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?

New Weekly Menu

Between the move, painting, decorating, Thanksgiving, Christmas, basketball season starting and work...you could say my weekly menu planning has fallen to the bottom of my to-do list.  And I can't even tell you the last time I cut a coupon.  I KNOW, I'm so ashamed!  Don't judge me.

But, things are slowing down...finally.  Work is still nuts-o, but that's typical.  {Still looking for Mr. Right that won't be happy unless I'm a SAHM...haha!}  My Christmas shopping is done, and I plan to get most of it wrapped this weekend.  Tree has been up for weeks...and I'm not stressing that the outside lights didn't make it up this year [Santa has GPS by now, no worries].  I know what I'm doing for Hayden's class party, and his friend/teacher/staff gifts.  I got this, yo!  Our upcoming weekends are full of family, friends and parties, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

With that said...it's time to get my butt back in gear and start cooking again.  And freezer pizza doesn't qualify as cooking!  Do NOT let me tell myself that anymore.  Just because we aren't eating out every meal doesn't mean I'm cooking what we should be eating.  Toast for breakfast isn't as good for H as oatmeal or a sausage biscuit.  At least he's not eating McDonald's or anything, but still...I can do better.

I love the Eat Sheet I used when we lived at Dad & Bonnie's, but that was when I was only really in charge of dinner and we all just did our own thing the rest of the time.  I really feel like I need a full breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack schedule now.  If it's not planned and on paper, it won't get done.  Believe me, I know me better than anyone...we're totally on a first name basis...

Self and I did a little googling and found this bad boy...

Cute, right!?  You can get the FREE printable here.

Hayden and I have had some discussions about what he'd like to eat (he can be a tad picky...) so I don't hear "WAAAHHHH....but I wanted Mazzio's!" 3 times a week, like I have lately.  Crest has some good sales too, so I plan to make some time to go by and stock up on some necessities.  Pretty sure the Aldi ladies will see me this weekend as well.

I'm going to plan my menu out for next week, and get back to it!  Stay tuned for updates!

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!

5 Meals in 1 Hour

I'm type-A.  I love lists.  I love plans.  I love planning.  I love schedules.

Each week I try to have a menu planned and cook at home.  This is something I'll do even more once I have my own kitchen.  {Have I mentioned lately how much I miss my stuff?  Hopefully we'll be reunited soon...like, 5ish weeks!}

When I saw Renee's post on doing 5 dinners in 1 hour...I was so excited!  I've heard of people who cook for an entire month, and freeze it all, but that's really not for me.  Hello, cooking for 1.5 people here.  And, I don't have a chest freezer [looking for one though] or anywhere to put 30 dinners.

5 in 1 isn't that much different than my normal routine, except she takes an hour out of her Sunday to prep all her meals.  Fabulous!  And, she uses an adorable menu sheet.  Free download HERE (lots of other cute printable lists/sheets too!).  Way better than my back-of-an-envelope method.

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.

 

Grandma Schader's Sweet Pickles

When I was little I loved staying the night at my Grandma Schader's house.  It was a treat; something I didn't get to do all the time.  She always had something new to show me, tell me about or teach me.  And Grandpa Schader always had something cool going on in his shop (he taught me how to make bullets).  She taught me how to make home made bread, plum jelly and pickles when I was barely tall enough to see over the counter.  Their house was like Wonderland to me.  Still is in so many ways.

I LOVED her sweet pickles.  I hate dill pickles to this day.  She ruined me.  I tasted Heaven and there was no going back.  My favorite Saturday morning breakfast was Dr. Pepper and a bowl of her pickles.  I'm weird.  I know this...  You should embrace it as well.

So, when Christy (my official yogurt taste tester) offered me 2 Wal-Mart sacks full of zucchini from her garden, I knew what had to be done.

SWEET PICKLE TIME, baby!  After speaking with Grandma, she gave the okay for me to publish her recipe.  Well, it wasn't her recipe to begin with, it was given to her by a friend.  Grandma then shared it with her mother, who tweaked it until it became what it is today.  [Heaven in a jar...]

Making pickles is a time consuming process.

Banana Chips - EPIC FAIL

I'm addicted to banana chips.  I heart them.  I eat them pretty much daily.

