Spiced Brown Sugar & Pumpkin Granola

I was very intrigued when I found this recipe at Lisa's Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

I love crunch, so this granola really satisfies me.

And pumpkin isn't just for baking with in the fall...I love it all year long!

After I made it, I got a brainstorm to mix it with fruit and yogurt and make a parfait.  It was as good as it looks. 

I simply layered the granola with sliced bananas and yogurt. 

Of course, you could use whatever fruit you have on hand...even canned.

Delicious and nutritious!


PUMPKIN GRANOLA

1/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. brown sugar (I used 1/4 c. brown sugar blend)
2 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I increased the spices)
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
3 c. old-fashioned oats
2 c. nuts (I used almonds)
2 c. dried fruits (I used dried apricots and assorted berries)


Preheat oven to 325F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add oats and nuts; toss to coat. Spread evenly on baking sheet and bake 30 min., stirring halfway through (I'd recommend letting it go for an hour). Stir in dried fruit and continue baking until oats are just crisp, about 10-15 min. more. Stir one last time; then set aside to cool completely. When hard, break into chunks and store in an airtight container.

I'm thrilled....My first blogging award!

As the saying goes....I'm as happy as a lark! *-*

I've been 'bestowed' this honor by my friend, Lark of Lark's Country Heart

She's a new blogging friend and I love her easy and 'country-fied' recipes.

Thanks Lark!! for sharing this with me...

(Stay tuned...Lark will have a guest post on my blog

in the next few weeks while I'm on vacation=)

Here are the RULES that come with accepting this award:


#1 You Thank the person who awarded it to You and list a link back to them.


#2 Tell (7) things about yourself. *Mine are listed below*


#3 Pay it forward by awarding it to (15) recently found new blogger.

#4 Contact the Blogger you have awarded & make them aware.
(This is what I needed time to do - TBB)

Here is my list:

1. I've been married to the same wonderful man for over 43 years and we are still madly in love! *-*

2. I'm proud to be mom to 3 special adults, and nana to 8 precious 'grands.'

3. My faith and my family are the most important things in my life. I love Jesus and stay busy serving Him in several ministries within our local church.

4. I had my own cookbook published in August 2010 and am still living in Dreamland. 

5. I love anything purple! Especially clothes.

6. I am blessed with the gift of encouragement and have a card ministry. I mail atleast 40 cards a month. I strongly believe in not allowing technology to allow us to lose the special touch of a handwritten note.

7. I'd been a nail biter/picker all my life, but the day I got the call my first shipment of cookbooks were coming, and I knew I would be doing booksignings, I had incentive to break that terrible habit...and let my nails grow out.  It's one of my greatest accomplishments in life! (It has also eased my concerns about laying in my casket with nasty hands - ha)


My list of new bloggers:

Angie - A'lil Country Sugar
Lisa - Sweet as Sugar Cookies
Betsy - My Five Men
Joelle - Joelle
Kay - Cooking with K
Amee - Amee's Savory Dish
Kagi - Sweetened by Kagi
Amber - This Mommy Cooks
Ron - The Old Geezer
Denise - The Bread Fairy
Marcia - Frugal Homekeeping
Lisa - Flour Me With Love
Miz Helen - Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Amanda - Eating in Winnipeg
Jamie - My Baking Addiction
Dorothy - Crazy for Crust

Waffle Iron Cookies

Have you ever tried this unique idea?

COOKIES BAKED IN A WAFFLE IRON???

I'm not kidding!

I've even won a BLUE RIBBON for this recipe at Just a Pinch Online Recipe Club.

I use to make these when my kids were young, and was tickled when I came across the recipe recently. 

They're as delicious as I remember them!

I took a picture from this angle because I wanted you to see how thick they are!

Quick & easy too.  I love that about any recipe.

And they bake fast - whoever heard of baking cookies for 45 seconds?  *-*

The dough is thick and fudgy, and the cookies are too.

I mix them by hand because it is so thick.

How fun to make 4 at once!

I frost them when they're cooled, but I wanted to be sure you got to see them pre-frosting. (I used store-purchased frosting, but use your favorite).

