Due to Popular Demand . . . Granola Bar Recipe

You asked, I listened (to all three of you who commented on my FB status - wow am I popular)!

Homemade Granola Bars
Courtesy of chef extroidanaire Ina Garten.

2 C old-fashioned oatmeal
1 C sliced almonds
1 C shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 C toasted wheat germ
3 TBL unsalted butter
2/3 C honey
1/4 C light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 C chopped pitted dates
1/2 C chopped dried apricots
1/2 C dried cranberries

Preheat the overn to 350 degrees. Butter and 8x12 inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and cocunt together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ (I toasted the wheat germ in the oven for a few minutes as well because I couldn't figure out if it was pre-toasted or not). Reduce the oven to 300 degrees.

Place the butter (highlighted since I forgot the first time) , honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Life in a Nutshell

Despite dealing with sickness, we've had some fun events this month that I've neglected to blog about. Since I know you're dying to know what the exciting Edmiston's have been up to, here you go!

Fun Time #1: Weekend in Sunriver

What could be bad about a 3-day weekend in Sunriver (especially over my birthday)? We headed up late Friday night and joined my parents to visit with our friends that live over in Bend. My deal-making mom got us a beautiful condo at Stoneridge for a good price and it was perfect for our family. It was pretty large and very private which worked well for us - we love each other but need our space! Mike, Sue, and their three girls came out each day and we played TONS of cards. I really like to play games so I was totally in my element. We played spoons, nertz, and BS. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time! Josh and I were also able to get away for about an hour and took a long and cold walk by the river. It was just a nice time to spend time with some of our favorite friends, enjoy our girls, and relax a little bit.

Us being silly!

The girls being silly!

Dinner time (my girls ADORE Ky, Kenz, & Beth)

Serious about spoons!

Fun Time #2: My birthday!!

I love my birthday, and although we drove home from Bend on the day of, I still enjoyed the day with my family. Once we were home, my sweet hubby and daughter made me their first ever birthday cake and I was able to sit in the living room and watch/listen to their attempts at the perfect cake. It was priceless! Annie totally missed out because she crashed early.

Cake Time
Fun Time #3: My "Surprise" birthday dinner with friends

My mom attempted to plan a surprise birthday dinner with some friends last week, but I picked up on the surprise part fairly quickly. We met at Bentley's in Salem and I was able to spend the evening sitting by the fire enjoying my friends that I haven't seen too much of lately. Most of them used to be my bunko buddies, but bunko died after too many of us had babies too close together. Sad . . . I really really miss them!! It was a really fun evening, especially when we headed to the Konditorei for dessert and coffee after dinner. Josh stopped by on duty to pick up my leftovers and we had a great time laughing at how cute he looked in uniform (and how everyone in the restaurant stopped and stared at us like we were a bunch of troublemakers). Thanks to my mom and my dear friends for making my birthday special!

Abbey, Maria, Me =), Shayla, Jill

Well, that's about it . . . hopefully we'll all kick the sick soon and life will be back to normal. I need my brain back (today I attempted to make homeade granola bars and forgot to add the butter. I guess I could say I was trying to be ultra healthy, but really my brain is mush from a killer head cold/flu. Surprisingly, they still taste good, just a little dry and crunchy).

Back to the doctor we go . . .

Miraculously, Sydney has somewhat overcome her sickness. She's still pretty lethargic and grumpy, but other than that is doing fine. Annie however, got worse after our weekend in Bend (which I still need to post on). After two long nights, 24 hours of not eating, and a day of pulling on her ears, we headed back to the doctor last night to find out that she has a double ear infection AND a sinus infection. Poor baby! She probably had the sinus infection last week when we went in to the doctor and developed the ear infection when she couldn't fight it on her own. Now armed with amoxicillan and these great numbing ear drops (we've never had them before), she is slowly returning to her happy self. Emphasis on the slowly part - she's pretty grumpy and clingy but I guess I can't blame her.

Anyhow, hopefully we will be back to our normal, healthy life soon. It's a bummer to miss out on all of the sunshine!!

Karma bit me in the butt today . . .

My mom called this afternoon while I was at work telling me to stop by Nordstrom's and Macy's because they were giving away free cosmetics to anyone who has purchased cosmetics at their store since 1993. Well, the thought of free moisturizer couldn't keep me stuck to my desk and I ran out the door as fast as I could. Twenty minutes later I was the proud owner of a Lancome mascara (which was a super plus because I needed a new tube anyways) AND a full sized Vera Wang body polish that smells delish. Could life get any better??

Well, it got worse when I tried to start Josh's jeep and nothing happened (oh the benefits of our free and clear econo-vehicle). I felt terrible calling him because he was home with the girls trying to nap before work tonight and he had to wake up the girls and drive all the way into Salem. He was my savior although I guess he already knew something was wrong with the jeep and just hadn't gotten around to fixing it (or filling me in on the fact that it occasionally decides not to start).

