{No Bake} Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (or Balls)

As I've mentioned before, we are in constant need of snacks over here.  With 3 growing boys, one of whom is a teenager and has grown about 3 inches in the past couple of months, someone is always hungry.  I like that these granola bars are super easy to put together with items I almost always have in the house.  They're packed with nutrition, have no preservatives (if you use natural nut butter) or fillers, and are totally portable.  The icing on the cake?  They taste incredible.

 

This recipe is beautifully versatile in that you can modify it to meet your needs.  Substitute another nut butter for the peanut butter to make this peanut free.  Add more rice krispies if you don't have flax seed or chia.  And, of course, change up your mix-ins to suit your tastes.  You can even make these into balls instead of bars.
 

 

No Bake Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 2 c. Quick Oats
• 1 c. Rice Krispies
• 1/4 c. Ground Flax Seed
• 1/4 c. Chia Seed
• 3/4 c. Creamy Peanut Butter or other nut butter
• 1/2 c. Honey
• 1/4 c. Brown Sugar
• 1/2 t. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 c. Mini Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. Line an 8x8" baking dish with aluminum foil and set aside (this is to make it easier to get the bars out of the pan)
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, rice krispies, flax seed, and chia seed.  If you don't have flax seed or chia seed, just add more rice krispies.
3. In a microwave safe bowl, combine creamy peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla.  Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until the mixture is smooth.  If you don't have a microwave, or yours is stubbornly refusing to heat things, you can gently heat the mixture in a saucepan on the stove, stirring constantly until smooth.
4. Combine the peanut butter mixture with the oatmeal mixture, and add chocolate chips.
5. Press the mixture into prepared 8x8" pan, packing tightly.  Alternately, form the mixture into balls.  Refrigerate for an hour or until firm.
6. Remove from baking dish and cut into bars. 

Once you've tried the basic recipe, make it your own.  Feel free to add chopped roasted almonds, flaked coconut, peanut butter chips, dried fruit--whatever you like.

Complaining About Winter

This winter has been extraordinary, that's for sure.  There has been record breaking cold and snow fall in much of the country. 

It has been so cold in our area that it has become totally passé to throw boiling water into the air to be vaporized or blow bubbles that freeze instantly, because we have had so many opportunities in the past 2 months. 

It has been so cold in our area that when the temperature reaches 0 F (with no wind chill), people start using words like "balmy" and "warm". 

It has been so cold in our area that when the temperature reaches 15 F, people are saying things like, "it's so nice out today."  And when the temperature reaches 40, like it did yesterday, we're putting aside our coats and getting out the shorts and swim suits.  Seriously.  I saw people in shorts and T-shirts yesterday.

It's no wonder that pretty much everyone I know is complaining about winter this year.

But I'm not, and I'll tell you why.

I love snow.  I really, really do.  Sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, making snowmen, shoveling...all of these things I love to do require snow.  And it's pretty.  I can't imagine living in an area that just gets dingy and brown in the winter--that fresh sparkly cold stuff really spruces up the place, ya know?

And I don't mind the cold.  I really don't.  It's all about dressing for the weather--if you have the right equipment, you can be out in any cold and still be comfortable.  I do not say this idly, my friends.  We have had daily high temperatures in the negative 15 degree F range, along with 40 to 50 degrees below zero wind chills.  We've had over 40 days this winter when the temperature has been below 0 F.  Not below freezing, below 0.  It's cold.  And I don't mind.

But here's the real reason I am not now, nor will I ever, complain about winter:

I am reserving my right to complain about summer.

That's right.  You heard me.  I would soooo much rather be cold than hot, and I will complain up and down and sideways, all day long, when those hot, humid days hit, but I feel it would be somewhat disingenuous to complain about summer and winter.  So I choose summer.

In the meantime, I am loving this winter. 

But if you're not, take heart, my friends.  Spring is coming.  It always does.

Countdown Clocks

Overnight Oatmeal

Our over-the-range microwave is making strange noises.  And making strange smells.  And--and this is key--not heating things. This is a problem, because my daily routine depends on the microwave.  I have oatmeal for breakfast every day.  Made in the microwave.  I have leftovers for lunch almost every day.  Heated in the microwave.  I forget to thaw meat for supper a few times a week, and I rely on that machine to help my forgetful self out with some gentle-but-fast thawing so I can feed my family.

So what's an oatmeal-for-breakfast-every-day, set-in-her-ways-so-much-so-that-she-brings-oatmeal-with-her-on-vacation girl like me supposed to do with no microwave?

Make my oatmeal on the stove?  Ridiculous!

Bring the extra microwave that does (to the best of our knowledge) work upstairs to use?  Preposterous!  (even if I could carry it up by myself, I don't think I can handle it taking up all that counter space--think I could get away with putting it on top of the fridge?)

So what's a girl like me to do? 

This girl chooses to view this problem as an opportunity: an opportunity to finally try out overnight (or refrigerator) oatmeal.  Our not-heating, strange-noise-making, horrible-smell-emitting microwave is a blessing, because I like my morning oatmeal so much I couldn't ever bring myself to try something else that I might like just as much, and now I can.

The concept is simple: mix up oatmeal with some sort of liquid (and in this case some people define yogurt as a "liquid").  Then add mix-ins to make it taste good.  Or not.  Whatever.  Put it in a jar, and refrigerate overnight.  Eat it (cold) in the morning.

This stuff is ideal for folks who want to eat a healthy breakfast but don't have a lot of time for morning prep work--just grab it and go.  It's also great for folks who want to eat oatmeal for its health benefits, but don't want to eat a hot breakfast.  And it's perfect for folks who eat oatmeal every day whose microwaves don't heat food anymore.

There are tons of different variations and recipes out there.  Don't believe me?  I suggest Pinterest for your search, because then you'll get to see all the delicious pictures along with the links to recipes.

As for me?  I'm going with this one (with a few tweaks) for my first attempt.



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Wish me luck!

Not sure what I'm going to do about lunch or supper, but at least I've got breakfast covered...

Runaway Saint: A Novel by Lisa Samson

Runaway Saint is the newest novel by author Lisa Samson, the writer Publishers Weekly calls one of the "most powerful voices in Christian fiction."

Sara Drexel, to all outward appearances, has it all together--a supportive husband, her own successful business, and a beautiful home, all in a hip, urban neighborhood, but in spite of everything, happiness proves elusive--she's lost her faith.  When Sara's Aunt Bel shows up on her doorstep, back from 20 years as a missionary in Kazakhstan, Sara is less than thrilled at the prospect of housing this eccentric and unapproachable woman she barely knows, and Aunt Bel seems to share Sara's reservations about the arrangement.  But with Sara's mother, Bel's sister, living in a tent on the back 40 of a friend's farm, Bel has nowhere else to go.

As Sara and Aunt Bel become reacquainted, Sara's precariously balanced life is turned upside down.  Secrets are revealed about Bel's mysterious past, and about Sara's past as well, and through it all relationships are healed and faith restored.

I really enjoyed this book.  It's not my typical read, but it is well written and thought provoking.  It started slow, but I soon found myself invested in the character's lives and drawn in to this irresistible story.  The author paints a beautiful and authentic picture of trust, healing, and redemption.  In the end, Sara realizes that "happiness isn't a matter of getting what you want.  It's knowing what you need, realizing you have it, and being thankful."  I look forward to reading more from Lisa Samson.

I received this book for free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

Make your own: Ranch Dressing Mix

While menu planning this week, I selected three recipes in a row that call for dry ranch dressing mix.  What can I say?  I love me some ranch.  Luckily, I had come across a recipe for homemade ranch dressing mix a few weeks ago, so instead of forking out $1.79 per packet, I forked out around $2 for the ingredients to make around 15 packets-worth.  Added bonus?  I actually know what's in my ranch dressing mix.

My obsessive saving of empty peanut butter jars comes in handy sometimes...

