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Homemade Granola Bars

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As I mentioned on Monday, we are prepping for a winter hiking trip, so I’ve been trying to come up with some homemade snacks to bring along.  I wouldn’t want the troops to get hungry on our fun, little adventure.

While the girls busied themselves in the playroom yesterday, crafting all kinds of Valentine goodness, I messed up the kitchen a bit and came up with this granola bar recipe.  We all sampled the granola bars last night for dinner and agreed the test was a success.  Enjoy!

In a large bowl, mix together the following ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons seeds of your choice (I used Garden of Life’s Super Seed, but you could use flax seed, chia seed, etc.)

1/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened dried bing cherries

3/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries

Then, in a saucepan over medium heat,  mix together:

2/3 cup honey

1/3 apple sauce

Once the honey and applesauce mixture is combined, remove from the burner and mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour the honey/applesauce/vanilla mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.  Line a 13X9 baking dish with parchment paper.  Pour the mixture into the pan and pat down firmly.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan.  Cut into bars.  Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

At This Moment

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At this moment I am…

~glancing out my kitchen window, as the snow blows sideways across our yard.

~snacking on a bit of left over pumpkin tiramisu.  The recipe for this fabulous dessert can be found in A Year of Pies.  Yum!

~organizing volunteers for our church’s Friday Lenten Fish Fry.  Join us if you are able…It is always such fun!

~enjoying warm coffee roasted by JavaMania Gourmet Coffee Roastery…one of my favorite local coffee roasters.

~supervising another burlap project, repurposing coffee bags from the lovely people at JavaMania.  More on this activity in a few days.

~crafting a few new woolens to bring along on a winter hiking trip we plan to take in the very near future.

~beginning a new book, The Nature Principle by Richard Louv.  I have already enjoyed another of his works, The Last Child In The Woods, and hope to be enthralled with this read as well.

~wishing you a wonderful week!

What I’m Into This Week

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Whew.  It has been one of those weeks.  I know you all understand what I’m talking about…One of those weeks where all of a sudden you look at the calendar and realize multiple days have gone by without your noticing.  Yes.  That has been my week.

I think one reason for the craziness is I seem to have had my hand in a bit of everything this week.  So, with that said, here is what I’m into this week…

  • My girls had a few friends over and they made some Valentine’s Day ornaments using the “Salt Dough” recipe from Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook.
  • I just finished reading Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes, and let me tell you, it is a fabulous book!  It gave me a whole new perspective on homemaking as a means of ushering in social change.  Amazing.
  • I also just picked up another book by Shannon Hayes, Long Way On A Little.  It contains great insight into the world of eating closer to the source, and also has a ton of great recipes and project ideas.  Hopefully you will see some of this in action in upcoming posts.
  • It’s not only non-fiction on my reading list this week, I also just started reading Gone Girl for my next book club gathering.  It is a bit on the creepy side, but it is definitely a page-turner.
  • A dear friend of mine just passed along this link to a great homemade fruit snack recipe.  My youngest and I made four batches already this week and they are being gobbled up as fast as we can make them.
  • I started a crocheting project with wool from this farm.  It is working up nicely, and  rest assured there will be a picture of the finished project coming soon.
  • I’ve been perusing this thrift store and this one, and this antique mall lately for some new dishes.  I’ve come home with a lot of cute sweaters…and not so many dishes…ha.
  • My oldest daughter and I are looking forward to making quite a bit of cheese today with our kit from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.
  • I want to redecorate our main bathroom, and I’ve been looking to make this project as the focal point of the room.
  • And last but certainly not least, I plan to try out two more pie recipes from A Year of Pies, my new favorite cookbook.IMG_0610

Valentine Number Two

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My youngest daughter’s Valentine idea yesterday led me to another idea I could use for my oldest daughter’s Valentines.  I used a similar play on words, changed sew to sow, and voila…2013 Valentines are done.  Here’s how to do it…

Step 1:  Cut a length of ribbon that will fit around your chosen seed pack.  (I gave myself an extra inch.)

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Step 2:  Put a dot of hot glue on one end of the ribbon and attach it to the seed pack.  Then use another dot of hot glue to attach the other end of the ribbon to itself.  (This way the seed pack won’t slip out of the ribbon.)

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Step 3:  Print your text I’m “SOW” happy you are my Valentine! onto these labels.

Step 5:  Place one label on the seed pack, over the seam of the ribbon.

And that’s it!

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Happy crafting!

Valentine Number One

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In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that I needed to peruse the internet for some fun, creative Valentine ideas.  Well, before I ventured into cyberspace to find ideas, I first went to my three year-old who is never short on a few ideas of her own.  Let me tell you, I’m so glad that I did.  That little lady had such a cute idea, and I bring it to you here today.

She told me, “Mommy, I want to use my new sewing machine and sew hearts for my friends for Valentine’s Day.”  And that’s just what we did…

Step 1:  Trace heart shapes onto a piece of felt.

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Step 2:  Cut out the heart shapes using pinking shears.

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Step 3:  Sew a zig zag stitch along the outside edge of each heart.

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Step 4:  Print your text I’m “SEW” glad you are my Valentine! onto these labels.

Step 5:  Place one label on each heart, reinforcing it with a brad of your choice.

And that’s it!

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Happy crafting!

At This Moment

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At this moment I am…

~looking out my kitchen window at our puddle-ladden yard from all of our rain last night.

~glad I made the decision to attend daily Mass this morning.  This is something I need to start doing more often.  It was such an uplifting way to start out my day.

~reveling in the fact that we were recipients of one of the Annie’s Homegrown Grants for Gardens.

~amazed and very thankful for the outpouring of support we have received in regard to our school garden project.

~preparing to make some more homemade granola.

~scouring the internet for cute Valentine ideas.  If any of you crafting people out there have come upon any great ideas, please share them in the comment section.

~scanning the mess that has accumulated in each and every room of my house, and wondering whether or not I want to pick it up, or snuggle in and read a story with my youngest baby.  I’m thinking the later sounds so much better 🙂

~wishing you all a fabulous Monday!

Winter Pastime

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Well, if you can believe it, my family has found itself in the midst of yet another run with the flu.  My youngest, who never got the brunt of the flu the first go-round, got slammed with it full go this week.  Poor baby.

So, yet again, we have stayed close to home, passing the time near the fire, with those activities that make home-time so much fun.

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I did get in a bit of sewing while my little one napped this past week.  I made this jumper for each of my gals.  I’ve been referring to it as my first “real” outfit I’ve ever sewn 🙂  It is Butterick 3772.  I would highly recommend it if you are a novice sewer like myself.  It went together very nicely and fit the girls really well.

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I hope all of you find yourselves enjoying your time indoors this winter as well!