Homemade Granola Bars

This recipe was recently shared at a recipe/menu exchange group I created a year ago called My Girlfriends Kitchen.  It is a group that shares our tried and true favorite recipes based around a chosen theme for the month.  The month of September I thought I need new ideas for home lunches for school and after school snacks.  Many great ideas were shared, but this one was my favorite! Annette is a fabulous cook and baker and cake decorator extraordinaire.  Check out her blog to see for yourself.   http://www.violetscustomcakes.blogspot.com/

Homemade Granola Bars—Annette Moss

1 cup sugar (granulated or brown)

1 cup corn syrup or honey

1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)

Stir until combine

Add:

2-3 cups old fashioned oats

2-3 cups rice krispy cereal

Combine and add more oats if needed.  (More oats make it drier/crunchier, less oats makes it chewier).

At this point stir in whatever you want like:

Chocolate chips

PB chips

Coconut

Raisins

Craisins

Pretzel pieces

Graham crackers/ Marshmallows/ and chocolate chips s’mores flavor

Line 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper so it comes up to the sides.  Dump granola bar mix into the pan. Press flat and cut into bars. Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.  (If they last that long!)

Salted Caramel Granola

I love granola! I love making it for my family and friends. I came upon this recipe when I was searching for some recipes for a special shower I was hosting at my house for a friend of mine who was a surrogate mother for her dear cousin.  One special gal! So I wanted this shower to be simple yet have a variety.  I made several homemade granolas and this one took the prize. It is more like a treat than it is a tree hugging "granola" snack.  Probably why everyone devoured it.  Its a keeper for sure!

SALTED CARAMEL GRANOLA

Author: KELLEY GRANT 

http://thegrantlife.com/salted-caramel-granola/

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups oats

• ½ cup flax seeds (optional)

• ⅛ cup chia seeds (optional)

• 1 cup pecans

• 1 cup of pretzels

• ½ cup honey

• ½ cup of coconut oil

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• ½ stick of butter

• ½ cup of brown sugar, packed

• 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Preheat oven to 350. Spray a cookie sheet or use a silicone baking sheet.

2 Mix together the oats, flax seeds, chia seeds, pecans, and pretzels.

3 In a saucepan, bring the honey, coconut oil, brown sugar and vanilla to a boil.

4 Allow to cool then mix together with the dry ingredients.

5 Press the mixture onto your cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes,or until it starts to turn golden brown.

6 Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes.

7 While its cooling, bring the brown sugar, butter and milk or cream to a boil on the stove stop. Whisk constantly.

8 Allow to boil for 3 minutes then remove from heat.

9 Pour over the granola and place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

10 Remove, let cool and break into pieces!

11 Enjoy!

Apples with Toffee Dip

I was introduced to this yummy fall treat years ago when we were grad students in Connecticut. Our dear friend Lynnette was such a gourmet cook that it was always great when she shared something so simple like this that I could put together. She has inspired me to learn more about cooking and enjoying it over the years of our friendship. Here is her recipe word for word:

Every time I make this I get requests for the recipe, so here it is. I know it seems a little pampered chef-like, but I promise it's really good. Don't use fat free cream cheese because it turns into a watery mess. Also, the toffee bits will eventually dissolve, so you might want to wait to stir them in at the last minute. 

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce block) 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened

¾ cup toffee bits

apples for dipping

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add toffee bits, mix well. Cover and chill.

Quick and Simple Pizza

We like pizza. We like tortilla's; so we combined the to for a quick and easy lunch or snack. It is a new family favorite, but I try not to do it to often so that it is still fun when I need a super quick meal for us to eat. I love the new mini pepperoni's they have out now. I am not a huge fan of pepperoni, but the little one's for me seem to be so much better than the big spicy ones and they're easier to eat.

1 Tortilla

1 teaspoon of Pizza sauce (we use homemade pasta sauce)

Cheese

Mini Pepperoni's or other favorite pizzas toppings

In a small fry pan place tortilla and warm the first side. Flip the tortilla to second side and load with toppings. They will melt and get heated as the second side is warming. We like to leave the second side a little longer until it toast a little bit making it more crunchy like a crust. Slide out of pan onto a plate and slice. Enjoy

POWER Muffins

I made these great little muffins for a afternoon snack this past week and the kids and friends LOVED them. I substituted chocolate chips for the raisins - for obvious reasons We LOVE CHOCOLATE! I am not a big fan of cooked raisins. It made 2-dozen mini muffins.

Power Muffins

1/2 c. peanut butter

2/3 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 c. mashed banana (2 or 3)

2 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. hot water

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. rolled oats or oatmeal

1 c. raisins

Beat peanut butter and sugar. Beat in egg, then bananas. In small bowl, mix baking soda and water and stir to dissolve. Add to banana mixture. Mix in flour and salt, then oats and raisin. Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Make approx. 18 muffins.

