Tissue Paper Pom Pom Flower

I was feeling a bit festive and thought about sprucing up my new office with a little pop of "spring" during this gloomy fall day.  So I decided to make a little paper pom pom flower.  I've seen them around and figured it couldn't be all that difficult to creat them.

I found a great tutorial online at Martha Stewart.  I can say that you need to be slightly methodical and attentive when folding the tissue paper, but my little flower turned out really sweet!  My hubby even noticed and thought from across the room that it was real.  I guess I did better than I thought.  I only had some pale lavender tissue paper around, so that is what I used.  But I can see a giant bouquet in yellows and pinks and white!  It would be marvelous.  As you know I'm every-so-slightly obsessed with vintage milk glass, so I popped it in one of my little white vases and voila...spring in the fall.

Cheesy Broccoli & Zucchini Soup

I was trying to get the veggie drawer under control and realized we had quite a bit of zucchini and broccoli in there, so thus the soup.  It's turned out to be quite easy.  Hardest part is chopping veggies.

* 2 Zucchini - chopped into bite size pieces
* 2 heads of broccoli -  - chopped into bite size pieces
* 2 medium onions (or one large...whatever you have) - chopped into bite size pieces
* 5 cloves of garlic, minced (we like garlic, you can use less)
* 2 Tbs. Butter
* 3 Tbs. Flour
* 64 ounces beef broth (or chicken broth) - it was two boxes
* 2 cups cheddar cheese

In a large soup pot melt butter.  Add garlic, onion and zucchini.  While that is coooking, chop up broccoli.  Add flour to garlic/onion/zucchini mix and stir well.  Add broccoli and broth.  Bring to a low simmer until broccoli is cooked, about 30 minutes.

When everything is soft, you can either just stir in the cheese and serve, or you can use an immersion blender in the soup (before you add the cheese) to make a smoother soup.

Enjoy all those yummy veggies!

Coconut Cinnamon Granola

Yumm!  Hubby and I are die hard granola fans.  We looooove this recipe.  It's crazy easy, quick and delicious.

1/2 cup oil (I used coconut oil)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 cup shredded coconut (I used large shred, unsweetened)

1 Tbs. Vanilla

Cinnamon - I used about 2 Tbs, but we LOVE cinnamon, so you can use less

Pinch of salt

7 cups oats (NOT quick cooking)

I started this in the evening.  In a large pot, heat oil, brown sugar and honey until it's all melted together.  Turn off heat, stir in vanilla, coconut and cinmamon.  Stir in oats until everything is all coated.  Pour in a 9x13 pan and bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes - do NOT open until morning.  Turn the oven off and then in the morning you have a delicious breakfast!  I use a butter knife in the morning to "break" this apart.

This filled three large mason jars.  DELICIOUS!!

Black Bean & Sausage Soup

I am still feeling tired and gunky from my eye surgery last Thursday, so meal planning and grocery shopping have not been on my list for nearly a week.  I scrounged around and threw together what turned out to be an incredibly easy, convenient and delicious soup.  Even hubby liked it (and he is PICKY).  Next time I will probably add another can of black beans or extra flour to make this soup thicker like a stew.

• 2 Tbs. Oil
• 1 pound ground sausage (we used Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 8 cloves pressed garlic (we LIKE garlic...you can use less)
• 4 Tbs. flour
• 2 cans seasoned black beans (we used Bush’s)
• 32 ounces beef broth
• Sour cream (optional garnish)
• Shredded cheese (optional garnish)

Sauté sausage in oil until browned. Honestly, mine was frozen, so I defrosted it in the microwave.  Add onion, garlic and flour to the browned sausage. Stir until well mixed. Add cans of beans and broth, stir. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until everything is cooked through...about an hour.

Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese.