R.A.N.T.I.N.G.

To end a week with a series of rants is something very common, just typically I don't do it on the blog, but today I will. 1. Dear Iowa friends, please don't be offended when I complain about having to drive to DSM or Iowa in the middle of winter. I mean honestly what do you have to offer to a visitor in mid-January? 2. If you are driving on an on-ramp, at night, with a car behind you don't have the gall to throw a bunch of trash out your window...yes I mean you Mr or Mrs Hyandi Elantra GA7WD3, I am not the queen of environmental health, but puhlease. 3. If you live north of I70, and it is between the months of November and March, it may and probably will snow...you know this...deal with it, that goes double for you in the northeast, especially New York. I am sick of hearing about the awful snow and weather, it is winter...if you are warm and safe stop your whining. 4. La NEMO and el NIA have not caused crazy weather patterns, possibly crazy bathroom habits if you got a bad piece of la NEMO, but honestly. If you are trying to be smarter than everyone else around you then learn how to pronounce some pretty simple weather terms.

Homemade Granola

Oh how I wish I had a picture to put with the recipe because it looks sooooo much better than the boxed stuff you get at the store and is so much healthier, sIdEnOtE: have you ever looked at the fat content on some of that stuff...sheesh I should be eating fruit loops instead, but wait I hate fruit loops, my brother loved, and probably still does, fruit loops which might explain a few things about him today. Anyway I digress, since I have been eating better (notice I said better and not healthy, I don't think I'll ever get there) I really enjoy yogurt parfaits, some creamy Greek Yogurt (my trainer says it is better for me, more protein, less sugar, blah), usually frozen blueberries since I rarely have fresh fruit in the house and granola. But most granolas you buy in the store, and the main reason I did this, but it doesn't seem like it with my above rants, have dried raisins in them and I HATE chewy dried raisins especially in my yogurt parfaits. This granola however is raisin free (unless you like raisins and that is ok too, I guess) and is very tasty, and is easy to adapt just pay attention to your liquid to dry ratio and make sure you bake all the moisture out of the mixture before you seal it up. Homemade Granola 3 cups old fashioned oats 1 cup chopped pecans (you could use walnuts if you wanted) 1 cup slivered, or chopped almonds (pine nuts could be a good alternative here) 2 tsp cinnamon Mix all in a large bowl. 1/2 cup oil (canola or vegetable oil) 1/3 cup honey Whisk together, if your honey is thick you can warm under hot water or in the microwave Pour liquid over dry mixture, spread on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil or covered in waxed paper and bake at 200 for 45 minutes to an hour stirring every 15 minutes. If the mixture gets brown quickly or the moisture is baked out sooner you can remove it earlier. I know other people have added coconut to a similar recipe or even, gulp dare I say raisins. But I wouldn't recommend the raisins unless you love raisins or aren't going to put it on granola. You can store in a plastic container for a few weeks so don't make more than you can use up in that time frame.

I LOVE OREOS - Recipe #2

So excited this is my first post and first cupcake post of the new year and it happens to include one of my favorite naughty treats, OREOS! So some of you may remember that I once upon a time did a cupcake recipe with OREOS but this is an updated, much easier cupcake recipe that you can make with little ones! Now I don't have little ones around, but fortunately know many people who have little ones so I borrowed a little one who was the inspiration for the cupcake. SiDeStOrY: So one of my wonderful nephews, Grant Andrew Petersen, told his mom and dad that his new year's rectsomudon (resolution for those of you who don't speak 2.5 year old) was to eat more cupcakes. So Auntie to the rescue! I asked his mom before I went up there what is his favorite flavor and she said OREO? so the simple, child-friendly recipe was created! Now if you have little ones helping you, you know their limits...since I don't regularly bake with little ones I had to improvise but there are things you can do to include them during the process. OREO Cupcakes ala Grant 1 boxed chocolate cake mix (I used Duncan Heinz Super Moist) Ingredients needed to make said cake mix (mine needed oil, water and eggs) 1 can of cream cheese frosting (I used the whipped kind) 1 package of OREOS (Double-stuffed are the best but regular are fine as well) 2 glasses of milk Dump cake mix into the bowl. [you, scissors are not good for 2.5 year olds, I think]. Measure out oil and water in a measuring cup [you], have your little helper pour the liquid into the bowl. Crack eggs in same measuring cup [you, no one wants a shell crunchy cupcake], have your helper pour the eggs into the bowl. Combine with a mixer or a whisk.

While your mixing the batter, have your helper put the cupcake paper liners in the cupcake tins. Open your OREOS and each eat one to ensure they are 'safe' for consumption. Rinse your mouths with milk. Repeat if necessary. Using an ice cream scoop or other spoon fill cupcake papers 1/3 full with batter having your helper put 1 OREO on top of the batter, putting more batter on top of the cupcake making sure to cover the OREO completely. Bake per box instructions. 2-3 minutes after removing from the oven, put on a cooling rack to prevent sinking cupcakes. While you're prepping the icing (sEcReT: I nuke mine in the microwave for about 10 seconds after stirring in the plastic tub, it goes on really easy) put 3-4 OREOS in a baggie and let your helper crush them up or mash them or make them so you can put them on the top of the cupcake after it is iced. Decorate to your desired appearance and enjoy! The cookie gets soft and has a really nice creamy texture in the middle of the cupcake.