There are a ton of variations out there, ranging from just a few ingredients to...just a few more ingredients.  Here's the one I decided on, mostly because I had all of the herbs and spices in my cupboard, but also because it has dry buttermilk in it, which seems more authentic to me, and also also because it makes a lot. 

Ranch Dressing Mix

1 c. dry buttermilk (find this in the baking aisle by the dry milk/evaporated milk/condensed milk/coconut milk)
6 T. dry parsley (you can pick up a jar at Aldi or the Dollar Store for $1)
2 T. dill weed
2 T. onion powder (also at Aldi or the Dollar Store)
2 T. salt (leave this out if you want sodium free ranch mix)
1 T. garlic powder (you know the drill: Aldi or Dollar Store)
1.5 t. ground black pepper.

Place all ingredients into a pint size jar and shake. That's it!  Substitute 2 T for one packet in recipes, or mix 2 T with 1-2 c. sour cream for dip.

My dry buttermilk says it should be stored in the fridge, so that's where I keep my ranch mix.

Now.  Those recipes?
Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken--yummy.  We made sandwiches using 30 minute rolls, but you could also serve this over pasta, rice or mashed potatoes.
Taco Bean Soup -- Mmmm!  My favorite.  I make a large batch and freeze the leftovers in meal-sized portions for easy lunches.
Cracked-out Chicken Noodle Casserole--this was really good, and makes a lot.  Divide into 2 or 3 casseroles, bake one and freeze the rest for future meals.

Enjoy, my friends.

{Completely Customizable} Breakfast Cookies

Don't let the name fool you--these cookies are more like a bowl of oatmeal you can hold in your hand, perfect for mornings when you're rushing out the door.  These delicious morsels are filled with fiber and nutrients, with no added fat, and only natural sweeteners.  Breakfast cookies are totally customizable and the perfect way to start your day. 

Feel free to let the name fool your kids, though :)  Cookies for breakfast?  Your kids will love you forever.

I've seen variations of this recipe all over the internet, so feel free to make it your own.  Here's the basic recipe--when making substitutions, just try to keep the ratio of wet to dry ingredients about the same, and you'll be fine

Breakfast Cookies

 

 

~ 2 c. quick cooking oatmeal (more if needed.  Or whirl some rolled oats in the blender for a few seconds--the powdery texture helps hold the cookies together)
3/4 t. salt (you can totally leave this out)
1 t. ground cinnamon (more or less to taste)
1 c. nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, sunflower--whatever you have)
1/4 c. honey (more or less to taste)
~ 1 c. unsweetened fruit puree (mashed bananas or applesauce work and are easy)
1 to 1 1/2 c. add-ins like sunflower seeds, chopped nuts like almonds or walnuts, dried fruit like raisins, cranberries or apples, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, chia seed--whatever you have, and whatever you like

• Mix ingredients together.  Scoop by 1/4 c. or 1/3 c. measure onto a greased cookie sheet and flatten into a cookie shape (since these cookies don't have any leavening, they won't spread out as they bake).
• Bake at 325* F for 12-16 minutes or until edges are set and tops are slightly browned.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.  For longer storage, wrap individually and freeze.

I used half peanut butter and half homemade almond butter, 1 mashed banana plus 1/2 c. applesauce, 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips, 1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts (finely chopped because I have a child who doesn't like nuts--the silly boy), and 2 T. chia seeds.  The recipe made nine 1/3 c. cookies.  I store mine in the freezer and eat them without even thawing them (although I'm sure heating them up in the microwave for 30 seconds or so would be yummy, too).  These are so delicious, and a filling meal or anytime snack for when I'm too busy to put something together.  These are so much better to reach for than Oreos!

Tuesday's Tip: Keep the Sheets Tucked

It is a pain in the patooty to change my kids' sheets. 

Number one, because all three of them have loft beds, which means that one has to actually be on the bed in order to change the sheets.  Have you ever tried changing the sheets on a bed which you are currently occupying?  It's not easy.  Try it.  You'll see.  Your body weight pushes down on the mattress making it very difficult to tuck anything under, not to mention the impossibility of getting wrinkles out.  It is quite the ordeal.

