This post has very little to do with the granola and so much more about the pantry.

I mean, this granola is amazing. So good. Truly. But I love granola, so of course I’ll say that. And it’s not my recipe. (It never is folks. It never is.)  For the “real” creator of this recipe, click here.

This post is more about how a simple granola recipe made me happy again. (Yes, that’s dramatic. Yes, I’m being serious…. and overly dramatic.)  

For a year, I was in a small rental with no space. (Yeah yeah, woe is me.)  I don’t like to cook. I’ve never liked to cook. But I’ve ALWAYS liked to bake. Always. Getting out the vanilla and opening a bag of brown sugar is blissful to me. But I have to be in the mood. (Same goes for writing, fyi.)  Baking won’t happen unless I’m feeling creative. And I haven’t felt the baking creative vibe for nearly a year. But last night the sun stayed up a bit longer. I noticed it wasn’t dark by the time I picked up my girls after work – which made me think of the following:  

1. Spring is closer than I think!

2. I will have a good 15 minutes of natural lighting to take a picture of something fun in my kitchen.

At the stoplight I asked Google to find me a granola recipe with fresh blueberries. Google found me this:

 unnamed (1)

As soon as the car was in the garage, my girls and I ran in to the house, washed our hands and scurried to find the ingredients to make these blueberry granola bars. But first, we took a trip through our pantry. I knew exactly what I wanted.

These seriously cool serving trays from family in my past. (Mom! Were these Grandma’s? What year?)  I have so many in red and this gorgeous blue. They were tucked away for so long. I even left one out on the counter to hold veggies/fruit.

granola8

tray1

These cute heart tins perfect for a Valentine granola treat.

granola4

Honey. I love this bear.

granola3

We quickly whipped up a batch of granola, and found happy again. Truly. Happy.

Happy that I can lay down in this huge pantry! (It was supposed to be laundry. I said, ‘heck no! It needs to be a pantry.)

granola10

Happy that I can now find my wine glasses!

granola6

Happy that I have a breakfast treat (that my Ella loves!) for at least a few days!

Happy (so happy) that we are finally home.

granola9

P.S. The lovely welcome home card is from Mr. Scott! Read about his kind gesture here.  (Yes, Scott. The card is right by the bag of potatoes. It makes me smile each day!)

Final notes:  Here’s the recipe again. (I used pecans instead of walnuts. I think coconut would be good, too!)

Want more granola treats from HVFH? Click here and here!

granola5

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Leslie Means

Leslie is the founder and owner of Her View From Home.com. She is also a former news anchor, published children’s book author, weekly columnist, and has several published short stories as well. She is married to a very patient man. Together they have three fantastic kids.  When she’s not sharing too much personal information online and in the newspaper – you’ll find Leslie somewhere in Nebraska hanging out with family and friends. There’s also a 75% chance at any given time, you’ll spot her in the aisles at Target.

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