Lemon Poppy Seed Granola

This weekend was a perfect balance of relaxing and productivity.  I have a hard time not trying to fill up every hour of every weekend doing stuff.  So when Tony suggested we go out to eat and grab a beer Saturday afternoon, I was in.

We spent a couple hours hanging out, watching baseball.  I had a couple beers and some pizza bread.  This was our breakfast and lunch.   The bartender was super nice – (hey Stephanie!) but I blame Tony for the blurry picture of her.

Have you had Goose Island Matilda beer?  So good – if you can find it on tap, I highly recommend it.

We came home and were productive.  Tony mowed the lawn and I made salsa for my May giveaway (it will be on its way soon Peggy!).

I love how the lawn looks when he’s done with it.  I think in 13 years, I’ve only mowed the lawn like five times – I guess I don’t follow a pattern when I mow!

Then we just sat outside, our neighbors came over and hung out with us for an hour and a half.  We listened to music on 8 track and grilled up a brisket for dinner.

That’s my new favorite picture of Tony!

Sunday morning Tony made me one of his famous breakfasts.  This was also breakfast and lunch. 

I was busy in my kitchen yesterday.  I had to my my SIL’s lunches for the week – my nephew picked them up yesterday afternoon.  For later in the week I made cauliflower mac n cheese, I made a Thai beef soup for lunch today with the leftover brisket, I made lemon poppy seed muffins and I made lemon poppy seed granola.

I am a bit obsessed with poppy seeds lately.  I decided to try and make a lemon poppy seed granola with lemon zest.

Lemon Poppy Seed Granola Clusters

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of oats
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 a cup of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
• 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 3/4 cup mixed nuts (I had almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup craisins
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, zest, poppy seeds and nuts together.  In a large bowl (I used my 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup) add the butter, agave, applesauce and honey and microwave for 1 minute.  Mix to make sure the butter is melted, then combine with the dry ingredients, making sure to coat well.

Heat oven to 350.  Press the granola down with your hands.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, without stirring.  Let cool completely and break into clusters.  Now, this didn’t have an overly lemony flavor, I think next time I’ll add lemon juice to the wet mixture.  So I decided to add the craisins and the chocolate chips at the end.

All I can say is this granola is like crack.  Good thing I am giving it to my boss otherwise I’d eat the whole bag.

And we grilled again last night – check out this bone in chicken breast – its one breast but we split it because it was so big.  We used Rudy’s BBQ sauce on it, and we had corn and twice baked potatoes on the side, which I never photographed.  Super easy delicious summer meal.

I face talked with Hannah last night for 40 minutes.  She’s been so busy with work (Panera) lately that we haven’t talked more than a few minutes each day for the last week.  She’s been promoted at work so she’s now training people on the food line, and she has a set schedule now for the summer – she’s working nearly 40 hours!

I love that face talk though – technology is so crazy.  I remember it being a big deal that my sister and I got a phone extension in our room when we were 17!

Alright, back to reality and time to get ready for work.  I plan on swimming at lunch today and tonight is Day 8 of Insanity – cardio power and resistance!  And back to no alcohol during the week – just water and tea.

What was the highlight of your weekend?  Make it a great day!