Hi All!
Emily, here, from The Teal Sublime:) I am more than excited to have been invited to write a guest blog post for Sarah today! Not only because I love being a part of her blog sponsor crew, but also because I do not have a blog, and have never even written a single blog post! I know! In a digital world, that seems somewhat strange. With the ability to share glimpses into our daily lives, keep in touch with friends, and share our creative endeavors with future friends, I have yet to take advantage of it. I suppose I have always assumed that no one would really care what I had to blog about. But after reading through so many awesome blogs about daily occurrences, I’ve realized that it’s the blogs about nothing that I find myself doubling over and laughing about, or bringing tears to my eyes with how touching they are! So, to follow their lead, I hope that you enjoy a small blurb about an experience of mine.
My husband and I have lived in Louisville, Kentucky for the last 3 years. We recently bought a house that we are always finding ways to tinker around in, while still training, and let’s be honest, chasing our 1 year old Black Lab puppy, Dillon. (Texas, Forever, anyone?) I work full time for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana where I am the Special Events Manager. I oversee the fundraisers that our agency depends on for our budget to enable us to create long-lasting mentoring relationships for the 1,500 children in the area that we serve. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how great of an impact mentoring has on communities all over the country. *Shameless Plug* To find an amazing Big Brothers Big Sisters near you: click here:) When I’m not pleasantly struggling to juggle those items, I am enjoying building a small handcrafted business of “vintaged” wooden signs, which I love more than anything to share with a dedicated small group of customers:)
I wanted to share with you all a great recipe that I recently made for my co-workers for the holidays (select your respective holiday: Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Bah Humbug) I really like my co-workers, a lot. Most of them, anyway. So I wanted to do something out of the ordinary from cookies, brownies, etc. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s never out of season, and it is always delicious. People always try to guess the ingredients, and it is super simple! I also wanted to try something fun and new with Instagram, so I tried a bunch of different filters and settings and added those as well to spruce up my post a little.
Enjoy!
Praline Snack Mix
8 cups Quaker Oatmeal Squares Cereal (1 whole box)
2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup light corn syrup
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
(This makes about 10 small treat bags. I quadrupled this for my co-workers)
Heat your glorious oven to 250 degrees and begin mixing it up ( no offense if you are a DJ). You’ll want to start by combining your butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a large *heat-safe* mixing bowl.
You’ll want to heat and check your mixing bowl. So, I nuke it for about 45 seconds and then give it a small stir and continue that until it comes out completely heated and I’m able to easily mix it all together with this AMAZING spatula. (I highly recommend it. It’s double sided and double awesome) In a separate giant mixing bowl, combine your cereal and pecans, mixing them well without trying to eat a few nuts:)
Now that your liquids are mixed well, you’ll want to add your baking soda and your vanilla. The baking soda is the star of this show. You should really use a whisk here, and you should seriously think about this one. Your spatula will thank you. I promise…
Give your baking soda a few minutes to activate. It will thicken the liquid before and while it’s baking. After about 5 minutes, you’ll want to stir it into the cereal mixture, making sure you evenly coat it. Then after greasing a large baking pan (I am obsessed with Pam Baking Spray) evenly layer the mixture.
Your mixture should look like this…Well, in color, unless you live in the 50’s:) and pop that baby in the oven. You’ll bake it for 3 consecutive 20 minute increments turning the mixture in between each. You’ll notice the mixture thickens, hence the need for turning it. That baking soda is such a diva.
After letting it cool, you are ready to give it away in treat bags, or eat it yourself… judgement free zone here.
Thanks, for bearing with me:) Hope you liked the recipe! Just for being so generous with your time, I would like to give one lucky winner a $50 gift certificate to my online shop…. See if I had started with that you would have more contenders. Now you have a competitive edge since you read to the bottom!!! Please come see my sometime on Facebook, Twitter, or Etsy. I would love to have you over!
Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year to you and yours!
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