Fall has officially FELL.

Hey Ya'll! (spoken in my BEST Paula Deen voice)

You know how they say "Spring has sprung"? Well Fall has fell here in East Texas. It's 80 degrees out! (That's cold for Texans!) It's the first day of October and my birthday is 3 days away! In the spirit of Fall, I decided to make my FIRST sweet potato pie of the season! I found a fantabulous recipe online for a crust-less sweet potato pie with only 80 calories per slice! Yup, you read that right! It's the easiest recipe and SO fantastically delicious! It is slap-yo-mama good!

I baked me up a couple sweet potatoes last night and just threw them in the fridge since I didn't have time to make the pie right away. I LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh sweet potatoes. I wouldn't use a canned sweet potato if my life depended on it! I did, however add a few substitutions to the recipe. I didn't have nutmeg, so I substituted pumpkin pie spice. Surely it has nutmeg in it... right? I also added a little ginger. Hey, what can I say... I was feeling spunky. So blend it all together, and pour into a greased pie pan... and VOILA.. crust-less sweet potato pie!

Crust-less Sweet Potato Pie

2 cups sweet potato (baked and removed from skin)
3 large eggs
1 cup Splenda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk (2% used in nutritional information)

Preheat oven to 350*.

Beat sweet potatoes in mixer until smooth and stringiness is broken down well. Turn mixer onto low and add eggs and milk, then Splenda, and finish with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Spray a pie pan, cheesecake pan, or tart pan well with cooking spray and pour filling in. Cook in oven for 30 to 40 minutes - check often around 30 minutes and remove when center is still just a little bit jiggly (it will carry over and firm up). Let cool for an hour before attempting to slice.

Makes 8 equally-sized slices of pie.

Let me just say this.....Thank goodness that my husband is out of town this week so that I have the whole thing to myself! Truth be told, he wouldn't enjoy it anyway. His favorite pie is punkin'.

BTW: I sprinkled the top of my pie with cinnamon. I am a cinnamon Fah-reak! Love me some cinnamon. Love the flavor, love the smell, love putting it on everything. I also topped it with a spoonful of Lite Cool Whip (20 calories)... and there you have it.... Fall.... on a plate... for only 100 calories. Oh how I LOVE fall!

P.S. Spark Recipes also has a recipe for crust-less Pumpkin Pie. We'll be trying that this weekend when my hunny gets home. 

Homemade Granola...Heaven on Earth

I LOVE making things from scratch!! There is something so incredibly empowering in making something with your own hands and having it taste BETTER than something you'd buy at the store. I also take great pleasure in knowing exactly what's in my food.. and knowing that's it's healthy and void of chemicals and preservatives. Although, I have to admit... more times than not ~ I resort to fast food and quick fixes due to my schedule. My long term goal, however, is to make more things from scratch and one day (probably years from now), I would love to go organic. So for now, I squeeze in the homemade things when I can and continue to build my recipe collection.

So tonight, I tried my hand at GRANOLA. I found the absolute BEST granola recipe from a blog called A Beautiful Mess. WOW! I plan on using it in my yogurt every morning this week. It's sweet, and SO simple!

I used extra virgin olive oil, homemade vanilla extract, homemade maple syrup, almonds, cranberries and coconut! It's FANTASTIC! You just mix the dry ingredients (oats as a base + whatever nuts or dried fruits you like), then add olive oil or vegetable oil + honey or maple syrup. Add a few spices and bake, stirring every so often to keep it from sticking. HEAVEN ON EARTH.

Homemade Granola

2 cups of oats (old fashioned kind)
1 1/2 cups nuts/seeds of your choice
1/4 cup dried fruit
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey or pure maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl combine the oats and nuts/seeds. Pour in oil and honey (or maple syrup) and stir to combine. Add in seasonings and vanilla and mix well. Spread out on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes, stirring every 15 to make sure all pieces bake evenly. Add in dried fruit during the last 10 minutes of baking. If using coconut, add in during the last 5-6 minutes of baking so that they dont burn.

Store your granola in an air tight container or zip lock back for up to two weeks! Although I can guarantee that mine wont make it through ONE week.