Adventures in Frugalness Take 1---Basic Granola Recipe too!

I thought I might as well document my adventures in forced frugality since in all likelyhood it will end up taking all of my time and I will have nothing else to write about.  This is installment #1 and may just be the only installment ever made either because I give up on this whole "saving money" thing and go bankrupt instead, or am so busy cooking, cleaning, and balancing checkbooks that I no longer have time to post.  Huh.....

This morning, I decided to take my mother's advise, after yesterday's disaster (see post here), and broaden my breakfast menu horizons.  I woke (or, more accurately, was awakened) bright and early, no kidding...it was like 6:30AM, and jumped right a double batch of granola. Yum....I love granola.  My mother assured me it is rather inexpensive as long as you forgo any of the tasty goodness.  Just kidding...she didn't add that last bit...and it's not true.  Granola is just as good plain as it is with the additions. (I decided to share my recipe with you, you lucky devil...it's at the bottom  of the post).

After I was done with the granola, I carted 2 kids off to soccer practice...picked up a box of peaches on my way home...made lunch...vacuumed my house (okay...most of it)...put my kids down for naps...and MADE PEACH FREEZER JAM!  I peeled and put away enough peaches for 3 pies, one of which I will make tomorrow...and there are even some FRESH peeled peaches to go on top of...yep, you guessed it....GRANOLA tomorrow morning.  


Yeah...I know....I'm a domestic diva today.

Nope...I'm not trying to brag...just trying to document some accomplishments so I can come back later and prove to myself that I'm not a complete failure in the kitchen/mommy department.

Okay...so here's the recipe.



Basic Granola
(from Mama Cindy's cookbook --aka it's my mom's recipe---and yes, it's from an actual cookbook, of the three ring binder variety that is chalk full of family favorite recipes from our childhood...and beyond.  It's awesome!)  Anyhow....to the recipe.

6 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup slivered almond
1/4 cup sesame seeds  (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil (can use half olive oil)
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried fruit (optional)

Stir dry ingredients together in large bowl.  Mix oil and honey together, heat on low until honey is warm and runny.  Stir in vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients; stir until evenly coated.  Spread on 2 cookie sheets.  Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned.  For finer granola stir every 5 minutes--for chunkier granola don't stir at all.  Add dried fruit after granola is cool.  Store in airtight container.  Keeps for 2-3 weeks.

My mom has tried dates (ugh), mango, and craisins for a tropical mix; dried blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries for a plain fruit mix as well. 

I am cheap, poor,  frugal...so, if my kids want fruit, they can add a few raisins.

Next time I'm going to try cutting down the oil.  Yeah, it makes it yummy...but I don't think ALL of it is necessary.  I'll let you know how it turns out. 


Just one easy click!

Stubborn Syndrome vs. Starving Children In Africa

My children have a tendency to be quite stubborn.  I'd like to blame it all on their father...but that would be a lie...because let me tell you, when it comes down to a battle of wills....I do NOT back down...at least not all the way.  I like to call it "consistency"...some people have other ideas, I am sure.

Because of our new money saving strategies (born out of desperation to hold onto what little we have) we have been forced to experiment a lot more with food budgets and food consumption....which has led to a HUGE change in our breakfast menu (as in branching out from large portions of cold cereal everyday...and sticking to the olden days breakfast of champions.  Oatmeal...Oatmeal...and, you guessed it, more oatmeal.

The kids don't seem to mind, but I am thoroughly bored with it, which is actually quite ironic since when we did have cold cereal I CHOSE to eat oatmeal everyday (at least most days) and now that I am "FORCED" to eat it...I don't want to.  Honestly!

Anyway... I've been trying to experiment and add a little variety to "the norm" some mornings, which has resulted in some pretty unsavory tantrum throwing.  My kids do NOT like to try new things unless there are super human amounts of sugar involved.

This is what a typical conversation on "experiment morning" sounds like...
Them- "WHAT is THAT?"
Me--"insert food name here"
Them--"That's DISGUSTING", "That's not what I asked for." "I'M NOT GOING TO EAT IT!" "WAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
 Me--"Well...suit yourself...but this is what we are having"
Them--"I'D RATHER EAT NOTHING!"
Me--"Okay...well that is your choice."

Typically after rehashing this conversation over and over, I loose my patience and go off on my "There are starving children in Africa (which is the argument I heard when I was young) who have no food to eat...and you are NOT going to waste this and mock their suffering...you should be grateful for what you have" speech.

"Well...I'm still not going to eat it."

"That's your choice," I reply, "but you can not eat anything else until this is gone. PERIOD."

