Canadian Harvest Crunch Copycat

Canadian Harvest Crunch Copycat

Yield: approximately 7–8 cups

Oven: 325°F

INGREDIENTS

Dry mixture

4 cups large-flake rolled oats

1 cup rolled whole wheat flakes

¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¾ cup sliced almonds

⅓ cup skim milk powder

¼ tsp salt

Sweet coating

½ cup packed light brown sugar

⅓ cup honey

⅓ cup coconut oil, melted

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine:

rolled oats

rolled whole wheat

coconut

sliced almonds

milk powder

salt

Mix thoroughly.

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, coconut oil and water.

Heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the hot mixture over the oat mixture.

Mix extremely well. Every bit of the oats should be lightly coated. Don't mash it together yet.

Dump the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it into an even layer about ½–¾ inch thick.

Here's the important part:

Using the back of a spatula, firmly press the mixture together.

We want a fairly compact sheet rather than loose granola. This is what will eventually give you those characteristic Harvest Crunch clusters.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Rotate the pan and continue baking for another 10–15 minutes, until the edges and top are golden brown.

Remove from the oven.

DO NOT STIR IT.

Don't even be tempted.

Let the entire sheet cool completely — preferably at least 1 hour.

Once completely cold, break it apart with your hands into the size of clusters you want.

Store in an airtight container.

⭐ THE HARVEST CRUNCH TEST

The cereal should be:

Crunchy → sweet → honey/brown-sugar flavour → noticeable coconut → almond crunch → with lots of little oat clusters.

It should not taste like ordinary soft granola.

🔧 IF YOU WANT IT EVEN CLOSER

After making the first batch, make these adjustments based on your taste:

Want more of the commercial sweetness?

Add another 2 Tbsp brown sugar.

Want stronger honey flavour?

Increase honey to ½ cup and reduce the water to 1 Tbsp.

Want bigger, harder clusters?

Press the mixture more firmly before baking and let it cool completely before breaking it apart.

Want more almonds like the commercial cereal?

Increase sliced almonds to 1 cup.

IMPORTANT

This recipe intentionally uses milk powder because the Canadian commercial cereal contains modified milk ingredients.

The real cereal also has coconut oil, which is important to reproducing its particular crispness and flavour.

This is a copycat, not Quaker's proprietary recipe, so the proportions are my reverse-engineered version rather than the manufacturer's formula.

Creamy Mock Crab & Tortellini w/Mitch & Tonya's SHORELINE All Purpose Seasoning

🦀 Mitch & Tonya’s SHORELINE

Creamy Mock Crab & Tortellini

A rich, creamy pasta dish featuring cheese tortellini, imitation crab and SHORELINE All Purpose Seasoning & Rub.

🛒 Ingredients

500–650 g cheese tortellini

227 g (8 oz) imitation crab meat, chopped or pulled into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup 35% heavy cream

½ cup chicken broth

¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1½ tsp Mitch & Tonya’s SHORELINE Seasoning

¼ tsp black pepper

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, optional

1–2 tsp lemon juice, optional

👨‍🍳 Directions

1. Cook the tortellini

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain well and set aside.

2. Start the sauce

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

3. Build the creamy sauce

Pour in the heavy cream and chicken broth.

Add:

1½ tsp SHORELINE

¼ tsp black pepper

Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer.

Let it simmer for about 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the cheese

Reduce the heat to low.

Add the Parmesan gradually, stirring continuously until melted and the sauce becomes smooth and creamy.

5. Add the mock crab

Gently fold in the imitation crab.

Heat for 2–3 minutes, just long enough to warm it through.

6. Add the tortellini

Gently fold the cooked tortellini into the sauce.

If the sauce seems too thick, add a splash of chicken broth or reserved pasta water.

7. Finish with mozzarella

Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top.

Cover the skillet for 2–3 minutes, until the mozzarella melts.

8. Finish it off

Sprinkle with green onion and parsley.

For a little brightness, add 1–2 tsp lemon juice just before serving.

🔥 Mitch’s SHORELINE Tip

I'd start with 1½ tsp SHORELINE, taste, and then decide if it needs another ½ tsp.

Because SHORELINE is salt-free, you can control the salt separately if desired—but between the Parmesan, mozzarella, broth and imitation crab, I'd taste it before adding any salt at all.

🥦 Optional Additions

For a more substantial meal, try:

Steamed broccoli

Sautéed mushrooms

Baby spinach

A pinch of red pepper flakes

Extra green onion

🍽️ Serving

Serve hot with garlic bread and a simple green salad.

SHORELINE + creamy sauce + crab + cheese tortellini = a pretty darn good combination.

I think SHORELINE is actually a better fit than the original Italian seasoning in this recipe. It should give it more of that distinctive Mitch & Tonya’s flavour without overpowering the delicate mock crab.

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SHORELINE Cabbage Roll in a Bowl

Mitch & Tonya’s SHORELINE Cabbage Roll in a Bowl

Serves: 6–8

Slow Cooker: 6–7 quart

Cook Time: 5–6 hours on LOW

Ingredients

1 medium head green cabbage, coarsely chopped

8 slices bacon, chopped — or, as your original recipe says, the whole package 😄

2 large onions, chopped

1½ lb ground beef

½ lb ground pork

2 tbsp minced garlic

3 tsp Mitch & Tonya’s Cape Breton SHORELINE All Purpose Seasoning & Rub

½ tsp black pepper

1½ cups uncooked long-grain white rice

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

2 cups beef or vegetable broth

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1–2 tsp hot sauce, optional

1 tbsp olive oil, if needed

Directions

1. Cook the bacon

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until nicely browned and crisp.

Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Leave about 1–2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet.

