Ina's Granola

This was a last minute Christmas week project. Our friend brought us some bags of almonds, cashews and dried fruit from a farmer he knows. I knew immediately that I needed to make Ina's granola.  I needed a gift for a neighbor and for someone else on my Christmas list, so this worked out perfect. And it is a healthier option for this time of year.

This recipe is really flexible- you can leave out what your family doesn't like or add almost anything. I add cinnamon, but you could add vanilla.

[Gift tags from Tiny Prints]

Happy 30th Sissy!

Ina's Coconut Cake!

The layers are baked, the frosting is made and a dozen cupcakes are ready to go to make sure we have enough! I can't wait- hope you love it!

Ina's Croissant Bread Pudding

We had some leftover (read stale!) croissants from the bridal shower last week. Eric remembered this recipe from Ina and decided to try it out today. We rarely make dessert unless we are having guests over so this was a serious treat. We topped it off with a carmel rum sauce and holy smokes- good stuff!

I *heart* Ina

I love the barefoot contessa for her sophisticated yet back to basics approach to cooking and entertaining. I just picked up Ina Garten's newest cookbook at Costco this week. (It is about $14 less than Boarders). I love the two other cookbooks I have by Ina and this one looks wonderful as well. My goal is to try one Ina recipe a week. Tonight was her Turkey Meatloaf from her first cookbook. Meatloaf is something you either hate or unashamedly love. Since it is Eric's favorite- and I love leftover meatloaf sandwiches, meatloaf it was! Her recipe calls for 5 lbs of meat! I cut it in half it (as I usually do her recipes). It was great- but I'm really looking forward to the leftovers on toasted sourdough tomorrow!