Homemade Sweet & Salty Quinola (Quinoa Granola)

After a busy week at work (was it really less than a week ago that I wrote my first post!?), I'm finally getting to sit down to write my next post. I cooked a lot of yummy food over this past week that I can't wait to show you! 

Tonight, I'm sharing my recipe for the homemade granola that I baked last weekend. This granola is not only delicious - it has the perfect balance between salty and sweet that makes it quite addictive (I'm warning you ahead of time...once you crunch, you can't stop) - but is packed with superfoods, like quinoa, chia seed, and flax. It is perfect over greek yogurt for breakfast or eaten in spoonfuls (or handfuls...woops) for a midday snack.

Homemade Sweet & Salty Quinola (Quinoa Granola)

Click here for the printable version to bring into your kitchen.

Here is what you need to pull from your cabinets before you begin:

3 cups quick oats

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
1 cup raw sunflower seeds, hulled
1 cup coconut chips
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Coarse salt (kosher salt)

I bought my flax seeds and chia seeds at Costco - they have large quantities and are cheaper than your local health food store. I use them in smoothies and a Costco-sized quantity will last a while so you don't have to worry about running out of them.

You will also need an extra-large rimmed baking sheet and mixing bowl.

How much time you need:

About 7 minutes for prep and another 45 minutes to 1 hour of cook time in your oven (perfect time to put up your feet, crack open a bottle of wine and catch up on the new episode of Grey's Anatomy....).

Now, let's get started:

Start by cooking the quinoa according to the directions on the box. I just had a box of white quinoa, and for 1 cup, it was 2 cups of water, and cooked for 15 minutes. 1 cup of uncooked quinoa will make 3 cups of cooked quinoa. If you make 3 cups of cooked quinoa (like I did because I'm a complete airhead sometimes), you can use all of it in your granola. More quinoa = more protein = a feel good breakfast that fills you up and keeps you full!

Once the quinoa is cooked, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. 

Pull out a big mixing bowl and toss together oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut chips, cooked quinoa, almonds (you can easily leave these out if anyone has a nut allergy, I've made it before and it's just as good!) flax seeds, chia seeds, and 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt. The beauty of this granola is that you can easily tailor it to what you want - if you aren't a fan of coconut, leave it out; if you aren't a fan of flax seeds, leave them out. If you aren't a fan of oats or the health benefits of quinoa, well too bad, because those are the 2 ingredients that I won't let you leave out!

Pour in the extra-virgin olive oil and pure maple syrup to your dry ingredients and mix, mix, mix. Don't even think about using anything other than pure maple syrup (yeah, I'm talking to you, if you just pulled out your Aunt Jemima syrup from the fridge....just throw it out...now and then don't walk, but run to your local grocery store for the real stuff). On a side note - if anyone wants homemade pure maple syrup from upstate New York, my parents will have some fresh batches ready in a few weeks - contact me for details - they can ship to you!

The last step in your prep process is to spread out your mixture evenly on the baking sheet.... the bigger the sheet, the thinner the layer and the less time it has to bake in the oven. I have a habit of lining all my baking sheets with aluminum foil before I bake anything on them , because it makes for easier clean up - it's up to you if you want to do this or not, but I'd recommend it. Now, pop the sheet into the oven and kick back for 45 minutes to 1 hour. I usually check in a few times and stir the quinola so it doesn't stick to the pan or get too chunky (I'm not a fan of large pieces of chucky granola, but if that's your thing, then go ahead and let it bake up without stirring). 

Once your quinola is starting to get golden brown and toasty, it's done! Well, done in the oven, at least. Now for the finishing steps, you're almost there! It's really important to do these next steps as soon as the quinola comes out of the oven and is still warm. Sprinkle on more coarse salt to taste (sample it until it has reached your desired level of salt & sweety goodness). While you're mixing in the salt, break apart/loosen the granola with a spatula.

Let the granola cool completely before storing it in an airtight container. Oxo Pop storage containers (in the picture above) work perfect. Mason jars also make a great storage option; they are perfect if you are bringing some to work to snack on or give as gifts. 

From my kitchen to yours,

Mama Friend

Crunchy Lemon Zest Chicken with Arugula Salad

This is my first blog entry, ever. I will write a longer introduction entry later, but to give you the rundown - I am a wife to Kris, a mama to Emmy (and Meiko, our life wouldn't be complete with our little fur baby) and a financial services auditor by trade. I moonlight as an amateur cook, baker, and DIY crafter in my free time (when I'm not chasing our speedy bear-crawling, daredevil 7.5 month old beautiful daughter around the house).

