Homemade Larabars

I have been wanting to make my own Larabars for some time now.  Most of you know what I am talking about.

Anyway, I always thought they would take forever to make and I didn't have time for something that took a long time.  My husband kept telling me that our friends (you know who you are) made them so I jumped on the bandwagon and tried to make them.  Super easy!!  Normally, the bars cost about $1.25-$1.50 in the store.  Mine cost me about $.96 per bar!  Not too bad!!  Mine had pitted dates, raw almonds, walnuts, dark chocolate pieces, vanilla extract, and it called for salt, but I forgot to put it in!  They ended up tasting fine without it.  

 First thing you have to do is choose what kind of nut you want to use.  I decided to go with raw almonds since that was what the recipe called for.  Typically, when I make something for the first time I don't stray from the directions.  

 Once the almonds are chopped up nicely, add the dates.  I used pitted dates, but you can use whatever you like. Then, add the vanilla extract and salt.  The recipe called for salt, but to be honest, it didn't need it.  The bars you buy at the store do not have salt in them.  If you want to use dark chocolate chips stir them in now.

The last step is to place them in an 8 x 8 pan and pop them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.  No need to cover them.  Oh and a little tip - place wax paper in the bottom of the pan so it will be easy to lift out!  

I didn't take a picture of them cut into bars, but they were delicious.  You can find the recipe here.

We have already ran out of these and I made some more today.  I followed the same recipe, but instead of just almonds I added walnuts, pistachios, almonds, and cashews.  No chocolate or salt this time.  I didn't forget the chocolate or salt, I just didn't want them this time.  Although I did forget the vanilla extract!  They still taste yummy!  I would like to try making them the next time with some shredded carrot!  

Well, I hope you will give these a shot.  You will NOT be disappointed.

Peanut Butter Granola

 Over the weekend I decided to make another Pinterest recipe find!  Really easy to make too I might add, which as you know is right up my alley!  I made a Peanut Butter Granola.  You can put it on yogurt, cereal or just eat it by itself (which I did by the way - yum).

 So, here are the ingredients - only 5 of them!  Awesome!!  All you need is honey, cinnamon, oats, vanilla extract, and peanut butter (it didn't call for a certain kind of peanut butter, so I used the Natural kind).

 Whoops, almost forgot about the 6th ingredient and that is my little helper Abigail!  I can't have a recipe without her!!  

 Before the oven...

 After the oven...This is what you get when you double the recipe. 

You can put it on some yogurt and have a delicious snack.

I will definitely be making this again!  Super easy, super tasty!  I almost forgot to give you the recipe, so go here and try it out!  You won't be disappointed!!

Cake Batter + Cookies = YUMMY

 I don't know about you, but I like to make cookies with easy recipes and few ingredients.  The reason for this is because Abigail, my very helpful 3 year old, always wants to assist me in the kitchen.  So, I feel the recipes with few ingredients and simple directions to follow are the best when I have my little helper.  

Recipes with the Funfetti Cake mix is all the rage on Pinterest these days.  Just for kicks, type in Funfetti recipes and you will see what I am talking about.  One day I came across these cookies, Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies and wanted to try them out on the kids.  I found them on Pinterest through a blog called, Six Sisters Stuff -.http://www.sixsistersstuff.com -   Awesome blog by the way.  You should definitely check it out! 

I think I am slightly getting off topic.  Anyway, where was I?  Oh, the cookies!!  Delicious and easy and I had everything on hand, except the cake mix.  Come on now, I hope I am not the only one that loves the recipes when I only have to buy 1 or 2 things to make them!  They only made 2 dozen, but when trying out a new cookie I think that's a perfect amount.  It didn't take a lot of time to mix up and only took 8 minutes in the oven.  

 

 Before the oven!

Ding!  Ding!  All done and ready to come out!  Don't they look yummy?!?!  Well, Abigail liked them and Peter (the real picky eater of the family) liked them as well.  I actually had to keep a close eye on him so he wouldn't sneak any before dinner.  He liked them so much he wanted them in his lunch!  Yeah!  They have won over my family!!  So excited to find a cookie that isn't too sweet and doesn't have chocolate in them!  If you want to try them out you can find the recipe here.

Let me know if you found a yummy Funfetti recipe that you and your family like.

No Bake Energy Bites! May I have another??

So, I love Pinterest!  Am I addicted to it?  Well, that's a tough question.  Do I get on it everyday?  Why, yes I do.  Do I get most of my recipes and tips from Pinterest?  Yes I do.  Am I in denial about being a Pinterest addict?  Yes, I probably am.  Hello, my name is Rebekah and I am addicted to Pinterest!  I LOVE PINNING!!  There, I feel so much better getting it out there!  Where was I?  There are so many great recipes on there!  For example, I found a recipe for No Bake Energy Bites found at this yummy site.  

They look delicious right?  Well, not only are they delicious, but they are also easy to make!  No oven required!  Which is a plus in my book!  I always find it so hard to try and make and bake cookies with the little ones (which is why it doesn't happen very happen-sad but true).  These are easy to do.  You can mix everything up and pop the bowl in the fridge and come back when the little boogers are napping!  So, I did tweak the recipe slightly.  I didn't have any flax seed, but surprisingly I had some wheat germ (I actually bought it to put in my yogurt, but gagged on the taste of it) so I used that.  It called for a 1/2 cup of wheat germ, but due to my history with it, I only put a 1/4 cup.  Next time I make it I will go for the 1/2 cup!  I was thinking about putting in natural peanut butter versus the regular, but I felt that the regular peanut butter would mix up better.

