Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Maple Glazed Pecans (& other random things)

So, this week, I am kind of all over place as our household is coming back from the land of stomach bugs and I am preparing for a super hero birthday party (for one super boy of mine) while also preparing to start our new school year next week too!
*because I know you are wondering- we homeschool and have chosen to follow a different schedule. We school through the summer and take a month off in Fall and Spring and then a couple of weeks total for the holidays. This schedule allows us to enjoy the really great weather! (thanks Annie!)

Alrighty, now that I have set the stage, I will continue with a very random posting of things today.

First on the list- Maple Glazed Pecans!
I was wanting something just a little bit sweet so badly tonight! There is not a shred of dark chocolate in the house anywhere (trust me, I tore the cabinets apart). The jar of pecans on the counter caught my eye and I was suddenly remembering these amazing candied pecans that a friend of mine made for me a long time ago. She showed me how to make them and so they became a sort of tradition for this time of year.
However, they had LOTS of sugar on them and this gal no longer eats sugar.

So....I got out my computer and googled maple glazed pecans and this is what I found.
I altered the recipe a bit to suit our lifestyle and they were A-MAZING!

Here is my version of the Maple Glazed Pecans:

-pound of pecans
-3 TBSP coconut oil
-4 TBSP pure maple syrup-melted
-1 tsp sea salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-a pinch of pure stevia powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt your coconut oil in a small saucepan.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Spread nut mixture in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake, until browned, stir once or twice, 12 to 15 minutes; let cool.

*make yourself a cup of good strong coffee, grab your pecans, a blanket and a book and enjoy a cool, fall evening. :)

We are going to celebrate Christmas a bit different around our house this year by doing Advent. So, the next several evenings will be spent with my laptop, scouring the web and reading up on different ways to do this, activities for the kids and as a family, etc.
I plan on making something very similar to this....
....but with my own spin on it, of course. (Photo is from little house blog-check out their post on this project here)
Anyone else out there celebrate Advent? Would you please share your resources and ideas with me?

Other things I am working on...
1.Super Hero Birthday party planning (which I will be sharing with you in a couple of weeks)
I am pretty excited about his party. I love celebrating my children and surprising them with fun parties! They help pick out their theme and such, but I always make and put the decor together and decorate while they are sleeping so that it is a surprise.
I tried a few new things for this party and I can't wait to share with you!

2.Check out this super fun gift! Love it so much!
Check out the full post here. Thank you Pinterest- you scored again!

3. Re-organizing our guest room/family room/school room/craft room/workout room......sigh. Trying to switch out all of our school books with our new curriculum and get everything ready.

4. Planning some fun things to go along with our school lessons

5.Chore chart for the kids.
There are lots of great ideas out there but I really want simple. I really like this one and plan to make something similar.
check out the full post here. Pinterest, you're on a roll!


6.planning the next Dames of DiY class-it's going to be extra fun this time- festive holiday style with extra goodies for everyone to take home!

7.tackling the house.......it's been a mess!

8. And one of these days, I will get my sweet baby boy's first year scrapbook started (he is almost 2yrs old now), get our new family photos hung, hang more photos of baby boy, hang the chalkboards we made at our last class.....etc, etc, etc)

But for now, I will leave you with this....

"God gave us memories so that we may have roses in December."
-unknown

Go enjoy this beautiful season with the people you love. Go make more precious memories.
The dishes, laundry and your want/to do list will always be there....but time with the people you love may not.
*perspective*

God is gracious and I am always learning.

-Jenny




No comments:

Post a Comment

Sunshine from our friends