Homemade Granola Bars

The best thing about cooking, baking, or anything you do, is that there are no limits to what your mind can come up with.  Experimenting with tastes and flavors are what makes it so much fun.  Don't be afraid to try something new and don't be afraid to deviate from the original recipe. 

Always write down what you did.  If you added, changed, deleted steps, or ingredients mark it down.  Also mark down the results of the change and the date that you did it.  This is a great way to know what works and what doesn't. 

Don't worry if something you try does not work out, or the taste is awful.  The only way you are going to know how good something is, or how well it works, is by trial and error.  Find honest people to taste test for you.  Never be afraid of someone telling you that something is not good or needs changing.  Practice is the best way to get better and never be afraid of getting better. 

Kids can be your biggest enemy, but once you find something that they like they are your biggest fans.  Let them help, even if it is something as simple as letting them pick a new flavor of muffins to try or adding the flour to the batter.  They will feel like they are a part of what you are doing and they can then take pride in the end result.

This is one of those recipes where my kids get a lot of say in what goes into them. 
These granola bars not only have TONS of flavor, but are made with simple everyday ingredients.  The only limit there is on what you can add is your own imagination. 


Here's what you need:

2 cups of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter (or you could use 1 stick of butter softened)
1/2 cup chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit (or anything your imagination can come up with)

For this recipe we used, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried apricots, walnuts, and slivered almonds.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  (I found that if you spray your wooden spoon with a little bit of cooking spray before mixing, it helps from creating one big giant clump.)

 

Press firmly into the prepared pan and bake for 18 minutes or until lightly brown along the edges.
Let cool for 5 minutes and then cut into either squares or rectangles.  Store in an air tight container.

 

I have to admit that these are a great healthy snack that all 3 of my kids LOVE.  We have made some with dried cranberries, dried cherries, peanut butter chips, walnuts, almonds, and my one daughters favorite Indulgent Trail Mix. 


I hope you will give these a try!!


Happy Baking and Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Scones

If you look up the word Coffee House online you come up with a vast array of definitions, but the all pretty much have the same meaning. 

cof·fee·house also coffee house  (kô′fē-hous′, kŏf′ē-)

n.

A restaurant where coffee and other refreshments are served, especially one where people gather for conversation, games, or musical entertainment.

This was from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/coffeehouse

Now according to Wikipedia, which I know if not super reliable, but still......

As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on providing coffee and tea as well as light snacks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse

SNACKS!!!  There is the key word that I know you were all looking for.  Almost all coffee houses serve some type of light snack.  That is buy far my favorite part of going to a good coffee house.  Oh don't get me wrong, I love coffee, but I LOVE snacks and scones happen to be my favorite. 

So now in continuing with our definitions, I looked up the word Scone, and this is what I got....

Scone skōn,skän/ noun a small unsweetened or lightly sweetened biscuit like cake made from flour, fat, and milk and sometimes having added fruit.

Scones are something that I truly love to eat for breakfast, or when out with friends.  I have tried many different ways to make them and I can assure you that they can be easy to make.  I have made them with raisins, and these are my husbands favorite ones.  I also tried a cranberry and orange flavored one.  Both my daughter and I really liked them.  They had a sweet and sour taste that was amazing.  That was until I made the Chocolate Chip one!!

Admit it, you love chocolate and anything you can put chocolate in is that much better.  I know that I am like this.  So when I tried the Chocolate Chip Scones, I knew that I had found a winner.  These were the perfect mix to any chocolate lovers heart.  With just a kiss of vanilla and a touch of sugar, these scones where the perfect breakfast treat.

Where is how you make them.....

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) frozen unsalted butter

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

1 egg

In a food processor, and yes it is much, much easier to mix if you have one, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Pulse a few times to mix together.  Cut butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.  Pulse until the mixture begins to flake.

 

In a separate bowl whisk together the sour cream, vanilla, and egg.

 

Pour into the flour mix and pule until a dough begins to form.  Add the Chocolate chips and pulse a few more time.  Remove dough and place on a generously floured board.

 

Shape the dough into a circle about the thickness of your thumb nail.

Next, sprinkle the dough with a little bit of table sugar.  This gives the scones a nice sweet taste on top and also a golden glaze after baking.  It is a really nice touch to these treats.  Take either a pizza cutter of a dough cutter, cut the dough into eight triangles. 

Place the triangles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

Allow to cool and enjoy either warm or at room temperature.  Store any remaining leftovers in an air tight container.

These are the perfect coffee house treat to have at home or to shard with a friend.  They go great with a cup of French Vanilla Cappuccino, if I do say so myself.

Happy Baking and ENJOY!!
 

 

 

 

French Vanilla Fruit Smoothie

    
My 9 year old daughter is very active.  She is a competitive triathlete (you know when they swim, bike and then run).  She is all about staying active and fit as well.  Right now we are in the middle of winter swim, but as soon as the weather breaks, so starts her training for running and biking.  Because of this, my activity level increases as well.  Keep in mind she is 9, so she does nothing by herself.  Now, I may not run as well as she does, but power walking is becoming a new favorite of mine; so has dusting off my old bike and going for rides with her.  I have to admit if nothing else, I have started to get back into shape because of her.  Thanks Bean, I owe you one!!

She is now doing a planking challenge started by her swim coach (if you don't know what this is, I suggest you check out YouTube.  You will be amazed!) for all of the swimmers (and their parents).  So, being the good parent that I am I have decided to give it a try.  I am sure I will be dead by the end of the challenge, but for the love of my kids I am doing this.  First day of the challenge and my 9 year old kicked my butt, not to mention that my 7 year old did too; but I did it and I feel pretty good. 

So with this challenge comes the challenge for me as a mom to make sure that my kids are getting enough in the way of protein when working out.  After much discussion with my kids on what we could do and what would taste good, we came up with SMOOTHIES!!!!

Oh my the possibilities are ENDLESS when it comes to smoothies.  Each day I am letting the kids pick something different to try, but this one is a tried and true favorite of ours that makes a great snack or even a quick breakfast on the go.

Here is what you need:

1 package Carnation French Vanilla Instant Breakfast
1 cup of frozen fruit (We like the Dole Ready Cut Fruit Strawberry, Peach, Banana)
1 Tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons of Greek Vanilla yogurt
1 Cup of Milk

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Happy Planking and ENJOY!!