Bisquick, Granola and Energy Surges - Happy Monday!

I have been waiting for this for about 15 weeks now...

My energy to come back! 

No longer do I feel pukey, queezy, weezy, exhausted, ready to keel over, and just all over bleh...

It happened Saturday - marvelous, marvelous Saturday.  I ran for my full 30 minutes.  I did lessons.  I played with my children.  And we hosted a rocking UFC party and stayed up until midnight like  teeny-boppers (complete with my mug of hot tea and honey...).  Ah, second trimester, you are wonderful and rewarding and I shall enjoy you until I get huge and ready to pop.

Now, that being said, there are some things around my house that immediately need addressed.  Things I've turned a blind eye to for quite a while...like my desk.

Quick...look away!  Look away!!

So I've got a job ahead of me.  I leave you with the Highlights granola recipe and link to the Bisquick recipe, both of which I made reference to yesterday.  It is rainy and cooler here today and just the perfect weather to bake up some granola.  Or banana muffins, in my case.

That is, if I ever find my stove...

Happy Monday!!

Homemade Granola*

3 C oatmeal (I used whole oats)
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C black raisins
1/2 C golden raisins
1 C chopped nuts (I didn't have these so I didn't add them)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1/2 C canola oil (I used coconut oil instead and I think it gave it a touch more sweetness, plus a lot more good-for-you-ness)
3/4 C maple syrup (I used the good stuff because 3/4 of my house are syrup snobs, of my husband's influence.  Me?  I am tight with Mrs. Butterworth...mmmm, maple flavored water...)

Preheat oven to 300.  Coat the dry ingredients with the liquid.  Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed lightly with oil.  Press down on the mixture until it's about 1/2 inch thick.  Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until mixture is golden brown.  Once it cools, break into small pieces and store in airtight container for up to a week or more (although it rarely lasts that long in this house!).

*  Gunst, Kathy.  Highlights High Five Magazine, May 2011.  (For my fellow mass comm snobs.)

Homemade Bisquick and my favorite pancakes recipe