So, the moral of the story - cosmetic freebies are not important enough to ditch work for (especially when you only work 2 days a week). Good thing I'm related to the boss man. My tip of the day is to head to Norstroms as soon as you can to get YOUR freebie - they're giving the goods away for 7 days or until they are out.

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday gift to you is my favorite birthday dinner recipe . . . Beef Stroganoff. I ask for this every year without fail despite the calorie content and I am never disappointed. I like it with a loaf of french bread and peas (salad is optional). Hope you enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

1 - 1 1/2 lb steak cut into 1/2" slices
3 tbl flour seasoned with 1/2 tsp salt
4 tbl butter (1/2 for meat/veggies and 1/2 for gravy)
1 C sliced mushrooms
1/2 C onion
1 clove garlic
3 tbl flour
1 tbl tomato paste
1 1/4 C beef broth
1 C sour cream
2 tbl sherry
Salt & Pepper to taste

Flour meat and fry in 2 tbl butter until brown and remove from pan. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to the pan and cook until done. Add 2 tbl butter w/ 3 tbl flour in the empty pan and stir in tomato paste. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth until thick. Return the meat and veggies and warm. Add sour cream and sherry. Serve over 1 package cooked egg noodles.

We're outta here!

We are taking a very last minute trip to Sunriver this weekend to spend some time with our friends and my parents. Woohoo! I'm excited to read, relax, and play with my kiddos . . . plus spend time with one of my favorite families of all times (and kick some wii butt)! It's been a whirlwind 24 hours preparing to leave for three days and get caught up around my house since I have been a slacker in the cleaning department the past few weeks. I do love my OCD when it comes to cleaning before leaving town as it's always great to come home to a clean house. Too bad it took me until 3:30am to get it done - what will I do if my husband ever works day shift?! Thank goodness for a very sweet friend who dropped by this morning to borrow a few things and came bearing a grande non-fat caramel macchiotto - Praise the Lord, he heard my prayer today.

Happy weekend!!!

The Doctor Debate

The girls, Sydney especially, have been fighting some mysterious illness the past week. It started with an upset stomach, moved to a sore throat and the runs, and most importantly has seriously hindered their emotional stability. It's like living with myself when I am pregnant - Sydney has cried over more things in the past week that I can count and there is constant fighting between the two girls when they would normally just play semi-nicely together. To make matters worse, I've been feeling close to the same so I haven't been a saint to live with either. Poor, poor Josh.

After making and breaking a few appointments, I finally gave in today and took Syd to the doctor. A long wait and a very traumatic strep throat swab later, we were informed that she is not plagued with strep or an ear infection, and children's motrin will have to suffice. I really had my fingers crossed for some delicious pink bubble gum medicine that would magically end these long and tedious days. No such luck. We left feeling jipped by our $100 deductible and had to go to Target to raise our spirits (which it did a marvelous job - I found the perfect rug for my red dishwasher - picture to come when I'm not so lazy).

Generally speaking, I am not a druggy sort of mom. I don't rush my kiddos to the doctor, I listen to my doctor and let them work the ear infections out on their own, and even tylenol is a rare commodity in our home. My motto is "suck it up buttercup." Josh loves this about me, I'm sure. =) After coming home defeated, my friend called to update me on the status of her own trip to the doctor with her kids. They have had basically the same ailments, but alas, their doctor gave them those coveted antibiotics and they are well on their way to good health while we continue to live up to my motto.

So the question of the day . . . is it better to let my kids suffer through their ailments on their own or should I run like the wind to my own Dr. Druggy???

Soup Day

Yesterday afternoon I had a craving for tortilla soup and headed to the grocery store to make it happen. It was such a crowd-pleaser (at least to two hungry toddlers and my hubby) that I thought I'd share it with you. I think they enjoyed it so much because while I was at the grocery store, a realtor called wanting to show our house (with 15 minutes notice which is so NOT cool when it's a Sunday afternoon, you have toddlers, and were out late the night before on date night with friends). Needless to say, my little family had to race around like crazy people picking up our tornado of a house and then drive around forever during what should have been dinner time. My girls are troopers although the Dairy Queen stop helped. The good news is that the couple who looked at the house were interested and sent over a list of questions today. We're keeping our fingers crossed and praying very hard tonight.

Oops, I got a little off track. Here is the recipe - courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed (I used a small can of rotel too and spiced it up a little)
2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas

Directions
For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

Matchy-Matchy gone bad . . .

Since Annie was born, I have become addicted to matching my girls' outfits. They don't have to be completely identical, but we do try to color coordinate whenever possible. This unfortunately hinders my ability to dress Annie in hand-me-downs (but there's always room for those during play time, right?), and it can be challenging to find matching outfits now that Sydney is moving over to the big girls section.

You would think my girls would get tired of looking like little mini-me's, but they actually have grown quite fond of it (so has Josh which is why he doesn't complain much about the hand-me-down issue). In an effort to give them more personality, I attempted to buy them a few things at Christmas that did not match. Okay, so it was one thing and the truth was that I tried to buy them the same little pair of furry slipper socks but they only had Syd's size. After some negotiation with inner-self, I decided that it would be fine to go ahead and buy Annie the cute little strawberry slippers instead.

