Million Dollar Oats 'n Honey Granola Pie

I cried on my birthday.
Why ?

Because when I was busy making coffee,
my daughter was busy washing Barbie's hair.

I asked her Why?

"Because it's your birthday and I want her to look pretty".

{sniffle }

She could hardly contain herself as she said she had lots of presents for me and that she wrapped them all herself.

She was right !
11 presents and 12 tulips.
That's lots and lots of presents and flowers !
{sniffle}

My boys are really sick with the flu, but one of them felt 'well' enough to come downstairs with a gift for me.
My boys are LEGO fanatics. They have bins and bins full of legos. They create the most amazing original Lego Creations ever.
This is what he made.

{Go ahead, hand me a tissue would ya ?}

A replica of my kitchen.

He knows how much time I spend in this kitchen and he knows my love of cooking. He even made sure my 'nick knack' shelf was there ( left side ).

And he knows it's my dream to have wood floors in my kitchen one day... so he said..."Mom, I even gave you wood floors."

Let me tell you... I cried like a baby.

These lego floors are the only floors I will ever need. Thank you God, for blessing me with a child so loving and thoughtful. I will never want for anything more than the love of my children.

{I feel like Julia Child. Yes I do.}

Oh ! And speaking of Julia and cooking... I made a pie for my birthday by default ! I was actually searching for my cake recipe and couldn't find it, and this happened to be on top, and I only had 30 seconds before I had to leave for the grocery... soooo

I made THE PIE that won $1 MILLION dollars in the 2004 Pillsbury Bake off created by Suzanne Conrad .

Can you imagine ?? $1 million dollars ! Um...I still wouldn't trade it for my Lego Kitchen or 11 presents and 12 tulips.

But boy howdy, it was GOOD !! And I'm not even a pie girl !

It was still amazing the next day, so if I make this for a party, I will go ahead and make it the day before because I hate rushing around when I expect company.

Oh...and another thing.

I used a deep dish pie dish with this...but I'll use a regular pyrex pie dish next time because the filling didn't go to the tippy top.

Without further ado.....

Created by Suzanne Conrad

Million Dollar Oats 'n Honey Granola Pie

1 refrigerated Pillsbury® pie crust (from 15-ounce box), softened as directed on box Filling
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs , lightly beaten
4 Nature Valley® Oats 'n Honey crunchy granola bars (2 pouches) crushed. To easily crush granola bars, do not unwrap. Use rolling pin to crush bars.

1/2 cup chopped walnuts *(I did NOT add, just because my family is not crazy about nuts in desserts)

1/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Whipped cream or ice cream , if desired

Heat oven to 350°F.

Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie pan as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter on high 50 to 60 seconds or until melted.

Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup until blended. Beat in salt, vanilla and eggs.Stir crushed granola bars, walnuts, oats and chocolate chips into brown sugar mixture. Pour into crust-lined pan.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden brown.

During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil or pie shield to prevent excessive browning.

Cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled with whipped cream or ice cream.

Store in refrigerator.

{Participating in Tuesdays at the table & Tasty Tuesday & it's DIY day over at a soft place to land }

Smokey BBQ Brisket

One of my hubby's favorite childhood memories is that of his dad making smoked brisket in a real smoker... Everytime we fly out to visit, his dad has smoked brisket waiting for him.
Well, I wanted to bring that 'feeling' into our home. I think it's important to make not only my favorite childhood foods, but also my husbands. But I don't have a smoker and I don't want one. I don't have the room. Remember, I live in a cozy house. {Very little storage }

Being married to a guy from Missouri means I had to find the most awesome smoked bbq brisket recipe out there, and I have ! I've been making this for years. It's simple. It's economical. This brisket was $13.99 . You can get it for around $8.00 when it's on sale !! It feeds my large family. Makes enough for leftovers ( Yahoo ! ) and get this... my husband said it rivals his dad's ! I almost cried right then and there !

When COZY weather arrives, you will be sooooooo HAPPY you bookmarked this recipe ! I promise, it's SOOOOO GOOD !!

{La Rochere goblet in the "Bee"pattern from TJ Maxx ! $2.99 }

1 (4- to 6-pound) beef brisket, trimmed
1 (5-ounce) bottle liquid smoke
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 (12- to 18-ounce) bottle barbecue sauce ( I use KC Masterpiece )

Place brisket in a large shallow dish or extra-large, heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; pour liquid smoke over brisket. Sprinkle evenly with onion, garlic salt, and salt. Cover or seal, and chill 8 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove brisket, and place on a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, discarding liquid smoke mixture. Pour Worcestershire sauce evenly over brisket, and fold foil to seal; place wrapped brisket in a roasting pan.

Bake at 275° for 5 hours. ( I put the lid on also )

Unfold foil; pour barbecue sauce evenly over brisket. Bake 1 more hour, uncovered.

{Southern Living, JULY 2003 }

It's DIY day over at a soft place to land & Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum and it's my Frugal Friday post because this feeds a lot of people for very little & hooked on houses and Friday's Family Recipe ! Whew ! Why ? Because everyone needs this recipe ! I need a nap now !

Bathroom Makeover

I forgot to take a 'before' picture, but we used to have a small, white pedestal sink in our downstairs bathroom. The walls were painted a horrible builders grade white flat paint and it was always very uninviting.

My husband ripped out the old sink, and this is what I wanted. More storage and soft blue walls ! {Posted for Kimba's DIY Day! }

{Paint-Benjamin Moore HC-147 Woodlawn Blue}

sink & cabinet & faucet - Lowes

mirror - Target