Last night I watched this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show online for nearing on the 5th time since it aired on November 29th.  I can’t help it, it’s one of my favorite things about the holiday season!  I wait all year for it, wondering what lingerie hybrids will come down the runway on impossibly thin, fit & toned, not to mention LUCKY models who get to call themselves angels. #SignMeUpForThat

Favorite outfit the of the night? As it happened, it was the outfit that opened the show during the Ballet Segment, and it only 35% had to do with the fact that it was worn by Candice.  Probably going to have to sport some of those red ballet wrap pumps at some point in my life this season! Thoughts?  Ya, they’re amazing.

Needless to say, since then I’ve been perusing the Victoria’s Secret Site for the Runway Ready Video features that have been popping up in my Facebook queue, forcing me to face the idea of forgoing holiday sweets in attempts to acquire something similar to the angels’ fit physiques.   Upon further investigation, I’ve discovered that much like sitting in the lobby of the gym rather than working out won’t get you in shape, watching girls with the hottest bodies on the planet over and over without working out will also probably not cut it.  Unforch.  About to step it up, big time!

Ironically, (especially after just talking about busting my butt to look  like a  VS Angel Re: Wishful thinking, haha! ;p ) I also look forward to the Trader Joe’s Holiday Edition of the Fearless Flyer!  I stopped in the other day JUST to pick one of these up, regardless of the fact that it can be easily found and read, and perused online.  As far as I’m concerned, that’s dedication.  It’s filled with the yummiest holiday treats one could dream up, and I couldn’t help but see eggnog-flavored goodies dancing through my head.  It’s one of my all-time favorite holiday flavors!  It’s possible, even, that I look forward to it more than the TJ’s Flyer.  Gasp!  One problem- dairy hates me.  Time to take matters into my own hands!

First, though, let’s take a step back, I’ve got one more…

Another favorite aspect of the holiday season?  It’s pretty simple, but then again, it often doesn’t take much more than a festive holiday coffee cup to get me humming holiday tunes the rest of the day.  Starbucks holiday cups!  Pop in and get yourself a hot cup of Joe, tea, or you know, even water, so long as you ask for it in their hot to-go cups!  I mean, check it out….SO CUTE!  Worth it.

So where was I?  Probably talking about eggnog because it’s delicious!  I’ve been obsessed with it as far back as I can remember, and now I feel it’s my duty to incorporate it into as many baked goodies as possible this holiday season!

TA DA!  Eggnog Granola.

Eggnog Spice Granola

While this granola definitely has a yummy hint of eggnog, I was hoping for even more.  Next time, I might up the Eggnog Syrup and the SoyNog, and decrease the honey a little to let it really stand out.  That being said, if you are a nutmeg and eggnog lover, you will still enjoy this granola!  Dairy free, and can definitely be made gluten free if you make sure to use gluten-free oats! It’s a must-make for the holiday season!

Ingredients:

Dry:
* 5 Cups Gluten Free Old-Fashioned Oats
* 3 Cups Crispy Rice Cereal
* 1 Cup Walnuts, roughly chopped
* 1 Cup Almonds, roughly chopped
* 1/2 Cup Whole Golden Flax Seeds
* 1/2 Cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut
* 1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds
* 1 tsp Salt
* 1 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
* 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp Ground Allspice

Wet:
* 3/4 Cup Honey
* 2/3 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
* 1/2 Cup Torani Italian Eggnog Syrup
* 1/4 Cup SoyNog (I used Silk Brand)
* 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
* 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
* 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325*F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine all the wet ingredients, except for the vanilla extract, together in a separate, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring at 1 minute intervals, making sure the mixture comes to a boil by the end of 5 minutes. If it has not, heat an additional minute or 2, stirring between minutes and then add in the vanilla extract.

Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir well to combine. Pour out on the cookie sheet, spreading into an even layer and packing down slightly with a spatula or spoon.

