Weekly Reflection

Well, I would like to say that this is a weekly reflection from the fourth week of October.  But it isn't.

So, this is last week's(week 3 of October.).

 Our family was given a dresser for the girls.  Now, we won't have them living out of the cute baskets that were also given!  They are so excited!

 There was an impromptu picnic in the front yard when the weather was cooler!

 Here they are coming in from said picnic!

 This was the week before the Fall Festival.  And our boys were painting for their booth on Nehemiah.

 I decided to get crazy and make homemade apple fritters like Publix!

 They were too yummy!

 The cooler weather just makes the trampoline so much more fun!

 The boys are getting ready to help make some sandwiches!

 Yes.  You see a "cheater" bread!  It was a crazy week.  We even took off from homeschool just to get ready the Fall Festival.

 These next several pics are of the boys painting the walls for Nehemiah's Booth.  They put on a play.

 I found the girls doing school late one night...I guess this is at 9p.m. or so.  They were so cute!

 I guess they heard my camera beep.  They looked up at just the right time!

 So silly!  They love their math books!

 Here they are trying out some swivel rocking chairs that I hope to purchase some day, if they are still there when I raise the dollars!

 Here is my booth for the fair...a Photo Booth!  we were in the setting up phase.  Our sweet sister in the Lord, Brett and my sweetie posed for me so I could figure out where to stand with the camera!  Thank you guys!

Photo of several youth working together hauling one of those very heavy tables to another booth!

So, that was last Saturday...and I will update you on week four in October soon.  We have had a bit of sad news.  My mother in law is not doing well after a stroke Sunday morning.  Please pray for our family...they are dealing with many things.

October week 2 Weekly Reflection

So my birthday was this week...and the girls surprised me with this poster and a keychain.

I really love it!

Made homemade chocolate and granola.  This is how Mushy watches the contents because she is too short to look in the pot!  Funny.

Homemade chocolate and granola mixed together to make homemade candy bars.  MMMMM.

We have started eating our granola chopped up instead of in bars.

Here is the chocolate ready to go in the freezer.

Here is some scripture we have had on our hearth since Christmas, but I just had to take a picture to share with you and for Doorposts....I love those guys(and gals).

Sparkplug at work and no play...

They look like they are working...but I am almost certain there must be some playing going on!

Our Social Studies definitions.

I made these curtains this week from some fabric that a dear friend gave me.

A very sweet friend sent me some birthday money to buy something special just for me and I found this at a quaint used furniture store!

My sweet Queen B.  

Here is a better photo of my neat find!

Straightened the craft room for the umpteenth thousandth time!

Sweet Mushy has a picture for me!
It has been a great Birthday week!  Pretty good school week. And now onto the weekend and the start of another week!

Our Granola Bars...

Homemade Granola Bars

September 16, 2009 in Uncategorized by Maralena | 5 comments

Homemade Granola!  Yay!  I only wish I had known how to do this years ago!

Here are most of the ingredients that you will need.

2-3 cups of rolled oats(old fashioned)

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted)

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup coconut

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup turbinado sugar or brown sugar

1/3 cup of honey

3 tbs butter ( I use salted butter)

raisins( optional)

chocolate chips ( optional)

Here is some items you will be using to make the granola. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

large pan

medium pot

Put the oats, seeds, coconut, and wheat germ in your pan.  You are going to put this in the oven to roast a bit.  Stir occasionally for 10 minutes.

If I forgot to list some of these items, here they are!  (I am so easily sidetracked sometimes!)

Sugar

Honey

butter

vanilla extract

cinnamon

When your oat mixture is roasting for about 10 minutes, you need to start melting your butter and sugar and honey in the simmering pot for about 5 minutes.  Put in your salt and cinnamon when all else is melted.  Take it off the burner, and add the vanilla.  Don’t be alarmed at the bubbling sizzle like I was! 

Take out the oat mixture from the oven.  Ooh it’s roasty!

Pour it into a large bowl.  Now pour the hot melty sugar and butter mixture over the oats and etc.  And stir with a spoon until all is covered with your sugary glue!

Here is the point when you will want to add your raisins or other dried fruit, and or also chocolate chips.  About 1/2 cup for each should be good.

I have also roasted almonds and walnuts for my husband and I in a separate batch of granola.  I don’t really like using nuts at all in my home because of the severe peanut allergy that some of my children have.  So I am very extra careful at keeping nuts put way up like a medicine!

After you have mixed all ingredients you can scrape it into a gently oiled 9 by 13 glass pan and press with an oiled spatula.  And hopefully you didn’t turn off the oven because you need to bake this for another 10 to 15 minutes!

When it is almost completely cooled I cut the granola bars either with a knife or the spatula seen in the picture above.

Here is mine fresh out of the oven!  Oh the cinnamon makes it taste so good!  And for the same amount that I pay for 6 bars, I can now make 16-20 bars!  Wow!

Here they are all stacked and ready to consume.

I keep them in an air tight jar.  They have stayed crunchy.  My husband actually takes one or two of them and crushes them in a cereal bowl and pours milk on them and eats that for breakfast some days.

I hope you all enjoy trying to make this granola recipe.  I just put together 3 or 4 different recipes I found.  Some say leave out the butter, some say leave out the sugar, some say cook shorter, some say cook longer.  This is just what worked for me.  Ya’ll be blessed today!