We finally had Christmas with my mom, sister and her kids – better late than never, right?  So while I collect snowmen, my mom collects angels.   I like that they are all so different – there really isn’t a theme to her collection:

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And then I had to take a picture of this: 

This is a painting that my Dad made of me and my twin sister when we were probably 4 or 6 months old? Don't know which one I am though!
This is a painting that my Dad made of me and my twin sister when we were probably 4 or 6 months old? Don't know which one I am though!

For those of you who may be new readers to my blog, check out this post about my Dad.  Okay, my Mom clarified and told me that I am on the left!

So my mom made my pork tenderloin recipe and scalloped potatoes, green beans and fresh rolls.

Thanks Mom! Everything was great!
Thanks Mom! Everything was great!

And I got more loot!  Some of my favorites:

You can never have too much hot sauce, right??!!
You can never have too much hot sauce, right??!! Thanks Aunt Martha!

And my Mom got us two things from her trip to Florence, Italy:

an olive oil dipping bowl
an olive oil dipping bowl
an olive oil pitcher
an olive oil pitcher

We had a really nice time – glad we finally were able to get together before its Easter!

Last night I was flipping through my Eating Well cookbook, and saw a recipe for Cranberry-Almond Granola.  It called for rolled oats (not quick oats) but quick oats were all I had.  So this is our modified version:

Cranberry-Almond Granola

  • 2/3 cup frozen unsweetened apple juice concentrate (had some leftover from my pork marinade)
  • 1/2 cup sugar free syrup
  • 1/4 cup packed Splenda brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 5 cups quick oats
  • 3.5 ounces sliced honey almonds (a bag of almonds found by the salads in the grocery store)
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  1. Preheat oven to 325.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. 
  2. Whisk apple juice concenrate, syrup, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occassionally.  Remove from heat; stir in cinammon and salt.
  3. Mix oats, almonds and pumpkin seeds in a large bowl.  Stir in the juice mixture; toss to coat.  Spread the granola evenly on the prepared baking sheets. 
  4. Bake for 15 minutes, stir, and continue baking for another 15 minutes, making sure it doesn’t get too brown – stir often the second 15 minutes. 
  5. Once cooled, add the 1 cup dried cranberries and mix well.

Our recipe made 11 1/2  cup servings.

  • 227 calories
  • 7.6 fat
  • 33 carbs
  • 5.2 fiber
  • 8.2 protein
Hannah had some with yogurt earlier today - yum!
Hannah had some with yogurt earlier today - yum!

I haven’t gone grocery shopping yet, but I think I have enough stuff to pull something together for dinner – keep your fingers crossed!

See you later!