I told my husband that I wanted a place to share my recipes, DIY projects (including those when we become homeowners this spring!!) and the adventures of being a new mama to the love of my life, Emmy. He encouraged me to start a blog, so I'm giving it a try! 

I figured the best way to start would be to just dive right in and share the dinner with you that I cooked last night.

Kris and I have made promises to each other to (1) Eat clean and healthy (within limits...I'll never be willing to give up pizza and life would not be worth living if he had to give up Reese's peanut butter cups) and (2) Throw away less food at the end of each week by being innovative with leftovers and the food that we have in our fridge (and, in turn, save money for all of our DIY projects).

After we put our daughter to bed and settled in for a pretty exciting Friday night at the Friend household, I racked by brain for what I could cook for dinner since I hadn't planned ahead (despite all the big talk we might make on Sunday night about the following week's dinners...working 60+ hours a week doesn't leave much time for meal planning) and we were both famished. I wanted something with simple ingredients that we already had in the fridge and wouldn't take long to prep and cook. 

In future blog posts, I'll include photos of the steps in the process, but, unfortunately, this time I only have a picture of the finished product (maybe I'll try to find a way to give you smell-o-vision because this made the house smell like a lemon-y paradise, it was amazing). A preview of what it will look like once it's complete:

Crunchy Lemon Zest Chicken with Arugula Salad

Click here for the printable version to bring into the kitchen.

Here is what you need to pull out from your cabinets and fridge before you begin:

Nonstick olive oil cooking spray

1 tsp. yellow mustard

2 large egg whites

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon parsley

1 pound chicken tenders

1 freshly squeezed lemon

3 teaspoons olive oil

Handfuls of arugula

Salt

Pepper

How much time you need:

About 10 minutes for prep and another 20-25 minutes of cook time in the oven (use this time to watch a Big Bang Theory episode!)

Now, let's get started:

Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and pulling out a large baking sheet. Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray - I used Pam Olive Oil spray.

Whisk together 1 tsp. of mustard (the recipe called for Dijon, but I didn't have any in the house so I just used yellow mustard) and 2 large egg whites in a small bowl (the recipe tells you to do it in a shallow pie plate -- I'm still trying to figure that one out since nothing about this dish is pie related and a good ol' bowl will give you the same result). On a plate, combine together 1 c. panko breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 tbsp. grated lemon zest (this makes your kitchen smell amazing and, best of all, clean!) and a little less than 1 tbsp. dried parsley (original recipe called for fresh, but dried worked just as good - I made a note to include parsley to my garden at the new house).

I used about 1 lb. of boneless chicken tenders - I personally like smaller pieces of chicken, but you could also use boneless thin sliced or regular chicken breasts (just make sure to adjust your cooking time). Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken pieces into egg white mixture, then into the breadcrumb mixture, pressing it to adhere to the chicken. Place the chicken on your pre-sprayed baking sheet and lightly spray the chicken with the same cooking spray (this really adds a wonderful crunch to your chicken). Bake until the chicken is golden brown and chicken is fully cooked through, about 20 minutes for my tenders and thin sliced chicken, about 25 minutes for regular chicken breasts. Resist the urge to turn the chicken - I promise you that both sides will be delightfully crispy when they are done.

When your chicken is just about finished, take the same lemon that you just used to get zest and squeeze it out into a bowl, add about 3 tsp. olive oil and some salt and pepper. Toss together the lemon dressing with 2 good handfuls of argula. You can adjust this step for how many people are eating - Kris and I were the only ones eating, so I dressed only enough arugula for the two of us to eat, since dressed salad leftovers are not so yummy the next day.

Put a handful of arugula salad on each plate and then a few pieces of chicken on top of each salad. And here we have again the finished product, Crunchy Lemon Zest Chicken with Arugula Salad...a light, fresh dinner that is done in 30 minutes!

Enjoy! Comments are appreciated if you try the recipe on your own!

Also, here is the link that I adapted my recipe from.

Well, now that I've popped my blogger cherry, I can't wait to share other recipes, DIY projects and my adventures in mamahood with you.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mama Friend