Homemade Granola

I love granola like you wouldn't believe, but lately I've had trouble finding any I can eat (what with the whole, low-carb healthy-eating thing). So I was quite happy to learn it's not impossible to make your own! While I don't know whether this is actually healthier than the store-bought versions, it was a nice thing to do while post-tropical storm Irene raged outside but did not steal my electricity. I like chopping nuts -- oh, comforting rhythm! -- and I like baking slowly in the oven. It was, all in all, a very relaxing thing to do. The craisins were a little overdone though: next time I'll put them in just before the last time I stir it so as not to end up with burnt craisin bits. I got the original recipe from the blog Honeycomb, but has to alter it since I couldn't get all the ingredients.

Broccoli and Three-Cheese Mini Frittatas

These mini-frittatas are amazing! I found the recipe on the blog Kalyn's Kitchen. The only thing I did really differently was that I don't have giant 1-cup muffin tins, so I used custard bowls instead. Anything that holds 1 cup and is both microwave and oven-safe will work. But subtract about 5 minutes from the cooking time if you're using glass!

Individual Taco Lasagna

My obsession with putting taco meat in everything continues! This one was pretty much a success, although very messy to eat (as I suppose most lasagnas are). Anyway, hope this inspires you to create your own 'taco' dishes! I got the idea for a pureed vegetable mixture from having dinner with a friend, who did it for fajitas.

Leftover-Chicken Parmesan

Have you ever had half a chicken breast left over after making chicken salad, and realized you'd rather chew off your own hand than have chicken salad yet again? Well, the hand-chewing thing may be a bit extreme, but everyone has had enough of chicken salad at some point. Anyway, make this instead! Any excuse to combine Parmesan cheese with tomato sauce is a good one.

Garlicky Swiss Chard

To be honest, I found the chard to be a bit bitter. I bet this would be awesome with spinach, though!

Individual Nectarine-Strawberry Crisp

I actually made this for breakfast, but it would also make a lovely dessert! Fruit, cereal, a bit of sugar and butter and voila: breakfast crisp for one. I got the idea from the blog The Chic Life, but I changed it up a bit -- my recipe seems a bit on the less-healthy side. What with the more butter and everything. Anyway, here it is.

Orange-Sesame Beef Stir-Fry

This little experiment turned out quite well! The sauce was nice and really came out well on the meat, while the vegetables still tasted a bit of ginger. I've never eaten this in a restaurant (though I've heard of it, obviously) so I can't say how it compares, but as an at-home stir-fry it was great!