Bake 20 minutes, then remove and push edge pieces inward to keep from burning. Bake an additional 20 minutes, removing at 10 minute increments to remove pieces that look brown. Make sure you bake the granola for at least 45 minutes total, adding 5 minute increments to the end if it does not seem golden brown enough.

Remove from oven and allow the granola to sit on the pan without stirring until COMPLETELY COOLED! This part is important, since it needs to cool as a solid sheet. Once cooled, break apart into large chunks and enjoy! (Obviously at this point you can break it into smaller pieces instead if you’d prefer)

Enjoy!

Yummy, crunchy, and perfectly paired with a coffee or latte served in the cutest holiday cups of all time!

Kicking off the holidays in the best way possible! =)

I feel like I’m guest-blogging for my own blog today, which makes no sense.

In actuality, I’m just writing from a different computer since apparently, yet unbeknownst to me, I managed to get the spontaneous combustion feature on my laptop and had to send it in for repair the SECOND time in two years. Now, don’t get me wrong, in the winter it’s nice to have a built-in lap-warmer…to a point, but when it starts to rev its processor with the force and sound of what I can only describe as a jet engine rather than a melodic hum, and the smell of melting plastic fills the air, it’s pretty much a different story altogether.

Needless to say, I’ve been without my computer for a week now, during what is without a doubt the busiest time of the school quarter, and I can only hope Dell gets it together this time and sends my computer back fresh and new!

On that note, Thanksgiving week is upon us! I’m usually pretty amazed and envious that some working folk get not just Wednesday, but the ENTIRE week off! That’s something I’m absolutely not used to, since I’m usually plugging away in non-canceled classes up until Wednesday evening, just in time to head home and hit inevitable, massive amounts of holiday traffic. However, I lucked out this year, and come Tuesday evening, I’ll be home free, ready to prepare for the arrival of Turkey Claus =)

In the mean time, I’ve continued the pumpkin theme with none other than pumpkin spice granola, because let’s face it, nothing says fall quite like pumpkin. And spices. And granola? Go with it. It’s a super yummy, tweaked up version of my Half-Marathon Training Granola (which, by the way, I still haven’t put to marathon training use yet! I know…), and it makes your kitchen smell better than any of those holiday scented spray thingies ever could! Done deal.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Ingredients:

Dry
* 4 Cups Old-fashioned oats
* 2 Cups Rice Crispies
* 1 Cup Raw Spanish Peanuts
* 1 Cup Pecans, roughly chopped
* 1/4 Cup Golden flax seeds
* 1/4 Cup Shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
* 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
* 1 tsp Salt
* 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
* 1 Cup dried cranberries, raisins, or whatever you like
Wet
* 3/4 Cup Pumpkin puree (from a can)
* 1/2 Cup Maple syrup
* 2/3 Cup Packed brown sugar
* 4 Tbsp Olive oil
* 2 Tbsp Peanut butter (or almond butter would work!)
* 1 Tbsp Vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325*F and line a baking sheet with parchments paper or a silpat.

Combine all of the dry ingredients, except for the cranberries, in a large bowl.

Stir together all of the wet ingredients, except for the vanilla extract, in a separate, microwave safe bowl. Microwave about a minute, then stir, and heat 2-4 more minutes until bubbly, depending on the strength of your microwave. Mine took about 5 minutes total.
Stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture, and stir, stir, stir! Combine well, and then pour the mixture onto prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and move browner, edge areas inward. If you like crumbly granola, you can stir it all up on the pan. If you like chunks of granola like I do, try to only move the brown edges and leave the rest of it in tact. Bake another 10-20 minutes, checking at 5 minute intervals so it doesn’t burn! Remove and let cool FULLY. At this point, if you stirred the whole pan, you will have loose granola, and if you didn’t stir it, break it up into large chunks.

Stir in the dried cranberries. Store in an airtight container, probably for about a week…maybe two? I have no idea if it will keep beyond about 5 days, actually, haha 😉

Cat tested, cat approved!

On the other hand, someone is caged this morning, and clearly NOT amused… =p

I hope your short work/school week kicks off with a great Monday!