Simple Woman's Daybook for Tuesday, 5/11

Haven't done one of these in awhile, and I just saw that there's now a link-up so we can read other's daybooks. Fun!

Outside my window... the rain has just stopped and the sun is trying to peek out. Perfect for my deck garden!

I am thinking... that I really wish I was a SAHM/housewife.

I am thankful for...diet orange soda.

From the kitchen...I have a pork roast in the crock pot - yum!

I am wearing...yoga pants, 3/4 sleeve t-shirt, lab vest, Earth Footwear sneakers (my work gear)

I am creating...my first quilt! I can hardly wait to sit and sew awhile.

I am going...to stop surfing and get back to work after I finish this post. :)

I am reading...The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

I am hoping...that my quilt is functional when I finally finish it.

I am hearing... Rob Thomas on the radio.

Around the house...I have started re-doing my quilting area, moved part in the dining area until hubby can take out the spare bed and I can move the table in there with all my sewing goodies.

One of my favorite things... seeing a new, red strawberry in the pots of them that I planted on the deck this year. My first time trying to grow them, and they are so sweet & juicy!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Sewing, cleaning/decluttering, getting things together for church yard sale donations, church tomorrow night, walking - trying to do at least 10 miles this week thanks to inspiration from my friends!

Tasty Tuesday!

Reposting this for Tasty Tuesday since I just remembered it (from last year) and it's sooooooo good!

Last night I made my first ever batch of homemade granola! My sister (who used to have the nickname "Granola" because she was a serious tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, no-sugar-eating fanatic!) gave me a few tips, and combined with a basic recipe that I found online...well, I have to say - it's FABULOUS!!! I will never buy pre-made granola in bags/boxes at the grocery store again.

I really wish I'd thought to take pics of the making of the granola, but it was late and I just didn't think about Tasty Tuesday being today...so please forgive me for only having pics of the finished product.
My recipe is a version of the one found here.

I used maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup, ladies!), vanilla extract, canola oil, steel cut oats, thick cut oats, large unsweetened coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries....(you can even some semi-sweet chocolate chips if you like - and who doesn't?!) YUMMMMMY!! And all organic for around $6.00 a batch (and it's a big batch!)! I got my ingredients in the bulk section of Earthfare - I now want to LIVE in that store, btw. No need to get a huge bag, just get what you need for a batch at a time since it's all organic and doesn't have all those nasty preservatives. BTW, I saw some tiny bags of pre-made granola there for $3.89 and up...puhlease! No way! Not when my house can smell that good while it's baking - and the homemade stuff taste SO much better!

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together except for the dried fruit. Set the dried fruit aside.
2. In another bowl mix the sweetener, oil, and extract together.
3. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. The liquids will be absorbed and the granola will become darker and shinier.
4. Spread the granola in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for ten minutes. Use a spatula and turn the granola on the baking sheet. Place the granola back in the oven and bake for another ten minutes or until fairly dry and starting to brown. Remove the granola from the oven and stir in the fruit.

Tips

1. Granola will become crispier and crunchier as it cools.
2. Because of the oil, granola will not stay fresh long. Store in an airtight container and use within two weeks. Freeze for longer storage.

Yummmm...breakfast!

Click over to Balancing Beauty & Bedlam for more amazing recipes!

Lipstick Personality Quiz - this is neat!

Did you know that your lipstick can tell a lot about your personality?? Not the color, but the shape after you apply it each day. Well, at least that's what this fun little chart says...

So, what's your lipstick personality??

Nana's Biscuits

One of my fondest memories was watching my Nana create her amazing homemade biscuits - every morning and evening, and sometimes at lunchtime. She would sift the flour, throw together the ingredients in her aluminum mixing bowl (never measuring anything) and mix and knead and then - my favorite part - cut them out with her silver biscuit cutter with the wooden handle.

Ok, I'll admit, my real favorite part was after they came out of the oven, but I did think it was so cool how she could always cut those biscuits and never once did they stick to the little metal ring! (I was an easy kid to amuse)

Nana tried to teach me how to replicate her biscuits. I'd put in just what she said, exactly like she told me. I'd knead it with her watching over my shoulder and instructing - but they never, ever turned out like hers. I think there is just something about the years and years of making them that makes them perfect...

When Nana finally had to go to the nursing home and we were cleaning out her home, the only thing I wanted was to make sure that her aluminum biscuit mixing bowl and sifter stayed in the family and didn't get donated/sold/given-away to someone who wouldn't appreciate all the memories that they hold. Luckily, no one in the family objected to my keeping them. :)

So, in an effort to make the perfect biscuit by the time I'm a grandmother, I'm starting now to try and perfect this - before my kids start bringing theirs over to
visit and have some of "Nana's biscuits". I'll use her bowl and sifter, and search for a cutter with a little wooden handle like the one she had. And I'll try to mix up some memories for my kids and grand-kids...I only hope I can be as successful at this as she was.

This is a basic buttermilk biscuit recipe that I found online. Yes, I asked Nana for hers, but as I said she never measured, and now at nearly 99 years old, said she doesn't even remember what ingredients she used in them way back when...

Basic Homemade Biscuits

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F. Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Sifting is important, it helps loosen up the flour so the lard and milk mix into the flour quicker with less kneading. Cut in lard with a pastry blender or a couple knives.

Once you cut in the shortening or butter into your flour mix, stir in milk only until distributed. The dough should be sticky. You want your dough to be as moist as possible, yet able to retain its shape.

Dump your biscuit dough onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the sides of the dough gently towards the center of the dough. Flour the surface again and flip the dough. Fold one more time, very gently. Then flip the dough and press out with your finger to the desired thickness and cut out rounds.

If dough if is too sticky to roll out, you can pinch off individual pieces of dough and shape each piece with floured hands.

For crusty biscuits, place biscuits on a greased baking sheet 1" apart. For softer biscuits, place biscuits in a large casserole dish with the sides touching. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Brush tops with butter for a brown finish, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday

I wish I could give you all some grand, spectacular recipe to drool over today but... I'm recovering from a very busy holiday weekend, and frankly just too tired to have planned anything in advance. Oh yeah, and I have to go back to work today.

So...I'm doing a very simple dinner in the crockpot today:

Lazy Workday Pasta Dinner

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
Large jar (2lb 13oz) of Chunky Ragu tomato, garlic & onion pasta sauce

Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray first)
Pour whole jar of Ragu over chicken.
Cover & cook on low all day.

To get ready to serve:
Cook one box of whole wheat pasta of your choice (I used spirals)
Drain.

Shred chicken & mix in with sauce.
Mix pasta with chicken/sauce mixture.
Top with shredded cheese (I used cheddar).
Replace cover and let cheese melt.

Told you - very lazy!

When I get home, I'll shred the chicken and mix it in well with the sauce for pasta topping.


UPDATE: This turned out to be FABULOUS!!! Seriously, it was one of the best meals I've "cooked" in a long time. The family loved it!