Homemade Honey Nut Granola

Yeah, yeah, I know...I said in my very first blog post that even though I was trying to make some big changes in my life, I wasn't going to "give up make-up, wear Birkenstock sandals or eat an abundance of granola", but apparently I lied.  Partly.  Not only do I eat granola almost daily, I even make it myself now!  Oh.Em.Gee.  Don't worry, I still wear too much make-up and wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of Birkenstock's.

If you're new to the granola world, let me tell you...it's is a tad pricey.  Thankfully, it's not hard to make at all.  But, you do have to check your Adult A.D.D. at the door.  How do I know this?  One burned batch too many...  Don't ask.

I haven't tried this recipe as a "cereal" yet, since it has a lot of nuts.  I think I'll make a batch with 1/2 the amount of nuts (or none at all?) and try it as a cereal.  I bet it'll be delish.

Honey Nut Granola
4 c oats, uncooked (slow cook / old fashion type)
1 c chopped pecans
1 c sliced almonds
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c honey
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c boiling water
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 t almond extract
1 t cinnamon

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients.  Pour liquid mixture onto the dry mixture and stir until coated.  Pour on to 2 greased cookie sheets & bake at 400*, stirring every 2-6 minutes (DO NOT let it burn...stirring is key!) until evenly dry and toasted.  I usually have to do about 5-6 stirs before it's fully toasted, but every oven is different.

I stir 1/4 cup of this into my homemade yogurt for breakfast or a quick snack.  Oh man, it's good!  Nearly as good as a bowl of ice cream, if you ask me.  If I tried fruit in there (a la the McD's "Fruit & Yogurt Parfait") too, I'm sure I'd pass out from it's sheer deliciousness.  {I'm really trying to keep my sugar intake as low as possible, so not doing much fruit right now.}

It's really good, and only 90 calories per serving.  If you want to cut the calories down even more, reduce the amount of nuts you use or cut them out completely.  Just remember to increase the amount of oats, to compensate for the nut reduction.

Let me know what you think, if you try it out.  Any other granola converts out there?  Are there any other ways to use dry granola that I should know about?

"Skinny" Mocha Frappuccino

I'm not really a coffee fan, but those Mocha Frappe things from McDonalds are delicious.  I used to grab one when I'd swing by for my super healthy (ha!) breakfast in the mornings.  Now, let's not forget that I'm cheap, so I REFUSE to pay the outrageous Starbucks prices...but I'm sure theirs are even more amazing. 

Before we all run out and buy one this morning, let me slap you in the face with some calorie info...

Starbucks Venti Mocha Frappuccino: 500 calories (OMG!)

Starbucks Venti Mocha Light Frappuccino: 190 calories

McDonalds Large Mocha Frappe: 680 calories (Are you kidding me!?)

Ouch, right!?  Who wants to blow half their daily calorie limit on a drink at 8am!?

At least Starbucks offers a "light" option for most of their drinks...but we still have the little issue of me being cheap.  Er, let's say frugal.  You know...the whole High Maintenance to Homesteader mantra!

Obviously I'm not having a fast food breakfast anymore, but I do miss those frosty-chocolate-caffeinated cups of happiness.  So, when I ran across this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it!

Here's my version:

"Skinny" Mocha Frappuccino (20 oz)
1 1/2 T instant coffee granules
2 T French vanilla creamer (powdered)
1 T cocoa
1/2 C skim milk
1 packet Truvia
1-2 C ice

-Throw it all in a blender and hit GO!
-Drink up

Not only is the homemade version delicious, it's a fraction of the cost!  And...ONLY 150 calories!  Go make this - right now!  I'm serious...it's that good!

Let me know what you think if you try it out.

Fatty, Fatty, 2x4...

We all know the song...sing along with me now...  "Fatty, fatty, 2x4...can't get through the kitchen door!"  Childish?  Yes.  Mean?  Yes.  True?  Pretty dang close.

It's no secret, I've packed on some pounds in the last 2-ish years.  Stress, depression, financial problems, change, attempt at refusal to accept said 'change', relationship failure, BFF moving a billion miles away, etc...you name it, I fed it.  I fed it a lot.

I was always a "solid kid" (as my very loving Mother likes to say), the biggest girl in my group of friends in high school/youth group, and even at my lowest adult weight, I was still overweight.  And, oh Lord, can I yo-yo with the best of them!  I've gained and lost the same 50 pounds more than I care to say.

But, like many of you...2012 is my year to get the weight off [and keep it off this time!].  I'm putting these very personal and embarrassing facts on here so you all can help keep me accountable.  We can do this!

This is a pic from my birthday last year (2/2011).  The big 3-0.  I was depressed.  I hated a large portion of my life, and my weight was a big factor in that, yet I fed my sadness with food.  I weighed more at this time than I did when I gave birth to Hayden.  Yikes.

