Homemade Granola Bars

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School is almost in session for everyone. If your kids are like mine, they love granola bars. I decided to give making my own a try. I could not find a recipe that I liked, so I made up my own from what I saw the other recipes were made of and what I had on hand. They turned out great! And the best thing is...they have a lot of healthy ingredients and since my kids helped me make them, they were much more willing to eat them, too. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

What You Need:

• 3/4 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1/8 - ish tsp Nutmeg (depending on how strong of a nutmeg flavor you want)
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Honey
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  
• 2 cups Rolled Oats - Measure and then blend
  
• 1/2 tsp Salt
  
• 1/2 cup Wheat Germ
  
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
  
• 1/4 cup Applesauce
  
• 1/4 cup Craisins
  
• 3/4 cups chopped Nuts (I used 1/4 cup Pecans, 1/2 cup Nut Mix (Pumpkin, Sunflower, Pine Nut, Almond)
  
• 1/2 - 3/4 cups Milk Chocolate Chips (or White Chocolate Chips or a mix of both!)
  
• 2 large bowls
  
• Mixing spoon
  
• 9x13 pan
  
• Wax paper
  

Directions:

Step 1: Mix dry ingredients together (oats, flour, salt, wheat germ, sugar, nuts, dried fruit). I mixed them all up and threw them into the blender/food processor to get a nice even blend. The less texture, the less questions I have about what is in it or phrases like "I don't like it"!

Step 2: Mix liquid and Spices together. I like to taste it here (before I add the egg) and add more cinnamon or nutmeg to see if it is what I like.

Step 3: Mix liquid and dry ingredients together until evenly mixed. The mix should be sticky, not too dry, but not sticky enough that tons get stuck to your hand when you touch it.

Step 4: Toss in Chocolate Chips and quickly mix. The milk chocolate chips will melt if mixed up too much.

Step 5: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cooking spray into a 9x13 pan and then lay wax paper in the pan. The spray will hold the wax paper down and the wax paper will let you get the bars out easier once cooked.

Step 6: Press the mix into the pan. I found it was easier if I sprayed my hand with a little cooking spray. Then the mix did not get stuck to my hand and I could press it easier.

Step 7: Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.


Step 8: Remove from oven and let the pan cool completely. Slice into mini granola bars store in a sealable plastic bag. Ours never last long enough to freeze, but plan on freezing if you are not going to eat them quickly.

***Note: The nuts make a huge taste difference. I thought these tasted amazingly better with pecans than when I made them with walnuts...but that is just me!

Enjoy!

Puppy Chow Recipe

{Summer Fun Challenge Giveaway}

This recipe has been a favorite in my family since I was a little girl. You have probably had it before, but know it as another name. I like this recipe because it does not have any extra butter or oil to add like a lot of other Puppy Chow recipes do and it is very simple. A great recipe for little helpers to do.

What You Need:

• 4-6 cups Chex or Crispix cereal (generic is great)
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• Powdered Sugar
• 1 large bowl
• A small pot or a microwave safe bowl
• Long wooden or plastic spoon

Directions

Step 1:  Pour 4 cups of cereal into a large bowl. I buy whatever cereal is the cheapest, which is usually the generic Chex and I will buy one box rice cereal and one box corn to use for this recipe.

Step 2:  Combine peanut butter and chocolate chips. Heat until just melted. I usually use the microwave and stir it every 20-30 seconds. It usually takes no more than 1.5 minutes.

Step 3:  Pour melted chocolate peanut butter into the large bowl over the cereal a little at a time stirring it into the cereal. Try to cover all the cereal with chocolate, so keep mixing. If you need to, add more cereal. How much cereal you add depends on how chocolate coated you want each peace to be. If you use all 6 cups your cereal may be a bit dry.

Step 4: Add the powdered sugar. Stir it in until everything is covered. If you are like my little sister you want a TON of powdered sugar!

Step 5: Enjoy!


