Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Homemade Granola Bars

It has been over one month since my last post.  My, oh my - where does the time go?  Just like everyone else, I've been engulfed in the 1,000 days of May (how is it that one month can involve so much?!) - including but not limited to:

  • work - and a busy month, at that!
  • homework and daily lunch-making
  • 5th grade graduation
  • end of season baseball games including playoffs
  • Matthew's travel basketball team
  • beginning of two Summer baseball seasons
  • meetings, meetings, meetings
  • a stomach bug (ahh!)
  • a birthday party for Champ (a month early because he's always busy with baseball in June, his real birthday month)
  • birthday party for Mimi in the mountains
  • ER visit with Brooke followed by surgery
  • Summer baseball tournaments and parties
Here are some pictures...

Every year that they have made their respective All Star teams, we have surprised them with cookie cake. 
Ha!  Champ and I found a photo editor app that we were playing around with one day in the car :).


5th Grade Graduation!  My little man is growing up!
 
Is this the cutest cake you have ever seen?!!  Mimi turned 70 and my sister-in-law called her cake baker friend and she designed this cake with all of Mimi's grandchildren on it.  So cute!

This was taken right after we arrived at the Emergency Room.  We weren't quite sure yet what was wrong with little Miss Brooke.

We then learned that she had a tooth abscess that had caused her facial swelling, fever and bleeding.  They scheduled her for surgery at midnight to pull the tooth and drain the abscess.  She was a terrific patient and came through the procedure just fine! 

I took this the morning after surgery.  Aunt Allison, after a visit from my mom and my friend, Val, surprised Brooke with a balloon and treats.  Thank you, Aunt Allison!

Brooke is very proud of her new smile :).


This was Brooke during hour 1 of 5 hours of baseball on Memorial Day Monday.  Hour 5 did not look quite the same. 

This is a picture of one of the pots on my front porch!  I water it daily and it gets just the right amount of sun - perfect recipe for a perfect pot!

We're in the middle of the wonder(ful-ness) of Summer baseball - loving both boys' teams and families.  Every year, it's a special experience for them and for us - we treasure every moment and I would venture to say that this Summer will be no different!  Lots and lots of baseball, picture taking, uniform washing, carpooling, sun and fun!

Did you notice that cooking was not listed as a bullet point in the above list?  It has been one of those months where I don't even know what we've eaten - though we've not been going to bed hungry, so I know we've eaten something.  It's all a blur!  Honestly, we probably eat Willy's at least three times a week - I call that healthy fast food.  We've been eating a lot of salad and grilled chicken, fresh fruit, sandwiches, and breakfast for dinner.  Sometimes life is like that - we go from swimming laps to treading water and it's all we can do to keep ourselves afloat!  I'm definitely in a treading mode right now. 

I believe it was my last post when I gave you a bit of a teaser about some delicious granola bars I made.  I wouldn't put these in the 100% healthy category but they were delicious and I'm always looking for semi-healthy homemade snacks for my kiddos - and for them, the more calories the better.  These were so good - I'm not even a granola bar eater or lover, but I could not resist these.  So, I would tag these as #dangerously irresistible

I adapted this recipe originally from the Pioneer Woman but found another blog that adapted her recipe from the Pioneer Woman - and I liked her adaptation better than the original (link to recipe below).

The recipe if full of protein from nuts and wheat germ - full of sweetness from honey and molasses - full of savory flavor from butter and canola oil and oats... It's quite perfect tasting actually - which is why you won't be able to stop at one- especially if you start digging in right after pulling them out of a warm oven. 

I ground up some fresh almonds.  The recipe called for almonds and pecans but I had only almonds on hand.  It's all about adjusting...


 
Just a quick pulse in the food processor and they were ready to go.  I combined the almonds with wheat germ and sunflower seeds - and I think I had a few pepitas (pumpkin seeds) that I added as well.  Really, anything goes in this recipe.  I set aside the mixture.
 
I tossed oats with a mixture of canola oil, melted butter and salt and toasted that for about 15 minutes (took two pans to fit all 6 cups worth!).
 

 
Then I combined the toasted oats with the nuts and a mixture of brown sugar, honey, molasses, and apple juice.  I added vanilla and then Rice Krispies cereal.  (Please note that while the recipe calls for Rice Krispies cereal, I have no recollection of having included them in the batch I made.  That doesn't mean I didn't use them - this simply illustrates how jumbled up my mind is these days - my internal memory card is weakening by the day... so use them and I'm sure they'll taste great!)
 
 
For added zing, I folded in some dark chocolate morsels - probably a scant cup of them.  Let me just say that it is the little bursts of dark chocolate in these granola bars that gives them that kick they need. 
 
I pressed the mixture onto a foil lined (and sprayed with PAM) cookie sheet and baked for less than 10 minutes - they were slightly chewy/slightly crunchy - they were perfect!  And my kids ate them!  They loved them!  And I did, too!  I could not resist these.  Instead of or in addition to chocolate, you could add dried fruit.   Go crazy and have fun with this one!
 
Cut them into bars and store in a Tupperware container - with pieces of wax paper in between the layers.  They won't last long!  Click here for the recipe link. 



This would make a great snack for my kids' baseball teams in between games.  Speaking of which.... I've got a great peanut butter balls recipe to share (and I will - I promise - within - ummm - a week - I promise).