I've no clue how, but when I weighed 1/1/12, I found that I'd lost 10 pounds from when that pic was taken.  Hello diet jump start!

In 2009 I did a low-carb (South Beach / Atkins kinda thing) diet, and dropped about 40 pounds in about 6 months.  Here are some pics from that time.  That was the lowest adult weight I've had...still not my goal weight though!

Holy crap...I wanna look like that again!!!  Every time I wanna shove some cake in my face, I think of these pics.  And how happy I was at the time.  Not because I was thinner, but because I loved my life.  I'm working very hard to get back to that place...all around.

Since I know lots of us are working on our weight, I thought I'd also share some sites that have been helpful for me.  I know a ton of people doing Weight Watchers, but I'm too cheap and busy for that.  I did some research, and WW is just tracking your intake, exercising, and having a support system.  Duh, I can do that.  I'm the type of person that'll eat 900 calories at lunch without even realizing it (salads are so deceptive!), so it's really important for me to "track" my food.  It keeps me accountable and lets me splurge if/when needed.  I ate out twice this weekend and I only went over about 50 calories one day...the rest of the weekend I was below my calorie max!  WHOO!

How do I track my food, you ask?  With a F R E E app/website called My Fitness Pal.  I LOOOVE it.  It's like Weight Watchers for cheap peeps!  Go join...right now!  Then tell me you joined so we can be "friends" on there.  ;)

Now, second major issue for me is what the heck to eat when I'm trying to lose weight.  Uh, thank goodness for Pinterest.  I have found more ideas on there than I even thought possible.  The "why didn't I think of that" doesn't just apply to crafts, folks.  You should follow me and steal all my pins!

Here are some other sites I like for food/recipe ideas:
Skinny Taste
Hungry Girl
Weight Watchers
Cooking Light

Need snack ideas?  I found tons on Pinterest, but here's a few I love:
100 Calorie Cup-Cakes
Chocolate PB Banana Bites
100 Healthy Snacks

Since I started watching my food intake and exercising {more on that in a later post} I've lost 15 pounds (25 since that HORRIBLE picture was taken!).  I have a LOT more to lose, but it's a great start for my first month.

Are any of you trying to lose weight and/or watch what you eat?  Exercising?  Any great sites, ideas, recipes, you wanna share?  I need all the help and encouragement I can get - so please leave me some comments!

Love you all!

Move Over Swiss Miss

Today is our annual office cookie swap.  We all bring cookies and exchange the recipes while we put up the office tree and decorations.  I look forward to it every year...because, duh, I love cookies and Christmas!

Typically I bring a big pot of homemade apple cider. But this year, I can't find whole allspice to save my stinkin' life, so I had to come up with another drink idea.  I'm not a huge hot chocolate fan, but I figured homemade has to taste better than that crap you get in a box/packet.

I scoured Pinterest and got some general ideas, and came up with a veeerrrry complicated recipe...solely based on what I had in my pantry.  Hello, it's cold and dark when I get home...no way I was going to drag Hayden the store last night for some random ingredient that some chick on Pinterest said was a "must have".  So not my style.

I personally thought it was okay, but again, I'm not really a good judge since I don't really love the stuff.  However, Christie (our "new girl" at work) loves hot chocolate AND she used to work at a coffee shop.  Totally qualified to critique my recipe!  She filled her mug, and I promptly got an email from her with the subject line, "OH MY GOSH!!!!".  Yeah, she liked it...just a tad.  She said it was better than what she made when she worked at the coffee shop!  SCORE!

Here's the uber complicated recipe...

Merissa's Bomb-diggity Crock Pot Hot Chocolate
1 half pint of whipping cream
1 c milk chocolate chips
3 c milk
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
{marshmallows / whip cream for topping}

*Dump everything in a 1.5 quart crock pot and whisk often until everything is melted.  Let cook/simmer for 2 hours, then put on "warm" setting.  You can also double this and make a 4 quart batch. 

If you try it - let me know what you think!

How to Eat Like a Girl Scout

For those of you who don't live in Oklahoma, let me just tell you...it's been a HOT summer.  This has to be what sitting on the surface of the sun feels like.  Seriously.  We are about to break the 1980 record of 50 days with 100+ degree temps.  It's miserable.  My container garden looks like tiny pots of West Texas.  So sad.

While living with Dad and Bonnie, we have this fab arrangement where I do 90% of the cooking, and they buy all our groceries.  Pretty bomb.com if you ask me.  I will totally work for food.