In an effort to continue down my homesteader path, I am trying to make more of the things I/we eat on the reg.  Like yogurt, caramel (yeah, okay, we don't eat that daily, but dang...it's so good!) and granola.

I did some Google research, and found that people make banana chips without a dehydrator all the time.  Pssh, I can so do this!

First, cut up the bananas (I use the bomb-diggity slicer thingy from Pampered Chef and add a few tablespoons of pineapple juice to keep them from browning.

One Very Busy Bee

I've been seriously productive this week.  And I've got big plans for next week too.  Lookout...there's no stopping me now!

This week I've...

• Made 4 1/2 quarts of home made yogurt
• Made a batch of delicious Caramel, since I managed to consume every last drop of the first batch (with a tiny bit of help from Bonnie...but mostly it was all me).
• Made a batch of Honey Nut Granola (I promise I'll share this recipe with you soon!)
• Tried a new recipe (this is a teaser for tomorrow's post).  It's a *HOT* one...
• Made the biggest batch of Fresh Salsa (not my recipe, so I'll have to find out if I can share it with ya...you'll love me forever if I can!) that I've ever seen...seriously it's massive, and I guarantee you we'll finish it off by Sunday night, because it's like crack.
• Packed the H-Bomb's lunch every day this week (Not optional since he's in day camp, but I feel accomplished since this is new to me!  I plan to keep packing his lunch even after school starts...becuase cafeteria food is scary.)
• Bought one of these bad boys...more on this soon

This weekend I plan to...

• Pick green beans at my Aunt Karen's (She's out of town and I get to keep whatever I pick - sweet!)
• Hit the Farmers Market
• Try my hand at making my latest addiction...Banana Chips (In the oven because I do not own a dehydrator, and of course, I'll give you the deets when I'm done because I'm just that awesome.)

Next week...

• I'm going to learn how to MOW!  It might come as a surprise to you, but I've only pushed a mower once in my entire life (I think I was 11?).  What?  Not surprised?  Pssh...whatever.  If I am the proud owner of 1+ acres someday, I will definitely have a riding lawn mower...but my Dad pointed out the fact that you still have to push mow around the house and stuff.  Crap...guess I'll learn how to push mow.  At least it's self propelled!  [Can I still call it "push mowing" if it's technically pushing itself?  Hmm...]
• If I have enough green beans from this Saturday's pick at Aunt Karen's, she's going to teach me how to pressure can them.  I've done water bath canning, but I've never pressure canned before.  I'm abso-freakin-lutely stoked to learn how!

Well, that's about it...  Oh, and I've done all of this while working 8-10 hour days at the office, keeping up with H-Bomb, cooking dinner & doing laundry...it's been a good week!

Happy homesteading!

Caramel Sauce (Alternately Titled: How I almost got my head stuck in a pan)

Oh man...how I've gone 30 years without learning to make caramel is beyond me.  This stuff is SO stinkin' easy to make.  And, btw, it's crazy delicious.  WAAAAAY better than the store bought kind.  Even Braum's.  And we all know I heart me some Braum's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know you wanna see some pics.  Apparently blogs without pics suck.  Noted.

Let's try the virtual equivalent to a flip book.  As Hayden (the soon to be king of peer-pressure) loves to say, "Ahh, come on, it'll be fun!"

1. Place your right hand on the mouse...
2. Place your finger on the scroll-button-roller-thingy...
3. Now roll your finger down really fast...

 SWEEET!  That my friends is how you turn sugar and water to fabulous [lick-the-scalding-pan] delicious caramel!  Did you like that?  Fun, huh!  {Bonnie - if you're dizzy, I'm sorry!}   

Since I love you, and my plan for world domination doesn't involve this recipe, I'll share it.

Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 c. Sugar
1/3 c. Water
1 1/4 c. Heavy Cream
1 t. Vanilla
1/2 t. Salt

Whisk water & sugar together in medium sauce pan.  Heat on low, WITHOUT (holy crap this is hard...) stirring, until sugar is dissolved.  Once dissolved, increase heat to medium/high and allow to come to a boil.  Allow to boil (now you can "swirl" the pan if it's killing you not to...I know I was having a VERY hard time not stirring...it's just not natural!) until it turns a golden amber color.  This took me about 10 minutes.  Once it's "amber", turn off the heat and add the cream, vanilla & salt.  Warning: It will bubble - do not freak.  Turn the heat back on low and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat and let sit 2-4 hours to thicken.