Can also put them in a zip-lock bag in the freezer and grab one for a quick breakfast or after-school snack. Microwave for 20 seconds.

http://weareeating.blogspot.com/2008/02/power-muffins.html

*One other note the original site said: "I didn't have quite enough bananas. So I added applesauce to make up for the rest of what was needed to total one cup. It worked great"

Energy Bark

This is such a great and healthy snack! If you are picky about the snacks you give your family, you are going to love this one!! It has carbs and protein to keep you and your kids going. Its a sweet and nutty flavored snack that everyone at our house loves. I usually double or triple the batch every time I make it. (I got this recipe from Parents Magazine in November 2006, p. 2006)

1 cup Old-Fashioned Oats

1 cup sliced Almonds

1/2 cup Coconut Flakes

1/4 cup Wheat Germ

2 Tablespoons Whole Wheat flour (I have used white here too)

1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

3 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Honey

Heats oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, mix together oats, almonds, coconut, wheat germ, flour, and cinnamon. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and honey; bring to a boil and cook 30 seconds. Pour over oat mixture and stir to combine. Spread on foil-lined baking sheet and bake 20 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet, then break into pieces.

Makes 12 servings

Nutrition per serving: 153 Calories, 4g protein, 9 g fat; 17 carbs; 32mg calcium, 2 g fiber.

Peanut Butter Granola

I got this recipe from Diana E. at a Relief Society function. I was so excited to try it because we love granola at our house. Its great and fun to have a new flavor. We liked it plain as snack or as a quick cereal with milk on it. It is great on top of ice cream sundaes. For me it has to be paired with the right fruit and yogurt. It still doesn't top our Almond-Coconut granola, but we will make it over and over I am sure! Thank you Diana for another great recipe

Mix and Heat in 4 cup glass mixing bowl fir 4 minutes on High in the microwave.

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/3 cup margarine or butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl:

12 cups Rolled Oats

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

(you can also add nuts or coconut if you would like)

Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix quickly until it is evenly coated. Put onto 2 greased cookie sheets. Put both in oven one on upper rack and one on lower. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Switch cookie sheet to alternate rack and bake additional 10 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let the granola dry for several hours in the oven. Store in air tight container and enjoy.

Brown Bag Carmel Corn

This Carmel Corn is so IRRESISTIBLE!!! Diane Paxton gave us a bag of this for Christmas and we fell in love! I finally got around to asking her for her recipe. Growing up my family was known for their Carmel Corn and it was a party regular. So FAM--you are going to love this one. It's not soft and chewy like the family tradition, but has more the texture of Crunch-a-Munch. Tonight was a Friday night slumber party at our house. A single batch of this disappeared quickly amongst the 2 adults and 6 kids. I dare you to try to just eat one handful, near impossible for me!! When something is this yummy why miss out! I hope you enjoy it!! (Thank you Diane!)

1/2 cup Butter or Margarine
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon soda

15 cups of popped corn (or more depending on how much carmel you like on your popcorn)

Put butter/margarine in a 2-qt microwave dish; melt. Then add the brown sugar, salt, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil; boil for 1-2 minutes. (Mine boils at 2 minutes, but each microwave is different so watch it and make note the first time). Stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove dish from microwave add the soda and vanilla. Drizzle Carmel over popcorn in a large brown paper bag. Stir it or shake it, to coat the popcorn with Carmel. (I personally drizzled it over the popcorn in the large bag, then dumped it into the bag for the shaking step--worked great!) Cook in bag for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove and shake again. Dump out onto a large cookie sheet/ jelly-roll pan to cool. (I used two pans-single layered).

If you would like to make popcorn balls out of this recipe, simply skip the brown paper bag step and form into balls.

Healthy Chips and Dip

I am posting this per request from my sister. This is a simple way of making your own low-fat crisps from tortillas. The kids love them and they are so simple to make. I nice after school snack if you ask me. I got these ideas years ago from "Parents" magazine-November 2006. We typically make PLAIN and eat them with salsa, but they suggest other great options which I have posted for your enjoyment too.

Sweet Wheat

2 whole-wheat burrito-size tortillas

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Lean Green

2 spinach burrito-size tortillas

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch of nutmeg

Tasty Tomato

2 sun-dried tomato burrito-size tortillas

1 Tbs. grated Parmesan

Pinch of paprika

PLAIN

Flour Tortillas (we don't add seasonings)

Follow the spritzing directions and bake as directed. These are our favorite.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tortillas into wedges. In a large bowl, sprinkle tortillas with seasonings and toss.  Spray with vegetable cooking spray, coating well. Place chips in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp.

DIPS

Robust Ranch

Combine 1/3 cup ranch dressing with 3 Tablespoons cottage cheese.

Sweet Salsa

1/2 cup prepared mild salsa, 1/4 cup corn kernels, 1/4 tsp. sugar

Microwave Applesauce

My sister-in-law Echo gave me this recipe when I was telling her I was going to make applesauce with my boys "Joy School" this week. It was so fun. The kids had fun helping peel, core, and slice the apples with the little apple core machine. They gobbled it up asking for seconds and thirds. The four children would have eaten the entire recipe had I allowed it. I highly recommend this recipe if you like apple treats. We ate it warm! What a great fall snack, treat, or dessert. I love that it is simple and quick as well.

3 Golden Delicious Apples

3 Fuji Apples (Have also used Gala)

1 cup Apple juice (I used 1 Capri sun 100% juice pouch)

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

3 Tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel, core and quarter apples (I used my apple peeler/core/slicer.) Combine everything in a microwave safe bowl with a lid. Place lid on bowl and leave on side partially opened for a vent (or use plastic wrap with a vent hole). Microwave on high for 10 minutes. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.