Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

Homemade granola bars are a staple at our house.  I could easily eat half a tray by myself throughout the day.  I have been using this recipe.  I think they are delicious.  Granola bars are fun because you can just through whatever nuts or dried fruits that you have on hand into the mix. Chocolate chips are great for a little sweeter snack.  You could also add peanut butter if you like.

The original recipe using a bar pan - I don't have one so I just use a 9x13 Glass dish,  I tried my cookie sheet but didn't like way the bars cooked.  I may just end up buying a bar pan.

Here is my variation:

SOFT CHEWY GRANOLA BARS

• 1 2/3 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw honey 
• 1/4 cup organic brown sugar  
• 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I grind my own wheat) 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins

Mix everything together in a bowl.  Press your mixture down firmly in a greased and parchment lined 9x13 glass baking dish.  Lay a piece of parchment paper on top.  Now press down - this is what makes your bars hold together - so get creative and press HARD!  I set my 7x11 glass baking dish on the top parchment paper and set a case of water bottles on top for 5 minutes, then move the 7x11 around and repeat until all the surface is pressed really well.  Then use your hand and push in any loose edges.  Bake at 350 degrees in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

If you like them softer under cook them, crispier cook them longer.

Let the bars cool for at least 2 hours, then lift out of the pan, and cut into squares or rectangles.

If you have other flavors or ingredients you have tried please leave a comment.  I'm always looking for new variations.

One Snowy Evening

While a good portion of the country has much more snow then they would like, we rarely see snow.

We got a snow flurry that lasted all of 4 hours!  That was it for our entire winter.

Here are a couple photos from the evening.  These were all taken on my Canon T3i.

I played around with different shutter speeds

I setup my LED video light under the tree and set my shutter to a 30 second photo

A little to cold and dark for her to go out, but looking was just as fun!

My "Lady" (my Celebrate Motherhood) bumper sticker's first snow.

Baking with Freshly Milled Flour

I started a new adventure on my pursuit of healthy cooking for my family.

I just starting to mill all my own flour.  Here is a very good explanation of the health benefits of freshly milled grains.

Freshly Milled Baking: Health Benefits: Whole grains contain almost 90% of all the vitamins, minerals, and protein you’ll ever need. However, commercially milled products don’t off…

Another great resource is www.Breadbeckers.com.  I have been watching their teaching videos almost every day.

So this weeks photos are...

Whole Wheat Bread - hard red wheat was used

Tortillas - hard red wheat

I used this recipe for the tortillas.  Very easy and very delicious.

Potty Training Fun

2 Year old potty training

I am in no rush to potty train my 2 year old.  Yes, I would love for her to be completely potty trained.  I just don't like cleaning up messes when she isn't ready to be potty trained yet.

Well this photo shows she has the concept down.  

I guess that is a start :-)

My 2nd Golden Moment

Here is my 2nd "Golden Moment" shot.

It was a chilly spring morning in March (Yes I'm pulling this photo from last year).  My husband was cleaning out the gutters.  We were taking turns spraying debris of the patio.  When all of a sudden i felt water - my daughter had picked up the hose and was playfully spraying mommy.  I snapped a couple photos with my iPhone.  I got lucky and captured the water droplets from the hose.

I only have 98 photos to go...

View all my posted Golden Moments here