Homemade Granola with Pumpkin Pie Spice

You can eat it right out of your hand, pour milk over it and eat it like cereal, or make a healthy parfait by layering yogurt and granola.  Anyway you serve it, homemade granola is the bomb.

Here's the ingredients I used, modified somewhat from the recipe on

My Baking Addiction

4 cups old-fashioned oats

chopped pecans

sliced almonds

craisins

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 Tbls pure maple syrup

2 Tbls mild olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, and pecans.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, oil, and pumpkin pie spice.

Mix and bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour over the oat mixture.

Stir to coat.  Spread in a 1/2 sheet pan lined with a silicone mat.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, stir occasionally. 

Let cool, add the craisins.

Store in an airtight container--I used the empty oatmeal container.
(reuse stuff!)

You can improvise and use any combination of nuts and dried fruit.

Here's the link to make your own pumpkin pie spice:

pumpkin pie spice

Enjoy friends!

Raspberry Pecan Summer Salad

This is a great summertime salad with just the right amount of sweetness--without the sugar!  Seriously!  Thanks, Maximized Living for this recipe.  Love it!

I made a half recipe for us tonight, but here's the whole meal deal for you!

The cast of characters:

1/3 Cup raspberry spreadable fruit (no sugar); 1 Cup fresh raspberries, 1/4 Cup red wine vinegar; 1/4 Cup Olive Oil, 1/2 Cup chopped pecans; 1 tsp poppy seeds, 1 Cup sliced button mushrooms, 8 Cups of Romaine Greens.

In a blender, combine the spreadable fruit, vinegar, olive oil, 

and poppy seeds to make the dressing for the salad.

In a large salad bowl, combine the greens, mushrooms, raspberries, and pecans.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine!

MMM, so good, so healthy!

You could substitute strawberry spreadable fruit and strawberries for this salad also!  

Enjoy Friends!