I have been making these blondies since 2007. My mom and I went on a trip to New York and I was obsessed with Sex & the City. We took the Sex & the City tour of New York which included a stop to Magnolia Bakery and I fell in love.

Since these blondies have been on my menu  for years, always with a few variations, I depend on the same core recipe. The original recipe comes from the Magnolia cookbook. I'm a little more free with the recipe than they are. You can mix up the add ins for a different bar (white chocolate cranberry blondies anyone?).

I made them for Valentines Day and gave half of them away so that we would eat them. For those of you following Weight Watchers these are 11 sp (which is why I gave half away and because they're too good to keep all to yourself ).

Ingredients

•1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

•1 cup brown sugar

•1/2 cup white sugar

•2 eggs

•Vanilla extract (2 tsp or 2 dashes)

•1 1/2 cup flour

•1 tsp baking powder

•1/4 tsp salt

•4 oz dark chocolate chunks

•2 oz white chocolate chunks n

How To

• • • Preheat oven to 350
    • Cream together the first three ingredients
    • Add the eggs and vanilla
    • In another bowl mix the next three ingredient
    • Gently fold the dry into the wet
    • Add the chocolate chunks
    • Spread into a bar pan (mine is stoneware from Pampered Chef)
    • Bake for about 30 minutes or until centre is set
    • Let cool slightly in pan and portion into 16 squares
    • Finish cooking on a wire rack
    • Enjoy!!

I had this dream of sitting down to a hot coffee every morning while my little guy napped peacefully in his crib. I'd enjoy my breakfast and prep for the day ahead.

That's not a dream it's currently a illusion and as anyone with a ten week old will tell you if you can't eat it with one hand you're not going to eat.

So, I wanted something that I could make ahead, control my sugar & fibre intake, and actually enjoy and feel full for an extended period of time. That's when I thought of baked oatmeal. I have always enjoyed oatmeal and tried to find healthy alternatives to the things that come in packages. I looked at several recipes online and crafted up these bad boys. I really enjoy the oatmeal and hope to post variations soon.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Serves 8

(6 Smart Points for Weight Watchers)

   * 2 cups oats

   * 1 cup all bran buds (softened with about 1/4 or 1/3 cup boiling water)

   * 2 cups skim milk

   * 1 egg

   * 1/3 cup brown sugar divided (or Splenda)

   * Vanilla extract (a dash to a splash)

   * 2 tsp cinnamon

   * 1tsp pumpkin pie spice

   * 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

   * One Apple diced (leave the skin on for fibre)

Directions

   * Preheat oven to 375.

   * In a small bowl mix half the brown sugar with half the cinnamon and set aside.

   * In another bowl mix everything else together (yeah - it really is that easy).

   * Spoon mixture evenly in a pan. Note: I use this Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan for mine. Because of this I don't need to use oil to grease my pan - if you're using something other than stoneware I'd give it a little spray down.

   * Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top.

   * Bake for 25 minutes (or a little more or less depending on your oven and what kind of dish you use). Oatmeal should appear solid and dry.

   * Enjoy!!

What are some of your go to recipes for breakfast? How do you like to start your days?

• Baby cuddles. That shit just pulls at the heart strings. When he finally learns to grab a hold of you and cuddles back, it's pretty amazing.
• Baby smiles. If you ask me, they come at just the right time. When you're exhausted, and your boobs kill and you don't know when you washed your hair last, you chid smiles at you and suddenly you could run a marathon. 
• Seeing my hubby as a dad. I know I liked the guy, hell, I love him, it's one of the reasons why I married him. But seeing him as a Daddy has taken my love to a new depth. 

• Baby clothes lie. My son was in newborn for about 5-6 weeks and then in 3 month clothes for about a minute. Just sell them by weight & length, because let me tell you the age thing is a lie. 
• There's a lot of information out there, and you are 100% right or wrong depending what you read and where you read it. I need to be kinder to myself and trust my instincts, people raised babies rather successfully before Pinterest & Google. I bet if I listened to my gut more and ignored the noise I'd be more relaxed.
• You know approximately 7% of every children's song out there. You will engage your child by singing these songs, you'll start strong, you'll think you've got this, and you'll end up making up most of the song. That's why I choose to sing my child more educational songs, like Living on a Prayer, Baby Got Back & anything by Luke Bryan, at least I know more of the words (like a solid 24%).