Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 48 (makes 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup milk

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and soda.
• In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Slowly blend in half of the oat and flour mixture, then add the ¼ cup of milk and mix well. Add the remaining oat and flour mixture along with the cranberries and pecans, and stir just enough to combine. Drop cookie dough by the heaping teaspoonful onto lined sheet pans and slightly flatten each cookie. Bake 12-14 minutes until cookies are just beginning to brown. Remove from pans and cool on racks before storing.

Serving Suggestion

• Easy to make and transport, these cookies are a great choice for holiday office get-togethers or home-baked gifts. Make smaller coin-sized cookies for the kids; just drop scant teaspoonfuls of dough on the baking sheet, and reduce the baking time to 7-9 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Total Time: 60 minutes; 20 minutes active | Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

Hot honey

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Chicken

• Vegetable oil spray
• 3 cups crispy rice or wheat cereal
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour

Preparation

• In a small pot, combine the honey and red pepper flakes. Place over medium heat and stir until it starts to bubble, about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Stir the cider vinegar into the honey and reserve.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil, then place a baking rack on the pan, spray oil on the rack and reserve. Place the cereal in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin to make crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Combine the eggs, thyme, smoked paprika, salt and pepper in another medium bowl and whisk to mix. Place the chicken breast halves on a cutting board. Sprinkle each with flour and turn to coat, rubbing it in with your fingers. Dip each breast half in egg mixture, then in the cereal crumbs, and press to coat. Place each breast on the oiled rack. Spray the crumb coating with oil to help it brown.
• Bake on the upper-middle rack in the oven for 35 minutes, until the chicken registers 160 degrees F when pierced with an instant-read thermometer.
• Plate the chicken and serve with hot honey on the side.

Serving Suggestion

• Serve with classic fried chicken sides, like mac and cheese, greens, coleslaw or mashed potatoes and gravy.

Tips & Notes

• Don’t have a food processor? No problem. Seal the cereal in a large plastic freezer bag and pulverize it with a rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy pot.

Nutritional Information

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes; 15 minutes active | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter, plus 1 teaspoon for pan
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus some for pan
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, approximately

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 300 F. Butter and flour a Bundt pan and reserve.
• Place the butter in a stand mixer with the batter paddle attached or use a large bowl and an hand mixer. Beat the butter until softened, then pour in the sugar and mix. Cream the butter and sugar for 5 to 7 minutes, or until fluffy and pale.
• Set to medium speed and add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between.
• In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then mix into the butter mixture. Add lemon zest. Scrape down and mix well. Combine the buttermilk, vanilla and almond extract in a cup and pour in with the machine running. Scrape down and mix just until smooth.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
• Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out with no wet batter attached.
• Cool the cake on a rack, then gently loosen with a small knife. Place a cake plate on top, hold tightly to the pan and invert to flip the cake onto the pan.
• For the glaze: In a cup, stir the powdered sugar with lemon juice to make a thick paste, adding just enough juice to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cooled cake and let dry for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serving Suggestion

• A slice of this cake goes perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea. Add fresh berries for a colorful presentation. 

Nutritional Information

Total Time: 2 hours; 1 hour active | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage, crumbled
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 25 ounces tomato puree
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 pounds part-skim ricotta cheese
• 3 ounces (1 1/2 cups) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 pound lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400⁰F. Put on a large pot of salted water to boil for cooking the noodles.  Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking pan by lightly oiling it. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add the onions. Cook over medium high heat until softened and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, sausage, beef and salt, and increase the heat to high, stirring to crumble and brown the meat. When the meat is cooked, add the tomato puree, diced tomatoes and oregano. Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thick, about 10 minutes.
• Cook enough noodles to make four layers of pasta in the pan—either 12 or 16 noodles, depending on their size. Undercook the noodles by 3 minutes; they will finish cooking when the lasagna is baked.
• Meanwhile in medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese and eggs. Mix well.
• Spread 1 cup sauce over the bottom of the 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Arrange 3-4 lasagna noodles in single layer. Spread 2 cups of the ricotta cheese mixture over noodles; dollop on 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce. Arrange more noodles in single layer; press lightly into sauce. Top with 2 cups ricotta mixture, and 1 1/2 cups sauce, then place remaining noodles on top, pressing to make the noodles level. Spoon the remaining 2 cups of ricotta mixture over the noodles, cover with noodles, then cover with the remaining sauce, making sure to cover all the pasta completely. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan over the sauce.
• Bake 45 minutes or until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Serving Suggestion

• Serve this hearty lasagna with steamed broccoli and a green salad. 

Nutritional Information

Total Time: 15 minutes active, plus 1 hour for baking | Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup water

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice and cinnamon together.
• In a separate mixing bowl, beat the sugars and vegetable oil until the sugars are dissolved and smooth. Add the vanilla and mashed sweet potatoes and blend well. Stir in half of the flour mixture. Add the water and eggs and stir well. Add the remaining flour mixture and blend well. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. Test for doneness by poking the center of the loaf with a skewer or toothpick. The skewer should come out clean. Let the loaf rest for about 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan.

Serving Suggestion

• This quick bread goes well with milk, chai tea or coffee as a mid-day treat. Try a slice with a smear of cream cheese and some fresh fruit for breakfast.

Nutritional Information