Red White and Shia with a Side Jousting

Hi Everyone! SO sorry I am been MIA the past couple of days.  With the 4th of July and traveling up the wazoo to go see BF, I decided to take what little time I had to relax and veg (ie: Women's health and Love Bites- anyone seen that? Surprisingly great!). 

Welp moving on! The 4th was amazing.  It is always so much fun to be down in DC for holidays, all the excitement of being a nice big city without all the stress of the Big Apple makes for one very happy Jessica.

The weekend consisted of all that you need for a successful trip:

1) Transformers 3D: Dark of the Moon- SCORE- Shia is a hottie.(Ok this pic may be a little more scary man than hottie, but you get the idea)

 Source

Shia is totally not my type at all but Selena Gomez has got it right with this one. BTW if you don't know what I am talking bout you are lame- please watch below: 

 2) A party involving outdoor beer pong, an inflatable jousting ring, a rooftop bar, and a lighting storm.  I will leave those images up to the imagination.

3) A little bit of (lot a bit of!!) BF and an extra long visit!

Yesterday after I got home from work I finally had a second to slow down from all the traveling, Shia worshiping and jousting (?) to relax, put up my feet and just hang out.  But nope, I most certainly did not do that. I did what I do best- I baked!!

I have been dying to make some of Julie's Peanut Butter Granola and I finally had the time. As most of you know, I always say, the best thing for a baker is when you have all the ingredients already.  WOOT! Check! Off I go. 

I made one slight tweak because I am a weirdo and I don't really like peanut butter but I would give my Right Arm (not my left, my RIGHT, the one I actually need to do stuff) for a never ending supply of Better N Butter. 

Ingredients: 

2 Tablespoons Better N Butter

2 Tablespoons Honey

1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon

14 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Cup Oats

Steps:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

2) Combine BnB and honey in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 20 seconds. Remove and stir to fully combine

 3) Add in the cinnamon and vanilla and stir to combine 

4) Add oats to the wet mixture and fold until the oats are completely covered in BnB mixture.

5) Spread oats onto a pam-ed cookie sheet and bake for 7 – 8 minutes until granola is slightly browned.

 6) Let cool until granola is crunchy.

* * using too more peanut butter does not make mixture peanutbuttery-ier-, it makes it not crunchy. 

These stuff is the bomb. Julie was not lying. Addictive. Danger. Lock the cabinet... or just dominate the bowl. Hey, I needed to try some in order to accurately starfabulously rate it. DUH. 

Star Fabulous Rating: 9/10- Mine got a little soggy. I got PB happy. Oops! 

Oatmeal Granola Bars

Last night after work I had the most fabulous evening.  Met a friend in Bryant park for a little to soak up some rays.  Met Jvo for a great Sushi feast in Murray Hill.  Slowly walked my way home and got my life situated. I am trying to organize my life a little bit seeing as we are moving in just 2 short weeks... assuming we ever find an apartment (another post... another time).  Welp, organizing my life consisted of the usual.  You know how it goes, vacuuming, bills to pay.. and of course for this girl- BAKING!

I haven't baked in a while so I was very excited to do so! It is my college reunion this weekend and you know what that means- roadtrip!  So of course, snacks needed to be made.  Yesterday I reached out to the twitter community, specifically some lovely ladies over to help me think of a fun recipe for on the go granola bars to take with me in the car.

Well Anne never fails me and helped me out with these amazing Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Granola Bars.  I made some slight tweaks and they really hit the spot.  As you guys know, I really love my raisins.  More than that, the chocolate and dried fruit combo really hits the spot for me. Well, I guess I kind of failed at the whole Only Eat What You Have Challenge because 2) I didn't have chocolate chips and those were purchased and b) I don't know if going out to dinner with friends counts as following the challenge but I have a sneaking suspicion that it does NOT.  O well, if chocolate and dried fruit does the same for you as it does for me, check out the below!

