Chewy Granola Bars

I've been experimenting with granola bar recipes for the past year or so, trying to avoid the overprocessed, individually wrapped ones you get at the grocery store, and I think I've finally created a winner! Most granola bar recipes out there call for loads of brown sugar and corn syrup so I did some switcheroos and go this!

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup honey

1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups quick rolled oats

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup sliced almonds (or chopped peanuts, walnuts, etc.)

1 cup chocolate chips

Grease a 9x13 inch pan with butter.
Melt butter in a large saucepan, then add honey, peanut butter, and sugar. Stir until well blended and sugar is melted. Take off of heat and stir in the vanilla.

Mix together the oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, and almonds, and stir into butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and press into pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, until edges are starting to brown.

Let cool and slice into bars or squares!

Busy Busy Busy!

I have been busy! Lately I've been sewing up a storm, taking care of the kiddies, spending as much time outside before the snow flies as possible, and getting all the other daily tasks done.... i.e. laundry (yuck), cleaning, cooking (not so yuck!), etc.


Today I FINALLY made it to Fabricland. I was a little dissapointed, I was expecting to be in all my shopping bliss, but turns out the store was disorganized and just not as great as I was expecting! I guess I shouldn't have gotten myself so pumped up for it! I did however find some great fabric. I won't be telling you what it is for, but here's what it looks like!!

The stuff on the left was dirt cheap, and the stuff on the right is double sided, I love it so much, thanks to my sister-in-law Rosie for finding it for me. This stuff will be making some pretty awesome (I hope!) christmas presents for some pretty awesome people!

I got an amazing present in the mail today for Brayer. Trav's Aunt Bev made it for him and it is so beautiful I honestly cannot wait for it to fit him. I even checked to see if it would fit Kaed now so someone could wear it right away, but sadly it does not. That's probably a good thing though, Brayer should get to enjoy some things made especially for him! One day I hope I can make something as beautiful as this sweater!




Yesterday I finally cracked down and made a pouch sling for Brayer. I have been wanting to make one for a while, as they are less bulky than my ring sling, but I just didn't have the time. I also decided that it would be nice to have a really warm sling for him, with the cold weather and snow (gasp!) approaching, so I made it out of some John Deere fleece I had bought about a year ago and had yet not used. The first sling I made ended up being a bit too small for me, so I am sending it to my friend Jenn who is due in a few weeks! I hope she can put it to good use, and I also secretly hope she has a boy now, with it being John Deere fabric and all! Now I just have to actually get it mailed!


Today I re-made the sling the proper size for me and it turned out great! I carried Brayer in it for a good hour today and he loved every minute of it. I do like my ring sling a bit more, but it was great to have something small enough to easily fit in my diaper bag when I'm not using it.



1. Measuring it out. 2. I know it's supposed to be for Brayer but Kaed loved it too (check out that face!) 3. Attempting to show you how it works more but not succeeding. 4. Kaed messing up the settings on my machine! Nice guy!

I haven't cooked or baked anything of interest lately, in fact today I just put some ready made food in the oven for dinner!!! I hope to try a new recipe tomorrow, but who knows, that sewing machine keeps calling my name.... as well as Kaed and Brayer, although that's more of a cry/whine than a call :)

Speaking of crying children....

Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat bran

3 tsp. aluminum free baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup skim milk

3/4 cup plain yogurt

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 ripe bananas

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix together flour, wheat bran, baking powder, salt, and cane sugar. Add chocolate chips and walnuts.

In a seperate bowl beat together yogurt and eggs, add milk, olive oil, and well mashed bananas. Mix into dry ingredients until just combined.

Spoon into either well greased or paper lined muffin tins. Obviously well greased will add some fat content, but paper lined uses trees, so tough choice!

I love these muffins, and I don't feel bad about eating a few of them. I also don't feel bad feeding them to Kaed who LOVES anything in the form of a muffin.

I find that this batch ends up being just over 12 regular size muffins, so I usually use the extra batter to make about 9 mini muffins which are perfect for little hands or if you just want a mouthful!

mmmm Thanksgiving!

