Healthy Homemade Snacks: Homemade Granola Bars

The more my kids grow, the more they eat. Here's a well know fact among all moms: It's hard to keep those little darlings' tummies satisfied for very long and it doesn't get any easier as they grow up. But if your family is like mine, the problem with filling that need is constantly evident in your wallet. Money- or the lack there of.
Plus there is always the worry of whether it's healthy enough for your kid, right? It is a continual struggle for me to find a snack worth buying for its nutritional value but still will not burn a hole in my pocket.
So I have recently turned to homemade recipes. I find they are much healthier because I can control what goes in them and they are also much more economical. My kids LOVE them! Here is one of our new favorites. I will have to continue to add more. We have several favorites now.
(Picture to come soon)
Homemade granola bars  ( I like to double this recipe and make half with one type of mix in and the otehr half with another)
3 1/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup Whole Wheat flour (or all purpose)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 T Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups "stuff" (chocolate chips and marshmallow; raisins and applesauce and apple pieces; dried cherries and choc.chips; coconut and dried mango or other tropical fruits- the sky is the limit)

Preheat the oven to 335.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour,baking soda,and any spices you want to use.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine vanilla, oil (or applesauce), and honey.
Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir to combine.
Stir in the "stuff" you want to use. Note: If your batter seems a bit dry like it may not hold together, go ahead and add more honey. Sometimes it needs it, sometimes it doesn't, so you'll need to make that call.
Spray an edged cookie sheet or pan with cooking spray. Just like when making rice crispy treats, use a cold hand to press the mixture down very firmly. A 7x11 pan is a great size of pan to use- or two if you're doubling it.
Bake at 325 for 18-20 minutes until top is turning golden brown. Remove from oven and firmly press bars down again with a spatula. Allow to cool for only 10 minutes and then cut into bars. They are hard to cut when completely cooled.
Allow to finish cooling before removing them from the pan.
I like to individually wrap mine in wax paper or plastic wrap- whatever you have on hand. Then I stick them in a covered container to save for snack time!

Cranberry Swirl Loaf

This Holiday favorite is both tart and sweet and has a lovely light texture. When Cranberries are in season I always make this. It is a beautiful bread and perfect for neighbor gifts. It makes a very large loaf, so split it in half or quarters and make smaller loaves if you want! I found the recipe a few years ago online. Credit goes to SweetsLady.

Cranberry Swirl Loaf

Bread:

3 to 3 & 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 (1/4) package yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/3 butter

Filling:

1 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Topping:

2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cold butter, cubed

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. In a saucepan, heat water, milk and butter to 120-130 degrees (you can do this in the microwave). Add dry ingredients, beat until combine. Stir in just enough flour to make a very soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour (set oven to 200 and turn off when preheated).
3. For filling, combine cranberries, brown sugar and water in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until berries pop, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in butter, walnuts, and lemon juice. Cool.
4. Punch down dough. Turn out onto a floured surface; roll into a 20-inch x 10 inch rectangle. Spread cooled filling within 1/2 inch of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place in a zig-zag pattern in a greased 9-inch x 3 inch loaf pan.
5. For topping, combine flour and sugar in a small bowl; cut in 1 Tbsp. butter until crumbly. Melt remaining butter; brush over dough. Sprinkle with topping. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool in a pan for 10 minutes then carefully remove the pan to a wire rack to cool. Slice when cooled for at least 10-15 minutes.

Apple Cider Pudding Cake

Here is a wonderful Fall recipe that I found on a Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I tried making it last night for Family Home Evening and we loved it! This cake forms a moist pudding inside it because a wet mixture is poured over top before baking. It is full of flavor and tastes a lot like spiced apple cider! Curl up by the fire and try it with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Apple Cider Pudding Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 large egg

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup milk

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups chopped apples (Granny Smith, Macintosh, any tart variety)

Boiling mixture:

1 cup Apple Cider

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Butter an 8x8 baking dish. Heat oven to 350 degrees. For the batter, combine wet and dry ingredients separately and then stir the dry into the wet ingredients. Fold the apples into the batter and then spread it into prepared pan.Bring the ingredients for the boiling mixture to a boil and then pour it over the batter in the pan. As it bakes the cake will absorb this and form a pudding. Bake for 35 minutes. While it bakes, prepare the streusel ingredients by cutting together until small pea-sized balls form into a crumbly texture. After the cake bakes, sprinkle the streusel over top and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm and serve preferably within 10-20 minutes after baking. Serve with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Grasshopper Milkshakes

Our family recently moved from a quaint little town that was home to a little drive-thru shake and burger joint, called Daylee Freez. That place was the place we stopped by with our realtor to get a quick treat, when we were looking for houses. We ordered Grasshopper Shakes, and I remember thinking they were the best thing on earth! During the next 3 1/2 years of living there, I would frequent Daylee Freez to get my kids rewards for behaving well at the doctor, or while on a date with my hubby. I loved those grasshopper shakes!

This past St. Patrick's day, I wanted to recreate those shakes, but after looking up recipes online, I found most recipes called for a sort of liquor, called Creme de Menth. We don't drink alcohol in our family, so I looked up substitutions. I found that most people just use mint extract. There were a variety of recipes for Grasshopper shakes, but I decided to combine them in my own way. I decided to use brownies instead of Oreo cookies, because they give it a good chewy texture. After making them and taking that first taste, my mind instantly shot back to that little town and the taste of the best shakes on the planet! This recipe is a keeper! We've already made it twice in one week!

Grasshopper Milkshakes:

4 cups vanilla ice cream
2-3 brownies, broken in bits
1 cup milk (less if you want 'em thick!)
1/4-1/2 tsp mint extract
20 drops of green food coloring

Add the ingredients in this order to your blender: milk, ice cream, brownies, mint extract, and food coloring. Carefully blend up to the desired consistency. You can have them thick (use less milk) with lots of brownie chunks, or silky smooth (more milk). Enjoy!

Fruit Rainbow

I saw this on Sister's Stuff, and I just had to share! This looks so easy, and....HEALTHY! It seems like the world is being taken over by sugar, don't ya think? Not to contradict myself on that last sugar statement, but vanilla wafers or chocolate coin candies would be cute for the pot-o-gold too!



St. Patty's Day Fruit Rainbow:

Strawberries, halved
Mandarin Oranges, drained
Pineapple, fresh and cubed, or Tidbits from the can and drained
Green Grapes
Blueberries, fresh and whole
Purple Grapes
Bananas, sliced in pennies (dipped in pineapple juice to prevent browning)
Mini Marshmallows

Other Options for the Gold:
Gold Chocolate Coins
Vanilla Wafers

Assemble as pictured above, starting with the strawberries on the outer line of the rainbow, and following with the Mandarin oranges, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries, and purple grapes. Place the mini marshmallows at both ends of your rainbow for clouds. Arrange your "gold" of choice in a small dish at one end of your rainbow. Cute huh?!

"Mom's Crescent Rolls"

I have been searching for a good roll recipe for a while and I try different kinds all the time. I found this one a little while back on the blog: Get off your Butt and Bake! Let me just tell you, I think I have found "the one" roll recipe.
You can use this dough to make any type of shaped or non-shaped roll. Last time I just put little balls of the dough straight in the pan and let them rise, and they were great! Today I tried my hand at shaping them into crescent shapes. It was fun to have the kids help with that.
The taste and texture of these rolls remind me of my Grandma's at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I urge you to try them. It's not very hard! A couple tips I learned with bread is to make sure your water is not too hot, otherwise you kill the yeast and it doesn't rise. This recipe calls for one cup warm water that you dissolve the yeast in, and then one cup boiling water to melt the butter in. Don't get them mixed up! Also, scoop your flour from the container with one measuring cup and dump it from there into your measuring cup you are actually measuring with. Then put it into your bowl. This helps with the fluffy consistancy you want from any bread! Have fun and ENJOY!!!

"Mom's Rolls"
by: Gett off Your Butt and Bake

Ingredients:
2 packages (1/4 oz. each) Active Dry Yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup boiling water
1 cup shortening or butter
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, beaten
7-1/2 to 8 cups all purpose flour (I used bread flour)

Directions:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water (just a little warmer than luke-warm). Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water, shortening, sugar and salt. Allow to stand 3-4 minutes or until shortening is melted and sugar is dissolved (this standing time will also allow the boiling water to cool a little so it will not kill the yeast). Add the yeast mixture and beaten eggs. Mix well.

Add 2 cups of flour and beat until smooth (I do this in half-cup intervals, adding slowly as the beaters mix it in). Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (again, adding very slowly). Place in a greased bowl and cover. If you are making these ahead of time, stick in the fridge overnight. If not, let the dough rise for 30 minutes. When it's ready to use, take half the dough and shape it it as desired.* Place dough in pans or greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise again in a warm place for 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden. Brush with butter and serve hot!

*To form crescent shaped rolls, roll out a large circle, about 20 inches in diameter and brush melted butter over top. Cut into pie-slices pieces. Take a slice of the dough and roll it up starting on the widest side and rolling toward the point. Tuck the point under the roll so it won't come loose while rising. You can curve these inward a little to give them the more crescent shaped look. Arrange these on a cookie sheet to rise and bake.

Asparagus Pesto with Pasta