Gaga for Granola......



Sometimes at night while I am watching TV I like to sift through magazines and cookbooks.  Last night I was looking through:

So many great recipes in this book, as well as crafty ideas, but one recipe caught my eye.  The Crunchy Granola Recipe.  It has now been added to the recipe box! So good that I had to share.

The Farm Chicks Crunchy Granola Recipe:

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 cups pecan halves
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the granola: Heat the oven to 325°F. Combine the oats, coconut, and pecans in a large mixing bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Bake the granola: Line a large shallow baking pan with foil. Spread the mixture in the pan. Bake until browned—about 50 minutes—stirring every 10 minutes with a large spatula. Cool in the pan on a wire rack; then stir once more. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

The YUMMY ingredients mixed up waiting to be stirred with the Brown Sugar mixture.

Hope you enjoy the granola as much as we are at the Tin Palace!

disclaimer: Granola made while listening to Lady Gaga... hence the blog title. 

Where I Create......

Some people have craft rooms.  Some people have design studios.  At the Tin Palace I have a corner.  I haven't decided what I am going to call it.  Craft corner??  NO!  Design Desk???  Lame!  So I am on a mission to come up with a name to call my little creative area.

My corner of  the craft world. No I am not ashamed to admit I am a fan of Twilight!

my Muse Board..... a little empty at the moment but not for long!

As I sit at the desk it is comforting to know that I now have a designated space to decoupage, sew or whatever my heart desires!  It is no longer taking over my kitchen table.  Looking forward to getting lost in a project this afternoon!  Where do you create?

Blooming at The Tin Palace

Flowers from Aunt Terri





Flowers from Aunt Rae



  



Pears!!

Apples!

So lovely to walk through the yard this time of year!  The fruits and flowers are beautiful!

Extreme Shed Makeover!

There has been a lot of working going on around the Tin Palace these last few months.  It has been a lot of hard work and I am happy to say I am thrilled with the end results! 

I know in previous posts I have shown some pictures of the small shed that is behind the Tin Palace,  A little while ago I was going through some old photos and found one of the shed that was taken right after I moved in.  It was so fun to see what a big make over the shed has gone through - so I am excited to share:



The Shed July 2006



The Shed July 2011

Another view of the Shed 2011

Also the Tin Palace now has an official sign:

Sign hanging on the Garage!

More to come on the new look of the Tin Palace.  You may have noticed that the blog is getting a makeover as well.  I am trying a few new things -- so there may be more changes as the days go by.  It just needed a facelift.... I am not completely done with it - and not sure what will stay and what will go so right now it is a work in progress! Feel free to give suggestions and or tips.

Potter and Popcorn...

Matt getting ready for Harry Potter!

The end of the Harry Potter Saga is here.  I don't know about you guys, but at the Tin Palace we are very sad.  Yesterday Matt and I went to see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2.  We decided that since it was the last installment in the series we were going to see it in 3-D and sit in the DBox seats.
We had such a great time, shed many tears and will be going back in a couple of days to see it again, 'cuz that's the way we roll!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Wishing you a safe and happy 4th of July from the Tin Palace!