Yogurt Parfaits with Chocolate Granola - CWF

If you follow Chocolate With Francois, you know we all talk about the difficulty and complexity of many (most) of the recipes. As I was flipping through the book trying to decide what to choose for the May recipe, I knew it needed to be an easy one. The posting date would fall just after Michael's graduation and Memorial Day weekend. As a child I remember my mom saying "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today". I really wanted to make this recipe before we left town for the long Memorial Day weekend. I bought the ingredients I didn't have, read the recipe, left the cookbook on the counter and still didn't get it done until we got home. I don't think I listened to her advice as a kid either!!!

Chocolate granola seems a bit counter intuitive since I think of granola as somewhat healthy. I see this recipe for dessert rather than breakfast. The granola is easy to put together, uses ingredients most of us have in our kitchens and is delicious!

To make the parfaits you layer brown sugar glazed bananas, yogurt with orange zest and the chocolate granola. I love brown sugar glazed bananas but didn't care for them in this recipe. As well, I thought the orange zest overpowered the simple flavor of the vanilla yogurt. I think this would be best served with just the vanilla yogurt and the chocolate granola. There's too many flavors going on to really enjoy the yummy chocolate granola.



If you're curious what the other CWF members thought of this recipe and I know I am, you can find the links to their blogs here!


Yogurt Parfaits with Chocolate Granola
Serves 8

Chocolate Granola
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins

Yogurt
One 32 ounce container vanilla yogurt
Grated zest of 1/2 orange


Bananas
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 ripe bananas, cut into 1/4 inch slices

Make the granola. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, walnuts, coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Stir with your hands or a spatula to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the honey over the mixture, and mix with a silicone spatula until it is well incorporated. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking sheet, anthd bake for 15 minutes, without stirring. Remove from the oven and let cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the chocolate chips, raisins and the remaining tablespoon of honey. Add the cooled granola and toss the mixture together, slightly breaking up the granola. The granola can be stored in an airtight contained in a cool, dry environment for up to 1 week.

Make the yogurt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest and yogurt until combined. Keep the yogurt cold until ready to use, up to 2 days.

Make the bananas. Put the butter in a large saute pan over medium high heat, and let it melt until it just begins to brown. Add the brown sugar, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the sugar is melted. Add the bananas, and cook them until they pick up a little bit of color, about 1 minute.

Assemble the parfait. Place a spoonful of warm bananas (the equivalent of 1/2 banana per glass) at the bottom of a tall glass. Place 1/2 cup yogurt over the bananas, and top with the granola, just before serving. Repeat for the remaining 7 glasses.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Pink Saturday

Happy Birthday to Pink Saturday! Pink Saturday is celebrating 3 years today!!!
I love all things pink! A big THANK YOU to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting each week!!

It's a little hard to tell from this picture but everything about this house is pink. I found this house on our trip to Brownville, Nebraska a few weeks ago.

Rosemary Scones

What's your favorite herb? Mine is rosemary with basil running a very close second! I first posted this recipe in August 2009. The rosemary gives these a wonderful earthy flavor that blends well with the sweetness of the jam.




Rosemary Scones
Adapted from Giada De Laurentis

Scones:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup jam

Glaze:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or silpat).

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, sea salt and butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a medium bow. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough. On a lightly floured work surface, rool out the dough into 1/2 inch thick, 10 inch circle. Using a heart shaped cookie cuter, cut out heart shaped pieces of dough and place on the cookie sheet. Gently knead together any leftover pieces of dough and cut into heart shapes and add to the baking sheet. Using a small round measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each pastry heart. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of ham into the indentation. Bake for 18 to 2o minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Transfer scones to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.

To make the glaze, mix together lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually add the water until the mixture is thin enough to spread. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the scones set for approximately 30 minutes. Can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days.

My notes on this recipe:

One of the keys a good dough is making sure the butter is very cold. In the summer I keep my flour in the refrigerator, to keep away those pesky summer bugs. If you keep your flour in the refrigerator, allow it to warm to room temperature before using (approximately an hour).

The glaze recipe made way too much glaze for the amount of scones, next time I will cut the recipe in half.

I followed Giada's recipe exactly with one exception. Her recipe called for Strawberry jam. I used my mother in law's homemade, Strawberry Rhubarb jam instead.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

From The Good Life

I'd planned to post graduation pictures of Tim's son Michael's high school graduation today. I am putting those on hold until next week.

If you live in the midwest, you're "used" to tornadoes. I've lived in the midwest all of my life. I've seen my share of them and certainly spent many an hour huddled in the basement.

What we've all seen this week in Joplin, Missouri isn't one of those tornadoes those of us from the midwest are "used" to, it's an unbelievable scene of devastation. I've been mesmerized by the coverage, so much so I've forced myself to turn off the TV! Last night, as I walked in my house from work, the sun was shining, my house was comfortable and warm. I felt guilty and lucky all at the same time. I paused in my hallway for a moment to be so thankful to have a house and family. It's ironic the subtitle of my blog and the title of my Thursday posts is From The Good Life! So true, this is The Good Life!

Remember what's important! Tell your family how much you love and appreciate them!

Beer Marinated Pork Chops

I first posted this two years ago, thrilled to be grilling after a long winter. If you're like me and have childhood memories of shoe leather pork chops, give this recipe a try. This marinade produces a delicious, tender pork chop.


Pork Chops in Beer Teriyaki Marinade

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (syrupy rice wine)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
2/3 cup of your favorite beer (no dark)
4 1" thick rib or loin pork chops

In a saucepan combine the soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sugar, gingerroot and the beer. Simmer until the mixture is reduced to about 1 1/3 cups. Let the marinade cool until it is room temperature. In a shallow baking dish or plastic bag, cover the chops thoroughly with the marinade. Marinate overnight, turning them several times.

Pour the marinade in a saucepan and boil it for five minutes. Grill the pork chops on a oiled rack set about 4 inches over glowing coals, basting them with the marinade while cooking, Cook 8 - 10 minutes of each side.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Meet Me On Monday

Did your weekend go as fast as mine? I can't believe it's Monday already. I am really enjoying participating in Meet Me On Monday! It gives me something fun to look forward to on Monday's, my least favorite day of the week! If you want to participate in Meet Me On Monday, you can find the details here!

1. What is your favorite bagel flavor?
I don't eat bagels very often but when I do my choice would be Cinnamon Crunch at Panera!

2. If you had an extra $100 right now, what would you spend it on?
I would put it in the vacation fund! I love vacations!!!

3. What is the last thing that you felt guilt about doing?
I bought a mini bundt pan at Costco. It was so cute the molds were shaped like lady bug's, butterfly's and other insects. After I got it home I decided I would only use it once or twice, so I took it back. Not sure if this was really guilt or not. It's the only thing I can come up with!

4. Soft serve ice cream or hand dipped?
Either one. I love ice cream!!!

5. Are you allergic to anything?
Penicillin!!

Have a great day!!

Pink Saturday! - Zumba

Have you taken a Zumba class? Zumba is a fun way to exercise! The teacher handed out these bracelets in class a few weeks ago. Of course, I chose pink!

Happy Pink Saturday!!!