Greek Yogurt Stawberry Parfait

This is my first posting of food ( I actually have tons of pictures of recipes and food I have made to post but haven't got around to it). Scotty laughs because when we got married, I told him straight up, I am not domestic, and I won't cook. I was letting him know beforehand so he wouldn't be disappointed when there wasn't home cooked meals. But after we got married, cooking took on a whole new meaning, cooking for someone else is much more enjoyable then for yourself. To make a long story short, I have become passionate about cooking, so much so that I watch the Food Network religiously. I know super nerdy, but I could also look up and new recipes for hours. So here is one that I found. I layered the parfait with homemade granola, plain Greek yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and honey. I will post the granola recipe below.... ( note I have a recipe I like even better that I will post a little later)

Honey Coconut Granola ( I adapted this recipe from Nummy Kitchen's blog, adding a few things)

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup flax seed
3 cups puffed cereal ( I used kamut, millet, brown rice)*
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup brown rice syrup ( the recipe called for brown sugar)*
1/2 cup coconut oil ( you could use a mild olive oil)*
1/2 cup honey ( I added a little more to make it sweeter)
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2 cup raisins
( you can also add almonds or nuts)
In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, flax, wheat germ, and puffed cereal; set aside. In a saucepan, combine brown rice syrup, oil, honey and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture; stir to coat. Spread in a large shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool. Add raisins. Store in an airtight container.

***You can get these at Good Earth, or a Health Food Store***

These are the moments that make it worth it to be a mom. I don't know what it is about babies that anything they do is so adorable, and when they smile it is a show stopper. Isaiah is a super smiley social baby, he loves attention and is constantly winning hearts over at the grocery store, or any public place for that matter. I hope he doesn't use it against me when he is older to get what he wants, i can be kind of a sucker.

Edible Arrangements

For Mother's Day I made edible arrangements for gifts. They where surprisingly easy and fun to make. They would be fun to make for a shower or party. The base is just an eggplant, and then to stick the fruit together you use bamboo skewers. It is better than flowers because it tastes so good, and normal flowers don't taste that great.

Christmas/Birthday/Fathers Day Present All Wrapped Into One

So Scotty, comes to me one day wanting a sprinkler system. He for the last two years has been dragging around a little sprinkler, and being the detail oriented person he is, he would set an alarm and get up at all hours of the night to rotate it. I told him no, because I would rather save the money. Then he enlisted forces, people at work, his dad, friends to let me know how necessary it was to have a sprinkler system. I started giving in a little but i wasn't toatly convinced. He kept working on me for the next little while, and then one day a man shows up at our house, pen and paper in hand mapping out our new sprinkling system. Scotty, was like a little kid at Christmas, he was so excited. So we decided this is his present for the next ten major holidays. No I am just kidding, but honestly it really is nice, and my herb garden, and lettuce are growing because of it so I can't complain too much. It makes me laugh though the progression of the whole thing, from asking, to a man showing up at our house. I think i might have to do that with tickets to Africa, or something like that.