Peanut Butter Granola

Ingredients
3 cups uncooked regular oats
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
3 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup butter
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat 3 minutes or until smooth.
Toss together oats, peanuts, coconut, and sesame seeds in a large bowl.
Stir peanut butter mixture into oat mixture until blended.
Spread mixture in a single layer on a lightly greased, aluminum foil lined 17" x 12" jelly roll pan.
Bake 20 minutes or until lightly golden, stirring after 10 minutes.
Transfer to wax paper and cool completely (about 20 minutes).
Serve with vanilla yogurt and sliced bananas.

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I found this recipe in the Southern Living January 2009 magazine while at the doctor's office this morning and made it tonight as AJ & I are trying to eat more healthy. I substituted almonds for peanuts (that's what I had) and used un-sweetened coconut instead of sweetened but it came out great! Very tasty! We are not big fans of yogurt so we do not have any in our fridge but this may make me try some. :)

Obama Family Chili

In honor of our new President, I present to you the Obama Family Chili recipe:

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

several cloves of garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground turkey or beef

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground basil

1 Tablespoon chili powder

3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped

1 can red kidney beans, undrained

Directions
Saute onions, green pepper, and garlic in oil until soft. Add ground meat and brown. Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat. Add red wine vinegar. Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down. Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.
Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions, and sour cream.

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It is said that it may be a little bland but I'm not a fan of spicy foods so I cannot WAIT to try it!!

Welcome 2009!

AJ & I bought a Wii back in November on a whim and have loved playing tennis, bowling, etc. We had been looking around for a Wii Fit for a while but with the holidays, they were hard to find. I finally found one on Ebay and we LOVE it!

AJ & I have both gained significant weight since the college days and are hoping that this will help us with taking some (most) of it back off. I guess you could say it is our New Years Resolution to get in shape. I am hesitant in saying "New Years Resolution" because I've only ever kept up with a resolution and that was in 2007 when I wanted to read 50 books in 1 year (I exceeded that!). Hopefully we will stick with this...

If you are reading this, please help us stay accountable!! We don't like being fat!!