However, with scorching-surface-of-the-sun heat, I do my best NOT to use the oven for dinner.  I'm super intimidated by the grill, but Dad helps me out.  When Courtney lived with me, she was the grill master.  I'm a homemaker, not a husband.  Which reminds me, I totally need to get one of those...(a husband)  Who the heck is going to work the grill when I move to the new house!?  Sheesh...  I digress.

I do not own a Bobby Flay cookbook.  Well, if I do, it's in storage...so it's of zero use to me.  And, it takes about 4.2 seconds to get sick of eating grilled chicken.  Time to come up with some new dinner on the grill ideas, so I channelled my inner Girl Scout.

Okay, so I was a Girl Scout for maybe a whopping 6 months.  So not my thing.  But, my friend Seana did get me to come along to day camp one year.  I remember we cooked our lunch over an open fire pit.  The english muffin pizzas were pretty tasty (remember those?).  And those grilled banana boats?  OMG...delish.  And I remember some foil packet things, but it had hamburger.  Hamburger meat is good for about 2 things in my book...  Hamburgers and Hamburger Helper. 

But this?  This is fabulous...and it has no hamburger in it.  Bonus!

Chocolate Mug Cake [Get in mah mug, Mug Cake]

Consider this your warning.  You're going to love me, then hate me.  And, I'd say I'm sorry, but really...we all know I'm not.

I'm sure by now you've deduced that Grandma Schader is the bomb.com.  I know I talk about her a lot, but the woman is seriously awesome.  A few months ago she forwarded me an email with a recipe for a single serving chocolate cake.  Uh, hello deliciousness!

Since today is National Chocolate Day, I find it rather appropriate to share this recipe with you.

 

Candied Lime Jalapenos

I religiously follow Handjobs for the Home, and when AJ posted a recipe for Candied Lime Jalapenos, I knew I had to try it.

Word of caution...these are SPICY, but quite tasty.

Aren't they pretty!?  I love that some of them are that fabulous orange color.

These are sliced jalapenos in a syrup...not a pepper jelly.  However, it does have a similar flavor, but with a heck of an after burn.  And I left OUT the cayenne!

I have way more of these than my stomach is going to tolerate me eating, so give me a shout if you'd like a jar.  They're fabulous on a cracker with a lil bit of cream cheese.  YUM!

Candied Lime Jalapenos

{stolen from AJ @ Handjobs for the Home, who Adapted it from Serious Eats }

Makes 3, 8 oz jars (It only produced about 16 ounces for me)

What You’ll Need:

1 lb jalapeno peppers

2/3 C cider vinegar

2 C sugar

1/2 tsp cayenne

Zest and juice from 2 limes.

Slice jalapenos into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Combine the vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and lime juice in a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer for 5 minutes until the liquid becomes somewhat syrupy. Add the jalapenos to the syrup and bring to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes or until the jalapenos become dark and soft.

Remove your jalapenos from the liquid and divide between  sterilized canning jars with a slotted spoon. Bring syrup to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Ladle hot liquid into canning jars, and screw lids on until finger tight.

Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes and let rest for 12 hours on the counter.
(*I didn't water bath these, I just stuck 'em in the fridge once they were cool enough*)

Homemade Yogurt

Hayden eats a yogurt pretty much daily, so when Dad presented me with a coupon for a free gallon of milk...I knew it was time to try my hand at making yogurt.

I started out with a "starter" of Oikos Greek yogurt.  Once you get your own homemade yogurt going you can just keep using a cup of that as your "starter".

Starter + Milk + Time = Yogurt

You'll need a stock pot, 4 quart jars, a cooler, 1 cup of starter, 1 gallon of milk & 1/2 cup of sugar.

Pour the gallon of milk into the pot.  Head to 185 degrees (F) stirring occasionally to keep it from scorching.

Once the milk reaches 185 degrees,  remove it from the stove into a sink of cold water.  Let the pot sit until the milk reaches 120 degrees.

Whisk "starter" into the cooled milk.  Then whisk sugar in until dissolved.

Pour the soon-to-be-yogurt into the jars.  FYI - this is somewhat of a 4 handed job so enlist help from someone if you need to.  Or, dip a smaller pitcher into the pot and use that to pour into the jars.  We used a large measuring cup (6 cup size) and it worked great.

Now you'll move your jars into a cooler.  Once packed in, fill the cooler up with 120 degree (F) water.  Put the lid on the cooler and sit it somewhere draft free (I put mine in the floor in the kitchen) so the temp is regulated.  Set your timer for 3 hours and walk away.

**BEEP**BEEP***BEEP***

Okay, 3 hours are up!  Take the jars out and move them to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

YOU HAVE YOGURT!

Here's Christy taste testing my first batch.

She admitted after tasting it (and not falling over dead on the spot) that she was VERY scared to taste it, but it was actually really good!

I've never really liked yogurt, but I like this.  Shocking, I know!