…I’m going through withdrawal. Shopping withdrawal, that is. This afternoon I took my 16 year old into town to driver’s ed, and I swear I heard Walmart screaming my name. I knew I truly *needed* nothing. But I got all starry-eyed imagining the fun of cruising the aisles ‘just browsing’ (yeah right!)
And it wasn’t only Walmart. Albertsons looked good. The video store looked immensely appealing. Chevron caught my eye. Heck, I even drooled over a yard sale sign on a pole, leftover from the weekend. Crazy. Just how addicted to shopping am I, anyway?
So.
Shopping: nothing (so far) We are running out of a few things. The cereal is getting low, so I made granola today.
Mary’s Easy Granola
In HUGE bowl combine
12 c. oats
1 T. cinnamon
4 c. “goodies”– nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut, and dried fruit all work well. Today I used raisins, sesame seeds and coconut.
Mix well.
In glass measuring cup pour:
1 c. oil
1 c. honey (I only had 1/2 c. honey so I used corn syrup for the other 1/2 cup)
Zap oil and honey in microwave for a couple minutes, until hot.
Pour over dry ingredients. Mix well.
Spread onto 2 or 3 large greased cookie sheets and bake at 325 degrees F till light to medium brown, 15-25 minutes.
Cool and store in sealed plastic containers or ziplocks. I have given this as gifts before. It rarely lasts more than 3 or 4 days at our house.
Meals Today
Breakfast: hash brown combo (potatoes, peppers, onions, tomatoes), OJ, and a dozen donuts (leftover from coffee hour at church yesterday).
Lunch: Fried rice, watermelon, and cookies.
Dinner: 15 Minute Hamburger Stroganoff (I used the last tired mushrooms in my fridge, and my own white sauce instead of the canned soup), corn, tomatoes, apple crisp.
Books: I just finished reading There Is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene. Wow. Great book. It is non fiction, about AIDS, orphans, and Ethiopia, but reads like a novel and has such a great ending. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Don’t miss it!!
I'm Mary, wife to John, and mom to 10 kids ages 3-20. Six of them were adopted, from Ethiopia and Korea. I spend my days applying Bandaids, reminding kids to use their inside voices, persuading kids fractions are useful, cooking spicy ethnic food, and snapping gig after gig of pictures. Very late at night, I write about it all.
Your granola recipe is similar to mine. We lived on the stuff back in the day.
I can’t believe there were donuts left over from church coffee hour! Seems like no matter how much I put on the trays, the Eats disappear!
All the advertising and signage is designed to pull you in and part you from your dollars.
Remember you are not a Borg (Star Trek reference) so Resistance is necessary. You are almost halfway through the month.
I never really thought about making my own granola before!! I think I am going to give it a try tomorrow!!
Wow that granola recipe sounds great!
I just read about that book in People magazine and put it on my list to pick up. The granola sounds yummy!
That granola sounds yummy! I think I’ll have to give that a try around my house : )
Gonna have to try that granola.. Sounds delicious!
I made your granola today, Mary. I used coconut and pecans. YUMMY! Thanks for sharing.
[...] Today we had granola for breakfast. I’ll need to make more soon–I think I’ll use dried apples as part of the ‘goodies’ in the recipe. [...]
[...] I often give food gifts at Christmastime–sometimes pumpkin bread, sometimes granola. Once I did a five-bean soup mix that was really fun. [...]
[...] –what if I don’t WANT to sign in, huh, huh? what then???– you can always try this recipe over at [...]