5 on Friday

Hey y'all, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Now that the girls are back in school I figured it would be a good time for me to breathe some life back into my poor neglected blog. Instagram has pretty much eliminated my blog posting and blog reading these days. If you are on IG, my username is Tenniskat if you’d like to follow.  I figured joining this fun 5 on Friday link up would be a great place to start!

one

   

For those of you who know me, you know I love to cook and I really love reading and collecting cookbooks. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is a fabulous book to add to your collection. Check it out from your local library and test drive some recipes. You won’t be disappointed. The “salted brown butter crispy treats” are life changing. LIFE CHANGING, y’all! Two other recipes worth trying are   “baked ranchero eggs with blistered jack cheese and lime crema” and  “tomato-glazed meatloaves with brown butter mashed potatoes”.

two

I’ve had my eye on the this fun and fabulous Kate Spade tote for quite some time. I planned to snag it if it ever went on sale. Well it showed up in the Kate Spade Surprise Sale for a great price! It’s super cute in person, has a gold pinstriped lining and is quite large. Raise your hand if you’ve ever eaten cake for breakfast!

three

I don’t wear much makeup. If you run into me at Publix or Target, chances are, I won’t be wearing any makeup at all. When I do wear it, I like it to look very natural, as I’m sure is the goal of most women. I asked a friend of mine who is a model and makeup artist what brand of mascara she would recommend. Without skipping a beat she said, “They’re Real, by Benefit”. Ladies, this is seriously the best mascara out there. It’s a bit pricey so you might want to save it for special occasions, but it definitely lives up to it’s name. It doesn’t clump, has great staying power and goes on easily. I love it!!!

four

Another product I love to wear, if I decide to put on makeup that day, is the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay. It is super fun and natural and you can really play around with it. The lip gloss that is in included is beyond fabulous! There are tutorials on YouTube showing you how to create different looks. For someone who doesn’t wear a lot of makeup and really has no clue what to do when it comes to applying makeup for the most part, I have loved it!

five

I love Origins’ products for skincare. I use the Plantscription line and it feels absolutely wonderful on my face. I think it’s important to take care of your skin and use a product that has an SPF25 to protect your face from the sun. Being fair-skinned and freckle-faced I have to be really careful when I’m outside and this line has been fabulous for my sensitive skin.

Happy Friday, y’all! I hope you have a super fun weekend planned!

Crunchy Granola Bars

  It has been almost a year since my last post. Shameful. I’ve been spending my time on Instagram lately and my username is tenniskat in case you want to follow.

Last night I made homemade granola bars for the first time. I’ve always wanted to try them but never have until now. This recipe is super simple and you'll likely have most of the ingredients already on hand. I found the recipe in The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. For the record, all of the ATK family cookbooks are fabulous. You won’t be disappointed and they would make a great addition to your cookbook collection.

Crunchy Granola Bars

(Don’t substitute quick-cooking or instant rolled oats as it will greatly affect the texture of the bars)

3/4 cup almonds, chopped coarse **

3 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and adjust the rack to the middle. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with a foil sling and spray it with vegetable oil spray.

2. Toast the almonds in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until fragrant and golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the oats and oil to the skillet and toast until golden and fragrant, about 4-6. Transfer oats to the mixing bowl with the almonds.

3. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and honey and simmer gently over medium-low heat until the sugar is disolved, about five minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and cinnamon.

4 Quickly stir the hot honey mixture into the almond-oat mixture until fully combined. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and press firmly into the pan. Bake granola until golden, 20-25 minutes rotating the pan halfway.

5. Let the granola cool for 1o minutes then remove the foil sling from the baking pan. Cut it into 16 bars  and cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Place waxed paper between the layers in the storage container to prevent them from sticking to each other. The bars will last up to one week.

**I used roasted and lightly salted almonds that I purchased at Whole Foods so it saved me a step and I also cut back on the salt the recipe called for since they were already salted.

*** I added chocolate chips and golden raisins to the recipe for added texture and flavor. The chocolate chips melted but the bars still tasted very good.