That plan backfired bigtime. Sydney was very upset that there were no strawberry slippers in her stocking and even more upset when Annie started asking to wear hers on a daily basis (they have a hard sole so they're comfy, practical AND a steal at only $9.99 at Nordstrom). So today, three weeks after the dreaded Christmas morning with no strawberry slippers, we made the trek back to the mall to return the fuzzy socks for an acceptable alternative. Thankfully there were one pair of the coveted slippers left in her size and all has been forgiven. That is until we exchanged some too-big leggings of Annie's for a cute purple dress that only went to 24 months . . . What have I started here???

Elliptical Machine + Biggest Loser = Motivation

A few months ago (well six to be exact), my very kind cousin gave us her elliptical machine which we promptly made room for in the garage and promised each other to faithfully work out. I can literally count on one hand the number of times I actually ellipticalled (Josh too) and in the meantime the machine has become a catch-all storage compartment. Need a place to hang Syd's jacket - the elliptical! How about those random decorations post-Christmas - you guessed it!

Well, we finally drug the machine into the house because let's face it, who can really work out on a boring machine without the tv on? Tonight while I was burning off those Christmas cookies, the Biggest Loser was on and wow, if that's not motivation then what is? You get to watch intense workouts, great trainers, major weight loss, and I definitely feel better about my relationship with spandex. Seriously - the ten(ish) pounds I'd like to lose is nowhere near the challenge they face . . . could I be so motivated in their situation??

Workout day #3 down - only five million to go. Now if I could just get a grip on sneaking into Annie's pottytraining M&M jar. Really, I don't think I need an M&M every time I go potty - I've been potty trained for awhile now. =)

A Very Merry Christmas . . . And a rockin' new year!

We had a fun Christmas despite all of the crazy weather, losing power, and Josh's work week landing right in the middle of the festivities. We were able to host Christmas for the first time and had a great time with our friends and family eating and playing games. As we were reviewing our pictures, we realized that it wasn't our best attempt at capturing memories. Oh well, I guess we had too much fun living them out. Since our pictures didn't turn out great, here is a little video clip of the girls opening their new pom pom boots.

We also had a fun New Year celebration. My mom turned 50 on Christmas Day and she requested a "surprise" party - you have to know my mom to understand that one. =) I decided a theme was necessary after my dad's very boring 50th party, so it quickly became a 70's Karaoke party. It turned out great and there were plenty of surprises even though she technically knew about the party. The barn looked great with the disco ball rolling and everyone dressed up and had a fun time karaoking. Happy birthday mom - we love you.

Her friends had a great time dressing up (for the most part anyway)

My mom's beautiful cake made by her friend Terri - It was so good!!!

Terri's hubby Rocky - all decked out in his Father-In-Law's 70's wardrobe - he even wore the bellbottoms. =)

My mom and I - Christmas did not agree with me this year and I have chubbed up - UGGH!! Time to work out for sure.

So, if you are ever itchin' for some 70's fun, give me a call. We've got the costumes, karaoke machine, the venue, and all the best music. 80's is next on the list.

Grandma made the paper

During the snow storm my grandma and her sister were without power for 3 days in Salem. Since the rest of the family was trapped in West Salem, Dallas & Sheridan, they were on their own for awhile. She is a writer and the paper asked her to do a little story on her experience in the storm. Here is the link.

She's too cute by the way. =)

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009901030306

Please pray

I know that I promised the obligatory Christmas update, but unfortunately my house is still a war zone and the elliptical is still calling my name. Instead, I will tell you a story about our dear friends and ask that you keep them and their community in your thoughts and prayers over the days and weeks to come.

Our friends have three high school age daughters. On Christmas morning, their oldest daugter's best friend, Sarah, died at 17 from a long and courageous battle with Leukemia. She had been fighting for her life for a few weeks in ICU and just couldn't hold on any longer.

During her funeral today, word was spread that there had been a car accident and a 16 year old cheerleader from their school was killed. In addition, the car she struck was driven by our friend Mike's good friend (and the father to their middle daughter's good friend). He is now in critical condition. What was already a difficult day turned even worse and my heart has been heavy as I have been praying for them today.

I have been reminded that our time on earth is just temporary - it can be gone in an instant and we must live each day to the fullest. While I praise God that these dear girls are now safe in His arms, I grieve for their families and friends who were not ready to let them go.

The local news station did a story on Sarah's story where Beth (our friend's daughter) was interviewed. It can be found at www.kohd.com and search for Sarah Mace.

We're still alive . . .

just a little bit busy around here with the holidays. Hopefully tomorrow after my Christmas decorations are put away, my house cleaned, and elliptical machine used, I should be able to download my pictures from the festivities and share a bit of holiday fun. Until then, I am going to sit on my couch, snuggle Linus (since Josh is at work), and attempt to get some work done since I haven't been into the office in about two weeks (YIKES!!).