Vanilla Granola

GRANOLA IS SO YUMMY!!  This is my favorite granola recipe.  Granola is one of my go to foods.  I like to always have some made up... ready to eat.

I usually only make a half batch.  I am the only one that eats it in our house (not that it's not good, it's just not anybody elses' thing).  It does keep for a while though.

Granola is super easy to make.  While it is baking in the oven, your house will smell so good!  It is such a warm, comforting smell.

My favorite way to eat it is dry, with milk, or with Chobani yogurt (the only yogurt I like).  I really like to add in almonds and raisins.  But I don't like raisins with the yogurt (even though I haven't ever tried it).  So, I leave the raisins out and just add them in when I am going to eat the granola dry or with milk.

Vanilla Granola

5 cups Old Fashion Oatmeal, use Gluten-Free to make this gluten-free
1/2 cup melted butter, or coconut oil
1/2 maple syrup or honey
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon, optional (I never add cinnamon)
1/2 tsp. sea salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper.
Mix the ingredients together.
Spread granola on pan.

Bake for 10 min., remove and stir.
Bake for 10 min., remove and stir.
Bake for 8 min., remove.

Make sure you don't over-bake it.  The granola probably won't look done when the time is up (it will be soft), but it will become more granola-like as it cools.

Let cool completely.
Add mix-ins.

Mix-In Ideas:  Chopped nuts (almonds, pecans...)
                        Coconut
                        Dried Fruit (cranberries, raisins...)

My favorite way is with butter, maple syrup, and no cinnamon.  Then I like to mix in chopped almonds and raisins.



I wanted to put the granola is something cute this time (a glass jar).  I was looking around in our pantry for one that might work.  I found one, but I think it would have been a bit too small.  My Mom said that we had an old peanut butter jar.  I love the jar.  I works perfectly!

Seven-Layer Bars

 I really like these bars.

They are nothing fancy, but they are yummy.

One memory I have with these bars is when my great aunt sent some home with us on Thanksgiving one year.  We were heading home at about supper time and wanted something to eat.  Of course, we had some leftover turkey sandwiches.  But, in the freezer, she had some of these bars.  So, she pulled some out for us to eat on our way home.

I just remember liking these bars.

The crust will be thin.

You can put the crumbs at the bottom of the pan and then pour the butter over them, but I think it is easier to just mix them together and then press it into the pan.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the bars.  It will spread some in the oven.  When I made mine, I think I poured a little too much in the middle and not enough on the edges.

Seven-Layer Bars

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup Angel Flake coconut

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 - 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1. Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.  
2. Press into a parchment paper lined 9 x 13 pan.
3. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and walnuts.
4. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top. 
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.

Variation:  In step 3. substitute for old fashion oat (3/4 c.), peanut butter chips/peanuts (1/2 c.), chocolate chips (1/2 c.), and M & Ms (1/2 c.)

  Enjoy!

Securian Winter Run 2014

Today I ran (jogged) a 10k.

I was not at all prepared.

My time was 56:36.

I jogged very slowly.

It was cold.

My leg hurt.

The last time ran over 5 miles was July 15, 2013, when I ran 6 miles under 40 minutes.  And, then... I got injured.

This last month I have jogged up to 4 miles... but, only a couple times.

I love doing road races (I don't really race them, I just run them for fun).  Since I haven't been able to do one for a while, I really wanted to do one... in the winter.  My Mom asked if I wanted to do the Securian Winter Run (this was my third year doing it).  I did.  It was going to be pretty much the only weekend that there was a race and that I was open to do one.  My Mom also asked me if I wanted to do the 5k or the 10k.  I said I would prefer to do the 10k.  I would feel better about myself if I did that one.  So, I did.  And, I probably should have done the 5k.

The beginning and the end of the route went through the downtown area.  For some reason this area is a lot colder.  Everywhere outside was cold... I mean really cold.  But, the downtown area was even colder.  But, the middle part of the race wasn't too bad.  It was still cold, but not unmanageably cold.

In my mind I had 60 minutes.  Since I wasn't really prepared for this 10k I told myself that if I needed to walk some it would be ok.  I didn't walk ever.

Today, for some reason my leg really hurt.  The entire time I was running (jogging) it hurt.  But I lived.

And, I finished.

An Early Out

Yesterday we had an early out from school because the weather was getting bad.  I am super glad we did!  Yesterday was the last day of the semester, so we weren't doing much in school - especially in my last two hours of the day, which were the classes I got to miss.



I came home and really didn't have anything to do.  I didn't have any homework.  I need to apply for some scholarship so I attempted to do that.  But, I wasn't very successful at that.

My Mom had been sewing a curtain to go around a desk/counter in our basement.  Since the sewing machine was out my Mom suggested that I make an apron.  I have been wanting to try making an apron.  I used painter's drop cloth.  Yes.  I did.  It sounds weird, but it works!  My mom has used it for making many things, like curtains.

I quickly looked at an apron that we have, and that is all that I used to follow.  I think that the apron turned out pretty good for not really knowing what I was doing.

I embroidered an "M" on it.  Otherwise it would be pretty plain.  My Mom thought I should do a more natural color since the "fabric" I used is such a natural color.

This evening I got my first use out of it.  My brother wanted to have homemade pizza for supper and that can be pretty messy.  We used our pizza stone.  It was our fist time using it for pizza.  I tried it before, but since we don't have a pizza peel, I wasn't able to get my finished pizza in the oven.


I have to admit that Thomas came up with a good way to get the pizza, on the pizza stone, into the oven.  I think he maybe a did a little research on pizza making.

When using a pizza stone you have to heat the stone up in the oven.  So, without a pizza peel, Thomas got the pizza into the oven.  While the oven was heating up, he let the stone heat up too.  Meanwhile, he rolled out his dough.  When he was ready to top the pizza, he opened the oven, pulled the rack out, took the pizza stone out of the oven, set it on a cooling rack, and sprinkled the stone with corn meal (important!).  Oh, and don't forget to close the oven!  He put the pizza on the stone and topped it (careful, it is HOT!).  Then, to put the pizza in the oven, he pulled the rack out again, put the the stone, with the pizza, into the oven, pushed the rack in, and let the pizza bake.

Buttermilk Pancakes

For a long time now, I have been working to find the best buttermilk pancakes.  These here a winner - they are my Mom's and I favorite.

The recipe is from the Nine and Sixteen blog.  This blog is very inspirational and has some very delicious recipes.

The pictures of her pancakes are fabulous.  I tried to get some decent ones, but they just aren't comparable.

I couldn't decide which picture was best - there is not much difference in the pictures.  So I decided to post them all!  Why not???

This last time I made these pancakes, I decided to add in a little vanilla.  They were still excellent.  Now, I have found that these pancakes can be kind of tricky to cook.  Sometimes mine end up a little on the doughy side.  The Nine and Sixteen blog says she prefers them on the thicker side (without any extra milk) and that it ensures that the inside batter will be fully cooked when the outside is golden brown.

Buttermilk Pancakes
Adapted from here.

1 3/4 c. flour
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. kosher salt
1 egg
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
3 T. canola oil
3-4 T. milk
vanilla (about 1/2 t.), optional

Mix the dry ingredients together.
In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients together, except for the milk.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix.
The batter will be thick.  If you want you can add some milk to thin it down a little.
Cook over medium high heat until golden brown.

Top with maple syrup, butter, fruit, and enjoy!!!

John's 13th Birthday

January 8th was John's 13th Birthday.  He is officially a teenager.

John woke up to a decorated bedroom door.

We hung balloons from our dining room ceiling and hung streamers in the door-ways to decorate.

John got this knife from our Grandparents.  It was our Grandpa's that he was given as a kid.

Mom and her little Trooper.

 John wanted crab for his birthday supper.  Our Dad was in charge of getting it, so he also picked up a bunch of small fillets of fish.  We had some samplings of cod, mahi mahi, and two different salmons.  Along with our crab and fish we had roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes (from the Pioneer Women's new cookbook, and they were delicious), garlic bread, and squash and veggies.

Getting ready to eat crab.

Looking for 13 one dollar bills.

John wanted a white cake with read frosting and gel.  The gel we go wasn't quite the right stuff though... oh, well.

Happy 13th Birthday John!