Granola bars

These granola bars are AMAZING! Once you try these, you wont want to eat the store bought ones any more. My boys absolutely LOVED these and told me over and over how delicious they are.

Here is the original recipe... I made a few changes.

• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter or margarine, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups assorted chocolate chips, raisins, nuts etc.
3. Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.

I used 4 cups of oatmeal and 3/4 cup of honey. I also left out the brown sugar. The first time I made them, I had forgotten to add the brown sugar. Now I leave just leave it out. I think the honey sweetens them enough. I've made cinnamon apple granola bars using 1 cup finely chopped apple and 1 tsp cinnamon. I also made banana chocolate chip using 1 ripened, mashed banana and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. You could get creative with this recipe and make any variation you like. I really want to try using crasins and white chocolate chips.

Three Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta

My boys LOVE mac and cheese of any kind so this was a big hit at our house.

2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (great way to use leftover chicken, leftover turkey works great too!)
1 clove of garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or more if you like a lot of garlic, I do so I use 3-4 cloves)
1-2 Tbs olive oil
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta
3 cups milk
3 Tbs butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup shredded white cheddar
3 oz cream cheese
grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, saute chicken and garlic in olive oil. Turn to low heat to keep warm. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a big pot with the milk, butter and salt. Stir almost constantly, especially as the pasta is becoming tender and the milk is beginning to boil. Cook and stir over medium heat until pasta is tender and the starch from the pasta has thickened the milk, creating a creamy sauce. Remove from heat and add the shredded and cream cheeses. Stir until the cheese has melted. Add the chicken and serve with grated Parm cheese.

Blueberry Granola Bake

I made this a couple weeks ago. It is soooo yummy!!!

6 cups granola (I used homemade granola)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar (you can cut this back if you have really sweet granola. I used 1/3 cup)
3 cups frozen blueberries (or you could use your favorite frozen fruit)

Mix granola, milk and brown sugar. Carefully stir in blueberries. Place in a greased 9X13 pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, cover with foil and bake about 25 minutes , then remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes.