Vanilla Scented Granola

A treasured family favorite from a dear family friend.

4 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

2 tbls sugar

4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300' and place rack in middle of oven. Lightly spray large baking sheet w/non-stick spray. Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Combine oil, honey and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour hot liquid over oat mixture, stir well. Spread granola on prepared sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Fabulous Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine Alfredo is one of those decadent dishes that only grace the lips on special occasions, due to the abundance of butter and cream cascading over those thick fettuccine noodles. This recipe will free you to enjoy this great dish anytime you want. The ingredients are amazing, low fat and the end result is as good as any incredibly rich fettuccine I have ever enjoyed. Mangia!

                                      

1/2 lb fettuccine, uncooked

1/4 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/4 cup Kraft Light Classic Caesar Dressing

1 Tbls flour

1 cup fat-free milk or rice dream

Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta as directed and drain. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, dressing and flour in medium saucepan with whisk until blended. Do this over medium low heat. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until well blended. Cook and stir until just to a boil. Reduce heat and let thicken nicely while still stirring (around 5 mins). Pour sauce over pasta and add parmesan to taste. Let sit a short bit to allow sauce to cling nicely to pasta. Serve with love!

Where Are You Looking?

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." (Proverbs 3:5-6). Have you ever tried to see with the eyes of a Biblical hero of greatness, reaching to catch a glimpse of what he may have seen? I think of Joseph today. His eyes saw so much. He saw a coat of great honor and approval, and love in his adoring father's eye. He saw a dream, and then another. Anger-filled eyes no doubt filled his vision when his brothers, seething with jealousy, plotted his demise. What of a deep pit, promising death, the blue sky of hope and promise above, yet his young tender feet anchored below? How odd the foreigners must have looked to his naive eyes as they freed him from the deadly pit, only to ensnare him in slavery in a far away land. He kept his eyes on God when his vision was filled with beauty and passion, yet he faced false accusation and prison at the day's end. 

My thoughts rest in the prison in which this dear young man found himself, cast away, as his brothers had once intended, freedom, family and future no longer his to behold. Could he still look to his dreams while fettered in iron, cold earth cradling him at night? Where did Joseph look? We know he looked to God, as Genesis 39:21-23 states that, "The Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him...because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper." Prosperity in a foreign prison is not a goal many aspire to, yet in a pit of despair, God was still there. After Joseph's eyes saw the dreams of two of Pharaoh's servants, he must have looked at the prison door differently. In through that door had come two servant-convicts and out through that door had gone a messenger with the promise of freedom. "Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house." pleaded Joseph as the cupbearer returned to freedom through the prison door, that soon slammed shut. 

The promise of freedom must have given Joseph renewed hope. I wonder how many, many times he looked up at that secured door, anticipating freedom. Every stirring, sound and thought must have brought his eyes back to the handle of that door. The first week passed, the second, the third. How long could he bear to look at that door hoping for freedom to burst through and save him? Two years crept by and no freedom came. He was forgotten, but only by man. God knew where Joseph was, for He was with him each and every moment in that wretched place. The door of freedom did swing open and wide. God brought Joseph out of the depths of despair and into the abundance of blessing and honor, in His perfect timing. God never left Joseph. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Joseph, who kept his eyes on God, says it best, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result." (Genesis 50:20). Where are you looking? God has not forgotten you, He will never forsake you. Look up. "Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).