Variations:

• Once you have mixed in the melted chocolate peanut butter put the mixture in a gallon sized sealable bag. Then add the powdered sugar. Seal the bag and shake. This can be less messy and it keeps the cereal from breaking up like it can when you are stirring with a spoon.
• Divide up melted chocolate peanut butter mix into smaller sealable bags, so each of your helpers can shake up their own powdered sugar.

A funny story:... a few years ago I made some of this and grabbed a handful to take with us to the playground. A couple of friends heard me calling it Puppy Chow and giving it to my son. They finally came up and asked me what I was eating. When I told them I got the funniest look from both of them. So I opened up the paper towel I was holding to show them and told them how I made it. They both started laughing. They thought I was giving dog food to my son because they always called it something else growing up!

Rock Candy

We had some fun making this rock candy! It's quick and easy to do and I've learned it is a good lesson in patience. My kids get to watch it slowly grow and get to practice their waiting skills!

There are quite a few different ways to make this. I’ll tell you what we did and at the end I’ll mention some variations.


What You Need:

• Glass Jar (We used a 32 oz jar)
• 1 cup water
• 4 cups sugar
• Food coloring (optional)
• Saucepan*
• A stick or other variation – something that will not go into the sugar concoction
• String or popsicle stick – i.e. floss, cotton string, pipe cleaner, etc.
• Optional – paper clip and tape

 *Warning – Parent supervision needed if you use the saucepan on the stove.


Directions

Add water to the saucepan

Add 2 cups of sugar

 Sometimes I let the kids scoop it up themselves with a little 2 Tlbs scooper we have. It's mess, but they enjoy it.

Heat on the stove to dissolve the sugar, but do not boil.

Once dissolved add a few drops of food color (optional) and then add the rest of the sugar. I had my kids squeeze my finger first before they squeezed the bottle for the food coloring and they did great at adding it by themselves.

Once all the sugar is dissolved, add the liquid into the glass jar. Place string/stick into the jar and attach to the stick that you will lay across the jar. Tape in place, if necessary. I used a popsicle stick we already had and the base was wide enough that it will not fall into the jar. I tied a piece of floss to the top of the stick and tied it around the stick inside of the jar. Make sure it is long enough to go into the liquid. The instructions I saw said that crystals should appear within a few hours….it didn’t quite work out that fast and it has now been 3 days and we have a few on the sticks.

The blue jar is sugar with no flavor and the pink we tried adding a little Crystal Light instead of adding color. I do not know if it will work as well, but we shall see.

From all the different recipes I have seen, it should take anywhere between 7 and 14 days to become a good size crystal. I will update when it is finished.


If I Did It Again, I Would…

I would make the string longer. Probably about 1/2 - 2/3 the length of the jar. I would also tie a paper clip to the end of the string to weigh it down. I had to stick a butter knife in to help guide the string down.

Other Variations 

I saw the recipes vary all the way to us 2 cups water and 4 cups sugar and from using warm water from the tap in a bowl to stirring it until it was at a rolling boil, so the water must not mater as much as making sure that the sugar was dissolved. My little sister has made these multiple times and she has never put it on the stove top.

You can add various flavors.

You can use borax and pipe cleaners to make different shapes. It sounds like it goes faster, but it is not edible.

Cupcake Ice Cream Cones

These cupcake ice cream cones have been a favorite of ours for birthdays and special occasions for a couple of years now. They are easy to make and all ages seem to really enjoy them. I thought this was the normal way of making them and discovered that there was another way of making them. The other way to make cupcake ice cream cones is to put the cake batter in the cones and cook them standing up in the oven. I then was told of how they tipped over or burned and as you can imagine, it was really messy. I will admit that I found the instructions for this version on the side of a cake mix box. I tried looking for it online and could not find it. So, for your enjoyment here is how you make them:

Items Needed:

• 
  
  Favorite box cake mix
• 
  
  Ice cream cone cups
• 
  
  Cupcake baking cups
• 
  
  Cupcake pan
• 
  
  Frosting/decorations

Directions
1.  Make the cake mix as directed on the box.