And I stick to it....I do.

Well...this morning was no exception.  All I tried to do is add a little germade to the oatmeal.  You would think I had taken away their birthdays with all the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.  HONESTLY!

The two oldest eventually relented, because they REALLY wanted some cinnamon butter toast (which I would only let them have AFTER they had emptied their bowls of whole grain goodness), but Mr. More Stubborn Than Them All (aka 4 year old Mini Rob) was not about to give in.  Typical!

He held strong...all day long.  Through snack time and even though lunch time...choosing to go take a nap instead of eating, though he was totally complaining of hunger.

I had to do something.  As much as I want to stick my ground, the poor kid had not eaten all day and was getting grumpier by the second.  So when he woke up from his nap I had two things to consider.

What could I offer him to entice him out of his stubborn stupor (I mean, the poor kid was starving)?  and What could I do to make his experience more enjoyable (maybe heat up the now refrigerated mass of goo that was formerly recognizable as hot cereal)?

In answer to the first question...I decided to pull out the big guns.....HOT CHOCOLATE!  Mini Rob's favorite!

and the second...I relented and heated up the cereal for him....yeah, I'm that nice. 

Worked like a charm.  No matter that it's 100 degrees outside right now....the mention of hot chocolate was too irresistible. 

He scarfed down the now warm raisin filled goo and got his hand on some "Schocowate.  I wuv schocowate."

I'm a genius...I know.

Although...maybe I should stop experimenting for a while....avoid the situation all together.  Makes me all agitated from the day's get-go and it sure doesn't make them happy either.  Lose-Lose kinda thing.


My mom suggested that I possibly make up weekly a breakfast menu and start changing it up a bit.

"Yeah....but that will take a lot of effort," I whined in a yeah-that's-a-good-idea-but-I-don't-wanna sort of way.

I just wanna be lazy...stay in my bed in the mornings while they pour themselves a bowl and chow down.  Is that too much to ask?  sigh....

If I were rich I would spend all of my money on cold cereal and milk dispensers for my kitchen and a never ending supply of food to fill them.  Yeah...it means that much to me.

Although...now that I think of it, if I were rich I would probably send lots of money over to Africa for those poor starving children.  That would be the more Christlike thing to do, right?

Maybe I could do both..........when I'm rich someday, of course.     Hmmmmm....



P.S.  Don't tell my kids...but about the germade/oatmeal...I had to gag it down myself.....blegh!


Did you think this story was funny?  If so...click on this little banner here and vote for me.

If you need a good laugh...I LOVE these guys!

Kid History...nothing is better.  Good, clean, fun.  Flippen' awesome comedy!

My kids LOVE...LOVE these video.  They asked to watch "all the episodes".  I agreed to some.  Much to our surprise we discovered they had come out with ANOTHER goodie.  Without further ado.....Episode 6.



If you haven't seen them all...you NEED to take the time to.  They are SO worth it.

Don't forget to vote for Testosterone Overload.  Click here!

"Testosterone Overload kills brain cells"

I decided, just now, to Google the name of my blog, Testosterone Overload, and see what it came up with.

Of course a link to my blog did, but just a few hits down I saw this one.

Testosterone Overload Kills Brain Cells - Early Retirement ...

It made me laugh....really hard.

As the only female in a home with a definite overload of testosterone I can totally identify with this statement.

Slaughtered brain cells....check.

Looking for early retirement....check.




ha ha ha ha ha....love it.




Just one easy click!

Pictureless for an undetermained amount of time.

Sigh...

This blog shall remain picture-less for an undetermined amount of time. 

Why?

I broke my camera...my $350 camera....yeah....

CRAP!

First, I dropped it.  I seem to have a nack for that kind of thing.

It wasn't a huge fall, but it did something to the lens.  It wouldn't zoom in and out and it messed with the function of it enough that the camera would not take pictures. 

We have no...as in, ZERO, ZILCH...local camera repair shops.  Just to send it in to the nearest qualified Panasonic repair shop would cost over 1/2 of the camera's original price...plus parts.  Oh yeah...and....I don't have any money.  Bummer.

My solution?

Take it apart and "fix" it myself.  (a trait I inherited from my father...only he is an engineer and knows what he is doing.  Note to self....get a degree in engineering before attempting something like this again!)

It went fairly well....

until the very very end.  I messed SOMETHING up  ????? and now it wont even turn on.

DOUBLE CRAP!

Big ginormous sigh....

Does anyone have am extra camera lying around the house that I can borrow for a while or buy for super super cheap?
Just one easy click!