Granola Bars

3 cups quick oatmeal
1 cup Virginia peanuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup coconut

Mix all ingredients together and pat onto a cookie sheet.  Bake 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees.

TIMS NOTES:  First off, these are not being touted as healthy.  They have a lot of fat in the condensed milk and butter, and a lot of sugar in the milk as well.  It is, however, a good recipe! I use certified gluten free quick oats to make this recipe gluten free. I have no clue what a Virginia peanut is.  I use plain unsalted peanuts.  I also use unsalted sunflower seeds and unsweetened coconut.  Try this recipe once as is, and then play around.  Instead of the peanuts, you could add any kind of nut:  cashews, almonds, macadamias, pecans, or a mixture of nuts.  Instead of the raisins, you could add any kind of dried fruit:  cranberries, cherries, apricots, blueberries, golden raisins, brown raisins, a raisin medley, or a mixture of any of those.  Instead of the sunflower seeds, you could add something like pumpkin kernels (or pepitas).  Do not try to bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan.  This does not work!

Tomato Bisque

Reading back through my posts, I posted a recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup, mentioning a recipe which is less complicated and just as good.  I never posted that recipe, so here it is!

                                                                 

1 Tablespoon butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped with their juice
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar or honey
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 whole cloves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons evaporated skim milk, or more as needed
2 Tablespoons corn starch

1. In a 10 inch skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it starts to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, the brown sugar, bay leaf, cloves, basil and salt and pepper.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until all is hot through, about 5 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, in a medium sized heavy saucepan, heat 1 cup of evaporated milk to just under a boil.  Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 3 Tablespoons evaporated milk, and whisk into the hot milk.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thick, smooth, and free of any starchy taste, about 1 minute.
3. Remove the cloves and bay leaf from the tomato mixture.  Very slowly add the tomato mixture to the hot thickened milk (if you add it all at once, the milk may curdle).  Heat through, but do not boil.  If you wish, thin the soup with extra milk.  Serve very hot, immediately.

TIM'S NOTES:  I use diced tomatoes in this recipe instead of the whole tomatoes called for.  I think it is better to have the tomatoes chopped up already if you are going to leave the soup as is.  I do not, as you will see in a moment.  I do not use whole cloves either as I don't usually have them around.  A couple pinches of ground cloves will work just fine.  And the last change I have made to this recipe, is that after I put the soup together (and remove the bay leaf and whole cloves, if using) I puree it in the blender.  I like it smooth, not chunky.