Fun huh?  Hope you and your kids will all enjoy this great cookie! 

WAFFLE IRON COOKIES

1/2 c. margarine

4 Tb. baking cocoa (I heaped them)

2 eggs

3/4 c. sugar

1 c. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

In medium bowl, melt margarine and cocoa.  Stir in eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt. Drop by teaspoonsful onto hot waffle iron, baking several at a time.

Bake about 45 seconds. (Each waffle iron temp may vary?) Frost when cool.

And if you really want to splurge, top a cookie with ice cream and fudge sauce!  YOWZA!!!!!!!!

​

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           Ingredient Spotlight - Baking Cocoa

Sunshine Punch (Sugar Free)

This was a new treat we enjoyed for our Easter brunch....

My family loves having punch. And I love to surprise them with what kind....

I found this simple recipe that's been in my files for a long time...I changed it up just a tad to suit us. It was already sugar free, (or depending on the juice you use...very low sugar) which makes it great since we tend to indulge (pig out) on these special holidays.  And we (our family) need to watch our sugar intake.

I've had this recipe in my files for some time, and have no clue where it came from, but it reads..."Simple enough for a children's party, yet sophisticated enough for adult tastes, you'll find lots of ways to serve this fruity punch."

 

SUNSHINE PUNCH

2 cups cold water

2 cups orange juice, chilled

1 cup sweetener, granular (like xylitol or Swerve)

1 .13 oz. envelope Kool-Aid Tropical Punch unsweetened soft drink mix

1 - 1 lt. bottle diet lemon-lime soda or diet ginger ale, chilled

Yield: 8 - 1 cup servings

I didn't want to have red punch, so I just made the sugar free (Crystal Lite or Great Value) orange drink mix, added orange juice, and then the soda just before serving.

We all enjoyed it!

I mixed the prepared drink and orange juice the night before, then put it in the freezer and took it out in the morning to thaw. This way it was slushy and we didn't have to use ice.

I think it was a big hit!

I tripled the recipe and only had 2 qts. leftover.

Linked to Ingredient Spotlight: Citrus

Special Egg Salad and all you've ever wanted to know about cooking eggs

I will share the egg info at the bottom of this post, but am so happy to share this EGG-celent recipe for s-p-e-c-i-a-l! egg salad with you!

I thought this would be a terrific recipe to help use up all those Easter eggs!

Once I tried this delightful dish, I haven't ever used another for egg salad.

I'm a HUGE cream cheese fan, so it's no surprise that I went wild over this egg salad - it was definitely love at first bite!

Besides having a nice thick texture, it lasts a long time in the fridge too...if you can keep from eating it up.

(I'm pretty tickled with that picture!  A non-blogging friend who is one terrific cook and photographer suggested it to me...she even loaned me the cookie cutter!) 

How fun is that????

When this salad is freshly made, I have a hard time getting it into the fridge....

I'll put the (first) dirty fork in the sink...reach for another...then another, so it doesn't last long.

Except for this last time I made it.... 

I guess I got busy making other things and hubby forgot about it too.

Honest to goodness!  When I opened it up after a week in the back of the fridge, it was still nice and thick and creamy - not watery at all.

And as tasty as ever -

A lesson learned....

You can find this deliciously wonderful recipe in my cookbook on page 22!

This salad is great on toasted bread, but I really enjoy it with nice crisp crackers as well.

A 'trick' I use when making egg salad - I cut the eggs in half, place them in a bowl, and chop them using my pastry blender.  Works so much faster for me.

I also soften the cream cheese in the microwave just a little so I can whisk the ingredients together and not have to get the beaters involved.

Enjoy every tasty bite!

SPECIAL EGG SALAD

4 ozs. (reduced-fat cream) cheese, softened

1/4 c. (fat free) mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

6 hard cooked eggs, chopped

wheat bread - lettuce leaves

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the mayonnaise, sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper; fold in the eggs.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Toast bread and serve sandwiches with lettuce for added crunch.

Yield: 6 servings

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                                  ********************************************

Everything you have ever wanted to know about cooking eggs...any way you can think of...click on link below and check out this amazing info...

How to...eggs