And number two, well, you don't need a number two, because number one is reason enough. 

Is it any wonder I try to avoid changing sheets on those beds as much as possible?

The trouble is, the beds don't stay made.  The sheets and blankets end up in a tangled mess after just a few days.  All that effort...wasted.

I noticed an interesting thing, though, and that is, the farther under the mattress you tuck those sheets and blankets, the more likely they are to stay tucked.

I noticed something else.  If you place twin-sized blankets perpendicular to a twin size bed, they cover nearly the whole bed, from head to foot.

Let's put those two facts together to see if we can solve that problem, shall we?

Here's what to do.

Over the fitted sheet, place the flat sheet the regular way, which leaves an overhang of 8-12" per side.
 

Place the blankets perpendicular to the bed, leaving an overhang of about 3 feet on the long sides of the bed.  See how they stretch nearly the whole length of the bed, head to foot?  If your kids are taller than mine, you can even alternate the way you place the blankets so you get full coverage lengthwise.

Fold down the sheet at the head of the bed, sandwiching the blankets and keeping them together.
 

Tuck everything in.  That means there are around 2.5 feet of blanket tucked under the mattress on each side--the two ends of the blankets meet under the mattress.  (If your bed is up in the air, stand on a stepstool or chair and lift the mattress up to get the sheets under.  If your bed is on the floor, you can just lift the mattress up).  That's not coming untucked very easily.

Cover the whole thing with a bedspread and you should be good to go for a couple of weeks.

Oh, and the number two reason it's a pain in the patooty to make my kids' beds?  The twenty gazillion stuffed animals, books, legos, socks and other miscellaneous items that find their way into the kids' beds that need to be removed and then replaced... Oy!

Heart of the Matter: 13 heart-y crafts for Valentine's Day

It's coming!  Two weeks from today we'll be "celebrating" the made-up Hallmark holiday of Valentine's Day. 

I have nothing against Valentine's Day.  I mean, it's a good thing, to remind people to say "I love you," but I feel so sad for anyone who has to wait all year to hear that they're loved. 

Every day is a good day to tell someone you love them.

However, I love a good excuse to make cute crafts and cute food, so bring it on!  Here, for your crafting pleasure, are 13 fun heart themed crafts.  But don't wait 'til Valentine's Day.  Every day is a good day to make a heart craft, too.  For instructions, just click on the word "source" under the pictures.

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This is one of my favorite messy crafts!  It just turned out so shiny and beautiful--the picture does not do it justice--and each one is unique.

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Love these simple heart ornaments made from cinnamon and apple sauce! 

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Aren't these window clings sweet?

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I love that this heart tote bag is easy enough for a preschooler to make but sophisticated enough for a mama to carry.

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Look at these gorgeous heart-painted rocks!  Now normally I would look at that and say, "no way would mine turn out that beautifully."  But look--it's not hard.  All it is is hearts and polka dots.  You can totally do that!



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I love this wall hanging made from small cross sections of branches.  Must. Make. (In all my spare time...)

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Here's another easy enough-for-a-preschooler-to-make project that is still lovely enough to make a part of your year-round décor.  Love it.

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Here's a craft to help develop fine motor skills (in other words, if you want to keep your little ones busy for long periods of time, try this).  Just wrap yarn, string, or embroidery floss around and around and around a cardboard or tagboard heart.  Glued to cardstock, these would make great school Valentine's cards.

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What an adorable heart garland.  Whip one up in minutes and hang several in a doorway.

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Here's another fun heart paper-craft/magic trick (how do they get those hearts linked?  The world may never know...unless it clicks on that link up there...)



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I wouldn't mind having a few of these whimsical heart-shaped bookmarks made from paperclips.  I found some metallic pink paperclips at the Dollar Tree that will work perfectly for this.