2.  Place cupcake wrappers in the cupcake pan

3.  Fill each cupcake 2/3 full of cake batter. (If you have a metal cupcake tin, you can pound it lightly on a hard flat surface (i.e. table, counter, floor) to help get any air bubbles out. This will help the cupcake cook evenly and prevent the cones from tilting. If you do not pound it, it will not make a huge difference but your cones when completed may have a little more personality to them! )

4. Next, place the ice cream cone upside down on top of batter. You don’t need to press it down, just make sure it is touching the batter (see picture below).

(Sorry, this picture is actually of the cupcakes after baked. I forgot to take a picture prior, but wanted to give you the general idea of what they should look like prior to putting them in the oven.)

5.  Then bake in the oven as directed on the box for cupcakes.

(Another fun activity...watching the transformation from dough to cake!)

6.  Let the cupcakes cool

(The batter was closer to half filled with most of these cupcakes in this particular batch and so the finished product with 2/3 full will look more like the front center cupcake. Sorry for the confusion!)

7.  Once the cupcakes are cool, you can remove the wrapping and stand them up on the cone. Then frost, decorate....

....and Enjoy!

Baking with Youth - Part 2

Now baking with your young children can be a lot of fun and a challenge at the same time, but I really enjoy baking with older children/youth. It is a great confidence builder when they are able to finish something with success and baking can be easy to create success in.


Let Them Take the Wheel

I like to let them do as much of it by themselves as possible. The adult just supervises ( I know, this is very hard for some of us control freaks!). Here are some ideas you can do:

• Let them read the recipe and tell you what to do. i.e “Mom, can you please go get the sugar?” (This reminds me of the “how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich” write up I had to do in 6th grade and then my teacher followed our instructions. It was pretty hilarious to watch your teacher try spreading the PB on the bread with his hand, because we forgot to add the bit about using a knife!) You can make this as fun as you want!
  
  Have your youth do it all by his/herself and then ask you when they need help. Make sure they gather all the ingredients, so they know where each item is located and what it looks like. The best thing about this, is that if they are old enough, they will be making cookies all by themselves soon enough because you know they can do it!

• Make sure they clean up and put everything away properly. Teach them that part of the baking experience is cleaning up. It’s no fun if the kitchen is left a mess for mom (or aunt) to clean up.

Math is Fun

Once they can add it opens up another avenue of fun! You can use baking to teach them how to add and do fractions. My children are too young to do math right now, but I do have younger sisters and many nieces that I get to bake with every now and then that are old enough to do all sorts of math with.

I’ll admit, at first they see this as torture because I make them use their brain while we bake. But I love math and I love to incorporate it into anything. I will have them figure out how many 1/3 cups they will need to add 2 cups of flour to the mix or how many teaspoons they will need to add 1 tablespoon of water. For added fun, I’ll switch the teaspoons into milliliters (ml). For instance, “you need 30 ml of water. How many teaspoons do you need to add?” (there are 5 ml per teaspoon). But, I only do this when the ml are already written on the measuring spoons and cups so they do not get too frustrated.

By teaching them math in the kitchen you are teaching them skills for later on. I had a job in my early 20’s where I needed to be able to convert ml into teaspoons or tablespoons for medication or formula mixtures. It was very helpful to know! Plus, I do find it easier when I am changing the recipe into 1 ½ batch and there is some odd measurement to change it into ml to get an accurate measurement. To me it is easier than fractions, especially when you are limited on your measuring cups because you only have a 1/3 cup, ½ cup and a full cup due to one or two of the others getting lost in a move!

Learning Life Skills

By taking the time to teach your youth how to bake and cook you are teaching them how to be self sufficient. If they can understand basic instructions and terms from recipes, they will be able to eat when they are on their own! When I was a teenager, I mentioned in Part 1 that I loved baking out of our Hershey cookbook. Well, my friend and I decided to make a cake at her house with this book. I left the room, leaving my friend to follow the instructions and add the next ingredient. When I came back I found my friend with her hands in the chocolate batter. When I asked her where we were at in the recipe, she told me, “where it says to mix the batter by hand for 1 ½ minutes.” We had a good laugh once she realized her mistake!