All I can say is, MAKE THIS.  Right.  This.  Second.  It's life changing.  It's the stuff legendary desserts are made of.  It's also maybe what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow, but whatever.

Half of my sauce went on top of my very first FROM SCRATCH German chocolate cake (Thanks for the recipe Aunt Karen!) along with some other fabulous things like Heath bar, and Eagle Brand.  But, I'm not making traditional German chocolate cake, I'm making Fat Man cake.  It's Kendall's favorite, so I'm taking it to our church dinner tonight.  Man I'm a good sister.

Plan to Cook

In the past week I've heard "We are spending way too much on eating out!" from several different friends.  Believe me, been there...done that.

The only way I have found to avoid eating out, is to PLAN TO COOK.  I spend 15 minutes on Saturday planning what we're going to eat for the next week.  It's not rocket science, folks.  Trust me.  Plus, everyone is going to think you're a domestic goddess because you actually cook every night. 

After I plan my menu, I get the grocery list together.  Again, not hard.  Seriously takes me maybe 10 minutes.  I try to coordinate my menu/grocery list around sales, but that's only because I'm saving every penny I possibly can. 

If you're interested in saving even more by matching up with coupons and sales, I suggest you join a few coupon sites.  I like Coupon Closet & $5 Dinners.  They both break down the sales and link them with any current printable coupons that are out there.

I love me some coupons.  The more I save on food, the better.  Food is expensive!  Yesterday I got 3 bags of frozen peas & 3 bags of frozen chopped broccoli (all name brand) for $2.26 total (with tax).  That is crazy cheap.  I don't have that planned in my meals for this week, but it makes tuna casserole and broccoli pizza that much cheaper when I do make it.  You can't beat $0.38/bag for name brand frozen veggies.

But, even if you don't mess with sales and/or coupons, you're still going to save a lot compared to eating out.

After you've got your week's menu planned and your grocery list done, it's time to hit the store.  I force myself to stay on the grocery side and stick to my list.  If I only buy what's on my list, no impulse buys are allowed and I stay on budget.  It's a win-win.

If you find menu planning hard, I suggest you save your menu and list from each week.  Once you do this 4 times, you've got a month's worth of menus done and you can just repeat.

If you have a picky eater in your group, get them involved!  They can't complain if they helped plan the menu.  I know what Hayden likes and doesn't like, so I try to make sure to have non-Hayden meals on nights he'll be having dinner with his Dad.  If we're having something new that he'll turn his nose up at, I try to offer up a not-so-great second choice.  Typically he will opt to try the new food in an effort to avoid the PB&J.

I can hear you thinking, "Weeknights are insane.  Merissa is insane!  Who has time to cook?!".  I completely understand, but I promise you, if I can do it...anyone can.

A few things I've learned along the way...

• Use the crock pot as much as possible.  It cooks while you're at work.  Brilliant!
• Cook big on the weekends and freeze it for fast meals during the week.
• Cook foods you can eat off of twice (double the hamburger on taco night so you can have taco salads or enchiladas later, roast 2 chickens and use the meat off the extra for a casserole later).
• Pre-cook breakfast foods for the week.  I cook up a weeks worth (M-F) of oatmeal for Hayden and I on Sunday night and package it up in small containers.  I nuke it as we're heading out the door and Hayden eats in the car on the way to school (I eat mine when I get to work).  This allowed us to cut cereal out of our budget and diet - double bonus!  I also do this with scrambled eggs.  Just make up a few the night before and nuke them the next morning.  They re-heat fine.  Pancakes and waffles freeze and toast well too.

I challenge you to try this for a week.  Compare your grocery bill to what you've been spending to eat out.  See if your kids/husband aren't happier with home cooked meals (I know my family is!).  By cooking dinner, you're more likely to have left overs for lunch the next day too (more savings!).  And, a home cooked breakfast is much better for your kiddos than a bowl of cold cereal.

Any other tips or tricks you guys have found?  Please share!

Let me know if you accept my 1 week challenge and how it goes for you.  You CAN do this!

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!