So, now the test - do they give me energy?  Well, after I tried a couple three or four, I feel pretty good!  So, check out the recipe and make them!  The test will be when Peter gets home from school.  I will let you know what a 9 year old thinks of them! 

My family the guinea pigs - part 2

I always like to try new recipes out with my family.  I hate the same old meals, meatloaf, tuna casserole, etc.  I'm not saying I don't like those (my husband actually LOVES tuna casserole), but I need a change. I try slow-cooker meals, casserole dishes, and grilling recipes!  So, tonight, my lovely guinea pigs will be eating Slow Cooker Creamy Beef Stroganoff.

This is the before pic with all the goodness in the crock pot!  Can I just say I love LOVE the crock pot liners!!  I don't know if it was a man or a woman who invented them, but I would like to think it was a woman because it just makes sense to me!  Anyway, it saves me a lot of time in the kitchen and I LOVE that!  Which reminds me, I need more...  Crock pot lines that is, but time would be good too!!

Ok, this is the more appetizing picture with all that goodness cooked up and ready to eat!  Yep, it was delicious!  There was enough for leftovers the next day!  I don't know about you, but if I make a good dinner the night before, I want to make sure I have it the next day!  It beats eating chicken nuggets, hot dogs or fish sticks with my daughter!

Was it delicious?  I thought so.  What did my think of it?  Well, my husband thought it needed a little more zip, which I had to agree!  So, I always turn to my little friend, Worcestershire Sauce.  Yep, Wo always takes care of bland foods!  Here is the recipe for those who want to try it too:

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
 1/4 cup water 

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
1 package (8 ounces) sliced white mushrooms (about 3 cups) 
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups) 
3 cloves garlic, minced 
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
1 boneless beef bottom round steak (about 2 pounds), cut into thin strips 
1 cup sour cream 
1 package (12 ounces) medium egg noodles (about 7 cups), cooked and drained 
Chopped fresh parsley (optional) 

How to Make It

• 1
  Stir the soup, water, Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms, onions, garlic and black pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker.  Add the beef and stir to coat.
• 2
  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or until the beef is fork-tender.  Stir the sour cream in the cooker.  Serve the beef mixture with the noodles.  Sprinkle with the parsley, if desired.
  
  It doesn't matter if you try this meal or another one, as long as you eat with your family!  I think it's a rare thing for families to eat dinner together these days.  I always remember eating dinner with my family when I was younger.  My parents would always ask how my day was and I had any homework?  Well, of course there was homework!  How was my day?  Probably not that great now BECAUSE I had homework!  Anyway, I now do the same with my 4th grader at dinner time.  He doesn't really tell me much though.  Everyday is "fine" or "ok".  Hope your kids are a little more talkative than mine!

My 1st attempt with leeks!

So, a few days ago I tried another NEW recipe on my family.  Well, only my husband.  My kids are never brave enough for new foods!  I found a recipe for a Creamy Leek and Potato Soup (Betty Crocker)!  So, so delicious!  

 So, how many of you know what a leek looks like?  It just looks like a ginormous green onion!  It has a more mild taste to it though.  They are grown in sand (never knew that) so you have really clean them.

 This is the soup!  Doesn't it look delicious!  My husband was working very hard at trying to get those oyster crackers to stay in the center!  We wanted it to look professional!  What do you think?

 Since I was not going to get my kids to try the soup and I wasn't in the mood to fight them on it, I decided to do chicken noodle soup for them!  No, I didn't make it, Campbells did!  Peter and Abigail had to have oyster crackers in their soup too!

Whenever I make a soup AND if I have time, I use the BEST Christmas present my husband ever bought me (my bread machine) and make some homemade  bread.  So, this time I made some rye bread!  Also delicious!!

When my husband leaves an empty bowl after having seconds, it is a good sign and answers my question, "Should I make this again?"  Well, what do you think an empty bowl says?

My family the guinea pigs

So, I have been trying a lot of new recipes lately.  My husband gives me his opinion whether or not I should keep the recipe or not.  My son tells me not to make any more casseroles (probably because the last ones I made were not the best ones for a picky eater).  I don't listen to him because he is 9, he eats like a bird, and well, he doesn't really get an opinion. Like I said, he is only 9!

The most recent recipe I tried was an Autumn Pumpkin Chili shown here:

I know what you are thinking, pumpkin and chili, really?  Those two should NOT go together.  My husband said the same thing.  I have a feeling he wasn't really excited to come home for dinner that night.  As we both tried it, we were both stunned at how good it was.  He said it tasted like an Iranian dish (being 1/2 Persian, he would know).   Hmmm, so it looks like I will be making this one again!   I wasn't brave enough to try this on my kids so I had some chicken noodle soup on hand for them!  So, it isn't kid tested.  Here is the recipe in case anyone would like to try this one on their husbands for dinner tonight:

Autumn Pumpkin Chili

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 small sweet yellow pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound ground turkey

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

4-1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and sliced green onions

DIRECTIONS: 

Saute the onion and green and yellow peppers in oil in a large skillet until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Crumble turkey into skillet. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.

Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the pumpkin, tomatoes, chili powder, pepper and salt. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. Serve with toppings of your choice. Yield: 4 servings.

I used shredded cheddar cheese for the topping.  I also didn't add the onion and the sweet yellow pepper since I didn't have any of those on hand.
ENJOY!!