Compliment, Praise, Be Positive

Make sure you compliment. Tell them how great they are doing and point out the positives. They are going to make mistakes and they are going to make you laugh, but the most important thing is to have them to leave the experience feeling good about it!


There is something satisfying about making food that everyone else loves. I find great enjoyment in watching my nieces’ faces light up as they watch their family gobble up the cookies they made because they taste great! Share this satisfaction with the youth in your life and just enjoy the process and many avenues of learning.

How to Enjoy Baking with Little Helpers - Part 1

If you couldn’t tell already, I love to bake! I remember when I was around 13 my mom let me run free in the kitchen to attempt baking from a Hershey’s cookbook all by myself. I had a major sweet tooth back then, so it was the perfect cookbook to grasp my full attention. I’m sure I made plenty of messes, but I learned many lessons and I learned to love baking. Now that I have my own children and since they love to help out so much, I try to let them in on the fun as much as possible.

Here is a list of skills that you are teaching your children when you bake with them:

Following Rules –  Have a few rules and stick to them. This will help everyone know what is expected of them and make it a little more enjoyable.

My rules are:

1. Only Mommy (or Daddy) can turn on the mixer. (This is only because they are still young and we have had them start it when a spoon or someone’s hand was still in the bowl.)
2. No hands in the mixer when it is running.
3. And no licking the measuring spoons and cups – Mom will give you a little spoon to taste after it is all mixed together.

Listening – It’s a skill they will be able to enhance the more they get to do and try new things

Sharing/Taking Turns – I make sure that my kids take turns when it comes to adding ingredients. This will save you from arguments on who wants to do what. My kiddos have done it enough now that they even make sure I get a turn.

Counting – When you are putting the ingredients into the bowl you have your children help you count how many cups of flour you put in, etc. Sometimes I choose a smaller measuring spoon or cup just so we get to count higher

Follow Through – this is a great opportunity to teach them that the fun is not over until you have added all the ingredients. I was great for many years and making cookie dough, but horrible at baking it. I can blame that on the fact that most of the people in my family growing up were dough lovers! Now that I am married, my husband would rather eat the cookies, so I have my inspiration to bake the dough.

Cleaning Up – Teach your children that cleaning up is part of the cooking/baking process. So while your treat is baking everyone helps clean up. Teach them to leave the area better than they found it. All containers get put away, dirty dishes go in the sink, the mixer gets wiped down (my biggest pet peeve!) as well as the counter. I always expect a fight when it comes to the, but am always impressed by the eagerness of all my little helpers to help out. Sometimes we make it a game by having a race. You got to do what you have to do keep them motivated!

(This is how I first started baking with my son. I would keep the mixer on the table and then bring the bowl over to him to add the ingredients. He was much too helpful and it was not an enjoyable activity if he wasn't in his chair while the mixer was out!)

Remember to Relax and Have Fun – Messes will happen, but with your few rules and guidelines things shouldn’t get too out of control! If it is too stressful for you, find a way to reduce the recipe to fewer steps. Like, if you were making cookies, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, oatmeal, etc) together in a bowl before you start the project with your kids. Or even by a box/bag mix from the store. Those usually have only 1 to 3 ingredients to add and are a great starter “recipe” when you are just beginning to bake with your little ones.

 (This is how I first started baking with my son. I would keep the mixer on the table and then bring the bowl over to him to add the ingredients. He was much too helpful if he wasn't in his chair!)

The Best Pizza is Made at Home!