MMM Thanksgiving... what do you think when you hear Thanksgiving? I know I instantly think of FOOD. I was thinking today that I'm pretty sure Thanksgiving has turned completely into a holiday about eating rather than giving thanks. I also realized that we didn't even go around the table this year, each taking a turn to say what they are thankful for. And then I realized that during dinner I certainly wasn't feeling very thankful either. (it's a little difficult to enjoy dinner when you just spent the past 6 hours cooking it and then don't even get to eat it due to being the host and having to get up and get everything than anyone wants, as well as feed two children!) So... today I have decided I am going to be thankful! I am thankful that some of my family could come to celebrate with us. I am thankful that I have the means and ability to be able to host something like Thanksgiving Dinner. I am soooo very thankful for my two beautiful children who despite their constant need for attention give me so much joy. I am thankful for my amazing husband, who not only gave me these two beautiful children, but also gave me a house to live in, food to eat everyday, and every comfort I need and want. I am so very thankful that my Mom could come for Thanksgiving weekend. I am thankful that I have such amazing in laws, even if I didn't get to spend this holiday with them. I honestly could go on for hours!! I truly am blessed and I thank God everyday for the blessings he has given me.



I am also thankful for this.....

mmm leftover turkey sandwiches!

I also had to add this video of Kaed eating his very first peach. He LOVED it, but insisted on eating it the same way I ate mine. With his little mouth it wasn't all that easy for him...

Peaches in the sunshine

Craft Time!

Kaed and I had some quality crafting time today... mine was somewhat neat and tidy, while Kaed's was, well DISASTROUS!

I've been wanting to make this craft ever since I saw it on Martha Stewart Living, and I bought all the supplies for it a couple months ago!! I am just now getting to it...

The craft is a potato printed t-shirt. Sounds funny right? To check it out go here. There are instructions and the works on this site. If actually crafting the shirts doesn't sound like fun to you, but you love the patterns and idea behind it, you can buy the shirts here.

I just did the lady bug shirts today, but I can't wait to try the blue bird and the tractor one too! I made one for Kaed, one for Brayer, and one for my nephew Michael! Michael lives just a block away, so these boys will look cute in their matching shirts!

Here are some pictures of the shirts and of Kaed's messy craft time!

Kaed's shirt!

My work station...

Kaed's disaster of a workstation!

Kaed having WAY too much fun!

Some new things about the boys....

Kaed is starting to talk a bit more which is great, we were all getting a little sick of hearing "uh uh uh uh" all day long. His latest and not so greatest thing is "tongue touching". He sticks his tongue out and begs you to touch it with yours. It's so gross, especially when he has food in his mouth. At least I can still pretend with him and he doesn't seem to notice that I don't actually touch his tongue!

Brayer is chatting and cooing like crazy. He has now passed the colicky stage and is an extremely happy baby. He LOVES "talking" to people and always has a big grin on his face. He tested out the jolly jumper for the first time the other day and he liked it for a while... still not quite strong enough to just put him in there and let him bounce though. That's okay, I'll take my little baby as a little baby for a while!

Weekend Pancakes

Every Sunday morning I make pancakes. Well... most Sunday mornings that is. Either way, we go through a lot of pancake mix so rather than making up mix every week, I make up a huge bulk batch and use that for the weeks to come. It also comes in handy when it's camping season, as there really is nothing better than pancakes when you're camping!



I took my recipe from More With Less and changed it up a bit to make it my own.

Bulk Pancake Mix

5 cups whole wheat flour

6 cups white flour

2 tbsp salt

3/4 cup baking powder

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

4 cups skim milk powder

1 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup wheat bran

Mix all together and store in an airtight container

To use:

Combine together

1 egg

1 1/4 cup water

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups pancake mix

I wisk it up really good to get nice smooth pancakes, and fry them up on a hot cast iron frying pan. I also often add 1 cup raspberries or blueberries, fresh or frozen, or top with sliced bananas! SOO YUMMY.

Raspberry Pancakes frying up!

New Name??

So I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog... yes... again! I want something unique and interesting, any ideas?

Happiness in the form of a blog!

Today I discovered a new blog and from it I have ideas galore for christmas presents to make! This blog makes me happy, it's so pretty and has so many great ideas, I can't wait to explore it further! I've already spent a couple hours on it today during the boys' nap time and so thus far I have not gotten anything useful done today at all! Oh well!
Check it out! mmmcrafts

Yogurt

A couple weeks ago I bought myself a yogurt maker. I've been wanting to make my own for quite some time now, but was finding it difficult to find a maker! Apparently making your own yogurt is a lost art. I finally found one at The Happy Cooker kitchen store, and I love it. It has 8 small resealable jars which is great because you can just eat right out of the jar, or take it with you for lunch or a snack. The maker I got is made by Donvier and you can see it here.
The first batch I made I made with powdered milk and found that it was a bit grainy so I tried it again with whole milk. Now I am not at all afraid of using full fat versions of all things dairy, but feel free to try making it with skim milk if you like the low fat version better. The second batch by the way, was fantastic. Great flavor, great texture, and the best part? You know the ingredients, no added preservatives, sugar, etc. Tonight Kaed and I enjoyed a bowl with raspberries mixed in and it was delicious!