Crockpot Apple Oatmeal

Apple Oatmeal (crockpot version, adapted from Fix It and Forget IT)
2 cups milk
2 tbsp honey (or brown sugar to your taste, or agave nectar, or maple syrup or ....)
1 tbsp butter or coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup old fashioned oats (don't use the quick cooking oats -- they get mushy
1 diced apple
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit; a tropical mix with mango is interesting)
chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, but they really add a lot in texture)

Spray slowcooker with pam(That's very important!)
.Mix all ingredients together in slow cooker. Don't worry about getting everything evenly distributed; you'll stir it up in the morning.Cover. Cook on low 5-6 hours.

You do not need to get up at 1 a.m. to turn this on. Go buy one of those little gadgets that can be used to turn a lamp on and off while you're on vacation (they're popular for turning holiday lights on and off too -- they should be plentiful this time of year and they're only $5 or so). Turn on your crockpot and plug it into the gadget. You'll wake up to a lovely fragrance!

You can do this with steel cut oats too. http://busycooks.about.com/od/meatle.../cpoatmeal.htm (Notice this uses a bit more liquid) Somewhere I have a recipe that uses dried apples. And you make a mix of the dry ingredients and just add milk. Sooooo easy.

The Blogging Mom (as I call her when I quote her to my husband) has a funny story today:

http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

If you're reading this after November 27, you'll need to go to the November archive.

Thanksgiving Menu

Thanksgiving Menu

Profriterole (little bites of pastry stuffed with blue cheese and apple and butternut and onion, etc)

Roasted Chestnut Soup

Butternut Risotto

Haricot Vert (green beans) with almonds

Roast Turkey

Cranberries

Praline Pumpkin Pie

(all cooked by dh, of course)

The Praline Pumpkin Pie is an adaptation of the Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie in the book French Women Don't Get Fat.

Sweet Songs

As a mom of three girls, I find this sort of thing so sweet:
Stealing Cinderella http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtOy8R01fTA

and then there's this one:
I Loved Her First http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhJ3oCg3K8

A New Approach to Dieting

I joined this forum last week: www.frenchwomendon'tgetfat.com, and I've been reading the book of the same name. The author of the book is active on the forum.

I don't have the eating plan all figured out, but I am encouraged by my first week. I only lost two pounds; on any other diet I would feel like that wasn't enough. But the French Women Don't Get Fat book is written in such a positive manner, it encourages me to think positively and to see the successes rather than the failures.

And I can see that I have actually made a huge change -- I'm not snacking in the afternoon! My lunches are big enough that I don't have to! Sometimes, I admit, I've saved my fruit from lunch and eaten it an hour or two later, but I'm not adding extra food in the afternoon. Or the morning either, now that I think about it.

I tried on some jeans that were terribly uncomfortable last week ... and this week I feel like I could actually wear them for an hour or two if I wanted to.

I love the fact that the book encourages you to make changes gradually. This seems healthier and more sensible than the "start Phase 1 tomorrow and eat this really strict diet for 2 weeks" idea of other plans I've looked at or tried.

Paisley Pashmina shawls

I bought four pashmina shawls on ebay yesterday!
(Here's one: (http://cgi.ebay.com/Stunning-70-Pash...QQcmdZViewItem).
I bought a silver one, a black one, a denim-blue one, and a green and black one. All have a bit of a paisley pattern. Now I just have to figure out how to wear them when they arrive! I think they'll be really practical for our moderate weather here in Vegas. And I'll feel like a regency era heroine (they were always wrapping themselves in pasmina shawls...).

Theme Songs from Favorite TV Shows

I had fun today looking for favorite theme songs on youtube.

I haven't watched this show in years, but in the mid-90s I loved the reruns -- and the song:
Mary Tyler Moore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql8G0Ikko5I

This was our favorite show until we discovered Britcoms. I still love the song:
Gilmore Girls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Rgbg02LPU

My very favorite show -- and it has a great theme song:
As Time Goes By http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn9JQANyCQE

and my next-to-favorite britcom (with a slideshow of characters)Last of the Summer Wine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC9MtXKM1NK

Halloween at our house

My dh loves costumes. He doesn't get a chance to be in dramatic productions right now, so he goes all out for Halloween at his job.

Two years ago, he was Captain Jack Sparrow. He dressed up for school, for dd's birthday, and for a church party. I lived with "Johnny Depp" for three days.

Last year, he was Weird Al in White and Nerdy. I told him this was a downward trend. From Johnny Depp to Weird Al. Sigh.


This year, he was John Travolta in Hairspray. (Here's John: )

I was not wild about my dh dressing as a woman but when he mentioned he'd have to shave off his beard, I gave in.

The girls were all princesses for Halloween this year. With dh wearing a sequined dress and the kids wearing lace and crowns, there was just too much foofiness happening, so I wore dh's hat, a leather jacket, and a mustache.

We're thinking about Gone with the Wind for next year. Dh could be Scarlett O'Hara and I could be Rhett Butler.

And now y'all think we're reallllly weird.....