We love homemade pizza here in our house and the kids love to help us make it! We will make it for birthdays, friends, movie night or anything else we can find an excuse to make it for. This dough recipe is the best I have found. There is no waiting for the dough to rise. Just make it, roll it, top it and bake it!  Here is what you need... (p.s. this is the same dough recipe I used to make the Heart Shaped Calzones)

Ingredients Needed:

(Dough)

• 1 pkg. active yeast (about 2.5 tsp.)
• 1 c. warm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 T. oil
• 2.5 c. flour
• 1 pizza pan or Jelly Roll pan - pre-greased

*Note: I will make 1.5x this recipe for 1 Jelly Roll pan/cookie sheet size pizza

(Pizza Toppings)

• Pizza Sauce (I use Hunt's Mushrooms or Garlic and Herb canned spaghetti sauce - 1 26.5 oz can will make 2 to 3 Jelly Roll pan/cookie sheet size pizzas)
• Any favorite toppings: sausage, pepperoni, peppers and tomatoes are our favorites
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions for Mixing the Dough

(Preheat oven to 425 degrees.) Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat well with spoon or fork, if not using a mixer. You may need to add a little more flour depending on your elevation. I will add everything, but the last 1/2 cup and then I'll keep adding until it is just sticky enough that the dough does not stay on my fingers. Let rest 5 minutes. Mix dough and place on pre-greased cookie sheet. 

Directions for Making the Pizza

If you do not have a rolling pin, a sturdy glass or cup will work just as well. A rolling pin usually has a hard time on a Jelly Roll pan anyways.

 Separate the dough into 2 balls for 2 mini pizzas or 1.5x the dough recipe to have a full pizza with a good crust. Some children will need assistance putting enough pressure on the cup to actually roll it out.

First bring the sauce out. I put some sauce on the center of their pizza and then I let them spread it out on their own. It was hard for me to let them do it because I was afraid of the mess, but they did well. Then, I let the kids put on their own toppings of meat and veggies on their pizzas. If they did not put any veggies on it, that was ok with me, but I wanted to give them the option...and of course, tasting does happen, too! Next, add the cheese and then you are ready to bake.

Bake in the oven on 420 Degrees for 20 minutes

(or until the crust/cheese is starting to brown.)

And just so you can see what a large pizza will look like...

YUM!!! It is seriously so good!

Try it and let me know what you think! It's a simple meal to make, takes less than 20 minutes to put together and so much fun, too!

Easy No Fuss Fruit Cobbler

I love to bake and my children love to help me as much as they can. These cobbler recipes below are great to do with young ones because they are super easy and taste great!

Easy Fruit Cobbler

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 - box cake mix, 18 oz (any flavor)
• 2 - 16 oz cans of fruit or pie filling
• 1 - 12 oz can lemon flavored drink
• 2 tablespoons butter (melted)
• 1 - 9 x 13 inch pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the melted butter evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Add fruit to pan (drain juice if it is not pie filling) and spread evenly. Pour cake mix on top and make sure it is evenly spread out, too. Pour can of soda on top.  Bake in oven for about 45 min or until slightly golden brown on top. Super easy!

Servings: 10 -12

Other Variations with Soda: Apples, spice cake mix and a can Root Beer (I haven't tried this one, yet, but it is next on my list!)

I made a peach cobbler with this recipe made out of yellow cake mix and peach pie filling. It was quick and simple and the kids were pretty proud of their work. My husband was even surprised at how good it tasted.

As we are chocolate lovers here, we had to cook a chocolate cobbler, too. We made a mini version in a bread pan. I don't need that much temptation around!

Cherry Chocolate Cobbler

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 or 2 boxes of chocolate cake mix (the more cake mix, the fluffier the top part is)
• 2 cans cherry pie filling
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 stick of butter (in small bits or slices)
• 1 - 9 x 13 inch pan
• 1 - 12 oz bag of chocolate chips
• (optional) carmel squares chopped up and a bag of mini marshmallows.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray pan with cooking spray. Pour the 2 cans of pie filling into the bottom of the pan and spread evenly. Add the 2 boxes of cake mix and spread evenly. Now add the water by sprinkling it on top of the cake mix. This will make the cobbler more moist. Add chocolate chips and butter to the top of the cake. Put it in the oven for about 45 minutes. (optional) After 30 minutes in the oven, top with the carmel squares and mini marshmallows. This will make it super rich, but I love it!

Servings: 10 -12

And of course the best part ...

Is getting to eat what you have made!

ENJOY!!!