2. Cook the meat mixture

Add the chopped onions to the bacon grease and cook for about 3–4 minutes.

Add:

ground beef

ground pork

garlic

2 tsp SHORELINE

black pepper

Cook until the meat is browned and the onions are tender.

Drain off excess grease.

3. Build the slow cooker

Lightly spray the slow cooker.

Put approximately half of the cabbage in the bottom.

Sprinkle the uncooked rice evenly over the cabbage.

Add the browned meat and onion mixture.

Scatter the crispy bacon over the meat.

Add the remaining cabbage.

4. Make the tomato mixture

In a bowl, combine:

crushed tomatoes

broth

Worcestershire sauce

remaining 1 tsp SHORELINE

hot sauce, if using

Pour this mixture evenly over everything in the slow cooker.

Don't stir yet.

That's important. Let the liquid work its way down through the cabbage, rice and meat while everything cooks.

5. Slow cook

Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours.

At around the 5-hour mark, check the rice.

Once the rice is tender, give everything a really good stir.

If it seems a little dry, add ¼–½ cup additional broth, cover and cook another 20–30 minutes.

Before serving

Let it sit uncovered for about 10 minutes after stirring.

This gives the rice a chance to absorb some of the remaining liquid and lets the flavours settle.

Taste and, if needed, add another little sprinkle of SHORELINE at the table.

🍲 How I picture the finished dish

You want it to look like cabbage rolls that gave up on all the rolling nonsense.

Tender cabbage, seasoned beef and pork, little bits of crispy bacon, tomato, onions and perfectly cooked rice — moist and flavourful, but definitely not swimming in tomato sauce.

And I think the bacon is particularly important here. It gives the dish that smoky, savoury background that makes you wonder why you ever bothered making individual cabbage rolls in the first place.

Optional variation: If you wanted to make this a little more "Cape Breton," I'd try ½ tsp of SHORELINE extra at the very end, rather than adding more hot sauce. That keeps the flavour profile firmly yours.

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Coffee Marinaded "Cheap Cut" Steak

I was watching a YouTube video by:

Margaret  and Frank Miller

This is the trick that you didn't get from your grandmother. 

"Back in the day", our grandmother had to make a dollar go as far as it could.  They didn't buy high end cuts of beef.  But here is a recipe that has guaranteed results.

Ingredients 

1 pot of coffee

1" to 1 1/4" thick: Chuck Steak, Blade Steak or Round Bottom, do not trim the fat.

1 cut up onion

Directions

Brew your coffee as you normally would.  Then, after it has cooled enough, put that coffee in the fridge, for at least 2 hours.

Cold is your friend.  You want to marinade this in the fridge, otherwise you are inviting bacteria.

Get a pan just large enough to fit your steak.  Make sure to put enough coffee about 1 1/2 inch deep.  The coffee has acids that will work on the outside layers of your steak.

Marinade in the fridge at least 8 hours.  No more than 24 hours.  More than 24 hours and the acids in the coffee will turn the outside layers of the steak to mush.  A mushy steak is so much worst than a tough steak.

Take the steak out of the marinate and pat dry with a paper towel.  If your steak isn't dry, you will be steaming your steak and not getting a crust on your steak.

Season your steak.

Heat a cast iron skillet and introduce your steak to the hot pan with a spoon of fat.  I personally would use butter.

Once you have the outside sear on the steak, move your steak to an oven proof Dutch oven.  Add about two cups of beef broth and your sliced onion.  A bay leaf added to the pot, would be nice at this point.

Set the oven to 275 F.  Cook for about 2 1/2 hours.  This low and slow will soften the muscles inside the steak.

Once you have cooked your steak, you can skim the fat and the liquid at the bottom is your gravy.

Cutting the fat off your steak, and you are going to have a stringy, and dry steak.  The fat on your steak is your friend.  

If you are like my brother-in-law, he doesn't eat steak fat.  I am not telling you to eat the fat, but having the fat on the steak is very important.  While your steak is cooking long and slow in the Dutch oven, the fat is basting your steak.

Serve with potatoes and veggies.  

This is the Sunday Supper your grandmother would serve once a week.

Candied Kielbasa Bites

Candied Kielbasa Bites are sweet, smoky, sticky, and incredibly easy to make. Since you enjoy creating recipes around your spice blends, I've also included an optional Cape Breton MAPLE COAL BBQ Seasoning version.

Candied Kielbasa Bites

Makes: 6-8 appetizer servings

Ingredients

2 lb kielbasa sausage

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)

1-2 tablespoons Cape Breton MAPLE COAL BBQ Seasoning

Toothpicks (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

Slice the kielbasa into 1-inch pieces.

Line a baking dish or cast-iron skillet with parchment paper or lightly grease the pan.

Arrange the kielbasa pieces in a single layer.

In a small bowl, combine:

Brown sugar

Melted butter

Dijon mustard (if using)

MAPLE COAL BBQ Seasoning

Pour the mixture over the kielbasa and toss to coat.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

The bites are ready when the glaze becomes thick, bubbly, and sticky.

Slow Cooker Version

If you're entertaining guests:

Add the sliced kielbasa to a slow cooker.

Sprinkle with 1 cup brown sugar.

Add ¼ cup melted butter.

Add 1 tablespoon MAPLE COAL BBQ Seasoning.

Cook on low for 3 hours.

The slow cooker version creates an even stickier, candy-like coating.

Mitch & Tonya's Cape Breton Twist

Try adding:

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons maple-flavored barbecue seasoning

The sweet maple notes from your MAPLE COAL seasoning should pair beautifully with the smoky kielbasa.

Serve them with:

Toothpicks as an appetizer

Potato salad

Baked beans

Macaroni salad

A cold glass of iced tea