for more great recipes for the Fourth, including a complete menu and shopping list....I wasn't expecting to fall madly in love with these breakfast scones. I thought we would have a stuffy and proper mid morning affair and I'd forget all about it the next day. But it's Tuesday and I should know better. It's Tuesdays with Dorie, and Dorie Greenspan, goddess baker, never disappoints. So you can bet your Yankee Doodle Dandy that these scones are positively addictive. I made a half batch, six scones for a family of four. Two each for the adults, one each for the kids, right? Right? Wrong. My little boy gobbled up two and a half before I could secret some away for his poor father, who misses all the good food. I certainly wasn't willing to sacrifice my allotted portion. (Remember Saturday's beignets? Sorry again, Quiet Man.) So get smart and make a whole batch and stash some in your sugar bin so you won't have to share.

Cran-blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Apple and Cheddar Scone Recipe

Estimated Cost: $3.00 for six

Notes: These mix up in about five minutes, so you'll have time to make them before you head out to your local Independence Parade.

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour (I added half whole wheat)

3 tablespoons cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup each dried blueberries and cranberries

For Glaze:

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and buttermilk. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, zest, powder, soda, and salt. Cut in butter, using a pie cutter or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour buttermilk mixture over the top and gently mix to form a dough. Stir in dried berries. Mixture will be sticky. On a floured sheet of waxed paper, pat dough into rectangle. Cut into six pieces and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. To prepare glaze, combine butter, lemon juice and powdered sugar, stirring until smooth. Frost scones while they are still warm.

Coming Tomorrow:

Buttermilk and Blue Cheese Red Potato Salad

and Tomato and Cucumber Slaw with Lemon Dressing