Ingredients:
2 cups instant oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnut
1/8 cup chocolate chips
1/8 cup raisins (I went with white raisins to mix things up)
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Steps:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2) Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl
3) Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl
4) Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until combined
5) Pour batter into a pam-ed pan (11×7).
6) To make it look pretty- sprinkle raw oats on top
7) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (depending on how crunchy you want them to be)
8) Remove, let cool and cut into 15 squares.
9) Enjoy!

These are soooo good :)

Not sure how well they will travel but I will find out soon enough, I brought one to work for dessert after my lunch!

I would definitely give them a Star Fabulous Rating of at least 8/10! They are chocolatey and fruity and nice and gooey.

Star Fabulous Rating: 8/10 

My first granola bars with a success- Thanks Anne for sharing your recipe!

Craisin Honey Almond Granola

I went to the gym today!  The entire workout, all I could think about was crunchy crispy granola. After devouring the Chocolate Granola I made this weekend it was time to make a new batch of crunchy goodness for my morning yogurt. The best part about making your own granola is it is so easy you just pop it into the oven and go about your business.  I decided that this week I would try a new granola and created this Craisin Honey Almond Granola with the help of the genius mastermind behind the Simply Scratch food blog! So I whipped together a batch of this delicious goodness, popped it in the oven, hopped in the shower, and devoured as a nice dessert!


Ingredients: 
- 1/3 cup honey

- 2 tablespoons butter, melted

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 and 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats

- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

-1/3 cup sliced almonds

-1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (It needs to be hot for these to get crunchy!

2)  In one bowl combine honey, melted butter and vanilla extract.

3) In a separate bowl combine oats, flour, almonds, salt and cranberries

4) Add the honey mixture to the dry mixture and stir until mixed

5) Spread the granola mixture over a pam-ed pan

6) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes

7) Take out, turn over, bake for additional 5 to 7 minutes

* Make sure to keep an eye on them so they don't burn!

I tried these as a delicious dessert with a little bit of greek yogurt and some fresh blueberries (I am not a greek yogurt fan but I am determined to train myself to be and this crunchy addition is definitely a step in the right direction!)- Correction, I officially DO NOT like greek yogurt.  I made the smart decision to stick with what I know and not spoil this delicious treat.  Granola and skim milk with fresh blueberries is much more up my alley!

Star Fabulous Rating: 5/10 ( The more honey the sweetest) 

Chocolate Granola

Two nights ago, while vegging on the couch watching re-runs of Sex and the City (thank you E!), I realized I didn't have anything to eat for breakfast the next day.  Being the planner than I am, I took action.  I had seen through a grapevein of blogs a recipe for Chocolate Granola (this recipe is adapted from Diethood: A Bite of Delicious) Being a newby to the whole Yogurt for breakfast idea, I thought, what could make yogurt more filling and satisfying?  Chocolate? Crunch? Yes please.


The best part about this recipe is that it is SO easy.


Ingredients:
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 
-2 tablespoons cocoa powder
-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/4 cup water
-1/4 cup canola oil
-1/2 cup honey
-2 tablespoons light brown sugar
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract        


You can also add any of these:

Or any of these: 

I usually don't because the cocoa powder is so flavorful on its own, but if you a texture kinda person, these might be your best friend. 




here is the best part:  The steps:
1) Preheat oven and line a baking sheet with a pammed piece of tinfoil
2) In a large bowl combine rolled oats, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, salt and optional walnuts, almonds and dried fruit. 
3) In a small saucepan, combine the water, oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla; until comes to a boil. then take it off the burner.
4) Combine the liquid mixture to the dry mixture. 
5) Place, spread out, on the baking sheet. 
6) Bake for 20 min, shake up, bake for 20 mins.  If you want them crunchier, bake longer.  
** make sure to check often to prevent burning (burnt chocolate is not my jam). 
7) Take out and cool!

It is delish.  Make sure to keep it in a sealed container so it stays crunchy and crispy! 


It tastes great on its own and with milk.  My roommate agrees- she ate almost half the batch last time I made it.  No worries tho, as you can see, its very easy to whip together another batch.


Today I am trying it my yogurt. Wish me luck!

Best. Afternoon. Snack. Ever

Star Fabulous Rating: 8/10