Pumpkin Spice Granola

Beware....rant to follow.

The past few days, I have really been trying hard to remain patient with my husband.  I am proud of him...I love him...and I am incredibly grateful for how hard he works to provide for the family.  He is a wonderful father to our son and is an awesome sport when it comes to putting up with my shenanigans.

However, he is driving me crazy.

Paul's job is extremely demanding.  Coupled with a perfectionist personality when it comes to his engineering work, this basically means that my husband is a complete workaholic.  Again, I am very grateful that he has such a great job that allows me to stay home raising our kids, but I still would really like him to be involved at home.  Or to at least pretend that the family interests him as much as the current crisis situation at work.

Did I mention that he is a perfectionist?  Well, so am I.  And when it comes to our home, I am an extreme neat freak.  This is probably my greatest vice, because messes drive me to the point of lunacy. And the messiest individual around here is not the energetic toddler, but the other perfectionist in the household.  Paul is so detailed and thorough about his work, however not a second thought is given to throwing his clothes in a gigantic heap on the bedroom floor, leaving a wet towel on the bathroom floor, or throwing his coat over the back of the dining room chair even though the closet is less than four feet away!  (When I confronted him about the coat in particular, he pointed out that he left it out because he would be using it again in the morning...Oh, thanks for clearing that up for me!  I understand how that epic walk to the closet can be incredibly draining).

When he came home from a trip last week, I unpacked his suitcase for him, washed his clothes from the trip, and then folded and put them away.  I figured that he was probably exhausted and would appreciate the extra help.  However, there were a few tools and mechanical parts at the bottom of the suitcase and I was unsure where to put them.  I asked him to finish unpacking the rest of the suitcase and then to haul the bag down to the basement.  Over a week later, that suitcase and all the tools therein is still sitting in our bedroom completely untouched.

I am trying not to nag him (rather, I simply remind him that he is a slug), but at the same time I am not his maid and I refuse to pick up after him.  That being said, I am having the most difficult time passing the ever-growing "Mount Paul" at the bottom of our closet without growing more peeved at him.  I'll probably not be able to contain myself any further and clean it all up this afternoon.  Maybe that's all part of his plan...(genius!)

Since I am already in the middle of a husband roast, another pet peeve of mine is that Paul will not eat breakfast unless there is something 100% convenient for him to grab and quickly swallow.  My breakfast staple is a bowl of quick oats and even that is too much effort for him.  As he explained to me, he prefers to have a big bowl of sugary cereal that instantly dissolves so much in the milk that he does not even have to chew.  Seriously, who is this guy I married?

However, he will slow down and eat granola if it is offered to him.  He adores granola.  Since I would prefer that he consume a nutritious breakfast before he heads to work (and slow down and enjoy eating once in a while), I am more than happy to keep our shelves stocked with some homemade granola.  I always make granola in bulk (enough to fill three large cereal bins) because it ends up being less expensive if I buy the nuts, dried fruit, and oats all in bulk.  Plus, that guarantees that I don't make to make another batch for at least a couple months.

This time around, I made a Fall-inspired Pumpkin Spice Granola.  It actually has no oil in it, making it a bit healthier than the typical granola you buy at the grocery store.  With the subtle flavors of pumpkin pie, this is a great granola to eat with some warm milk poured over (even better with almond milk!).

And Paul now dedicates a full 10 minutes in the morning to munch through a bowl of delicious granola.  Score!

Pumpkin Spice Granola
adapted from Baked Bree


5 cups rolled oats
2 cups crispy rice cereal
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.


In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, cereal, and brown sugar.  In another bowl, combine the pumpkin, maple syrup, applesauce, spices, salt, and vanilla.  Whisk really, really well.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the oat mixture and gently toss together until the oats are evenly coated (do not be afraid to get your hands in there!).

Spread the granola onto a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Take the granola out and stir it around. Bake another 20-25 minutes or until the granola gets crisp, stirring every 8 minutes or so. Keep an eye on it to ensure that it does not burn!

Take the granola out and mix in the cranberries and almonds.  Let cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to an airtight container.

Applesauce Granola

This afternoon we had a short break from the constant rain we have been experiencing for the past few days. I took the opportunity to take Matthew outside so he could run around a bit. He has been an absolute beast this past week. I hope he is suffering greatly from an incoming tooth or some other unseen ailment that could possibly explain why my sweet little man has suddenly changed into the little ogre who has been staying with us this week. He is constantly whining, hitting, even biting on occasion. Every time he wants something, he points at me with red eyes narrowed and screams in a shrill, grating voice: "MAAAAAAAAAAA!" When it is something he can't have, such as my cup of coffee, he will come running at me, fists pumping, in an attempt to teach me a lesson for denying his request. If I happen to move out of the way before he can complete his vicious onslaught, he will throw himself across the floor and begin flailing all four limbs in a truly unnatural (and unnerving) manner. This has been happening on and off all week. Yesterday, I actually began counting down the hours until his bedtime, beginning at 7:30 AM because he was already making me want to pull my own hair out.

These were the only decent pictures I took of him this week. Lately, he has been into putting this bucket on his head and just sitting there, drinking his juice. Unless of course he is meditating on the couch while eating a pretzel.

However, he woke up happier today, actually smiling at me when I picked him up from his crib this morning. And, as a result, today has been a very good day. Maybe it was the brief glimpse of the sun and the treat of being able to spend some time outside. Whatever the reason, his mood and behavior has been 100% better. The only minor hiccup we had was while we were outside and I was briefly distracted with watering my plants. Matthew noticed that our neighbor's tiny little shitzu was sitting, staring outside through their screen door. Matthew is obsessed with dogs, but especially little ones. He immediately began running towards the door and before I could stop him, he flung it open and ran inside our neighbor's apartment after the dog. I freaked and immediately ran after him, caught him trying to head up their stairs, grabbed him, and then quickly sprinted back inside our apartment, closing the door behind us. I don't know if anyone saw us enter/leave, but I did not really want to find out. We do not need another reason for our neighbors to dislike us.

For lunch today, Matthew and I made some applesauce and granola. Matthew's new food obsession is yogurt. He can finish off a quart of it in one sitting if I let him. I introduced him to granola and yogurt parfaits (one of my favorite snacks) and he has been in love ever since. My favorite granola recipe actually utilizes fruit puree instead of oil to produce a truly delicious, clumpy, toasted granola. We are still working through all the apples we picked last weekend so I figured this was a great way to continue using them up.

Easy Applesauce

4 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

3/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot. Cover and let cook over medium heat for 15-20 minute, or until the apples are very soft. Let cool and mash with a potato masher or a fork. Store in the refrigerator.

Our Favorite Granola

adapted from Nigella Lawson

6 cups rolled oats

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup pecans

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 cup applesauce (or another fruit puree - mashed bananas also work great)

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vanilla

A couple handfuls of raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, chopped apricots, etc. (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix together the oatmeal through spices. In a small saucepan, heat and whisk the applesauce, honey, and oil. When heated through, whisk in the vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir together to combine well (you might have to get your hands in there to really ensure everything is evenly coated).

Spread everything out onto two large jelly roll pans. Place in the oven and let bake 50-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. When finished, the granola should be dry and lightly toasted. If you do not like your granola so crunchy, you can pull it out earlier. Let cool completely on the pan before tossing with the dried fruit of your choice and storing in an airtight container.