Long Overdue

So life has been simultaneously busy and underwhelming lately. I picked up an after-school job babysitting for an awesome family from my district, and while I love the gig, it does mean that I regularly don't get home until 6 PM or later. This means some pretty lame meals, although some of our crock pot favorites are making a reappearance.



It also means I've been doing a good amount of prep on the weekends. I've taken to hardboiling 6-8 eggs on Sunday evening, along with things like muffins, roasted veggies, and a new favorite:

Homemade granola! Dan's on a yogurt parfait kick, which means lots of greek yogurt (we're fans of Trader Joe's Vanilla) topped with banana and granola. This was super easy to make, so I put the "recipe" below.



Other than that, I've got a chicken roasting in the crock pot tomorrow, we've had chili, and Dan has taken over the production of tacos (huzzah!)



What are you favorite dinners when you're short on time?



Henrich-Style Granola

3 cups oats (I used TJ's Organic Old Fashioned)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1 cup raw almond slivers
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup shredded coconut


Mix the oats, oil, honey, and almond together; place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at ~350 for 20-30 minutes. Make sure you stir/toss it around to keep the edges from burning. Add the cranberries and coconut upon removing from the oven, but while the granola is still warm.

This made enough granola to fill a 1-quart and 1-pint mason jars. Yep, that's a scientific measurement.

Snow Day!

Philly got hit with 12+ inches of snow in the last 24 hours, so I'm snuggled up at home with the husband and dog...homemade granola in the oven and muffins up next. Hoping to get some posts lined up so the breaks in my habits aren't as obvious.



I'm also wishing I had a sled. It looks perfect out there.



What's your favorite snow day treat or activity?

Fun & Fetch

Our little dog is a source of plenty of amusement and annoyance in our household. Lily is a high-energy, stubborn, extremely lovable little fiend. 

So every once in a while, we like to annoy her back. All in good nature (and, as I hope should be obvious, all safely). 

Yes, that is a bluetooth shower speaker. Dan uses it in the morning to listen to stuff while he's moving around the apartment, and we decided to make Lily a DJ. 

She was not amused. 

We, however, were. 

Holiday Baking Photo Roundup

So...I know I'm a little behind the game, but I still wanna share the stuff I baked over the holidays. Despite being sick for most of my winter break, I managed to produce a few delicious things!



First of all, I needed a quick sweet to share at a Christmas party with our small group (read: Bible study). You already know I'm a fan of the Six Sisters Brownie Mix Cookies, and I decided to give it a little festive twist.



A few crushed candy canes, and voila!

Everyone was really surprised by the minty crunch when they bit into the chocolate cookies, but between our party and my coworkers the next day, they were all devoured.



I also made some really basic cookies that came from a jar (oatmeal and M&M), and these puppies from Bakerella (and my Baking Wish List!)



My biggie was a Christmas tradition: challah bread!

I got up early and donned my new apron to make this specialty (alright, the recipe itself is nothing amazing, but this bread is a process).

I like to make two loaves, each braided with three strands.

Guess who failed to take a "finished product" picture? It almost always elicits a "wow!" from some in-law or another. It's a long-winded labor of love, and it's a delight to make every year.



That was my baking season...did you make anything amazing?