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Who knew shrinky dinks could be so beautiful!  I love the versatility of shrinky dinks--you can make them as intricate or as simple as you wish, and they can be enjoyed by adults and children.  You can make a gorgeous charm bracelet like this, or just a single heart on a piece of yarn for a necklace.  To learn how to make shrinky dinks using a material you probably have around the house, click here.



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What a fun way to greet guests, with this wooden heart wreath.  Just paint and decorate wooden heart cut-outs from the craft store, then glue them to a cardboard wreath-form cut from a cereal box.


Happy Valentine's crafting, my friends!

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake {Freezer Friendly}

I'm thinking maybe I should make a "cinnamon roll" tag, since I've been posting so many cinnamon roll-esque recipes.  And I would totally do that, if I thought I would actually remember to use the cinnamon roll tag.  I'm so bad at remembering to tag my posts...

Anyway, you don't care about that (well, maybe you do.  If you care about that, let me know in the comments).  You came for the recipe.  And what a recipe it is. 

Imagine a sweet, light, slightly cinnamon-flavored cake, swirled with cinnamon and brown sugar, and topped with a delicious vanilla glaze.  Oh, and did I mention you can bake and eat one now and freeze one to bake later?  Run, do not walk, to the kitchen to whip up this delectable treat.  Right now.

Well, you can read the recipe first.

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

(adapted from

Six Sisters Stuff: Family Recipes, Fun Crafts, and So Much More)

Cake:
3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
4 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
4 T. butter, melted

Topping:
1/2 c. (1 stick) softened butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 T. flour
1 T. cinnamon
2/3 c. walnuts (optional)

Glaze for one 8x8" cake (double for 9x13" cake):
1 c. powdered sugar
2 T. milk
1/2 t. vanilla

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease two 8x8" baking pans or one 9x13" pan.
• Stir together cake ingredients except melted butter.  When ingredients are combined, stir in melted butter.
• Pour batter into prepared baking pans, sprinkle 1 1/2 t of brown sugar over each, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together topping ingredients until well combined.
• Drop tablespoons of topping evenly over cake batter and use a knife to swirl through the cake, making a marble design.

At this point, you can bake both cakes and eat one, freezing the other to be reheated later, or bake one cake to eat now, and cover and freeze the other cake to be baked later.

• Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean from center.
• Combine glaze ingredients, adding enough milk to make it pourable.
• Drizzle glaze over warm cake.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

To bake the frozen, unbaked cake, thaw in refrigerator overnight, then bake and glaze according to the recipe.

Now go!  Bake like the wind!

How we do: Laundry

Do you ever wonder how other people do things?  Yeah, me too.  Whether we're looking for ways to improve the way we do our own things, or we're just curious, inquiring minds want to know.  Lora Lynn over at Vitafamilia shared on her blog how her family of 9 does laundry, and invited her readers to do the same.

Maybe you don't care, but I felt inspired to share with y'all how I do laundry.  If you're curious, or looking for ideas that may save you some time, read on.  If not, feel free to click the x on this blog post.  And please share how you do laundry in the comments (or if you blog about it, leave the link in the comments).

Still here?  OK, here's how we do laundry.  First of all, let me define "we".  We consists of 3 boys, aged 13, 10, and 6, a husband/daddy and me. 

The oldest does his own laundry whenever he feels he needs to.  Which often means he's wearing the same underwear for 3 days in a row.  Not OK, but I'm not buying more, 'cause then he'll just have longer before he does the 3 days in a row thing. 

The oldest kid, this is, not the oldest person in the household.  Sheesh.

For the rest of the family, laundry day is Monday.  I sometimes start with a few loads on Sunday, and often it carries over to Tuesday, but I learned long ago that I am much more likely to get everything washed, dried, and put away if it's just once a week instead of every.darn.day.

Everybody has 2 nested laundry baskets in their closet into which they deposit their dirty clothes.  And, for the most part, that's where the dirty clothes end up.  Yay for training them early!  Hubby and I actually have 2 sets of nested baskets in our closet--one for dark clothes and one for clothes-that-will-be-bleached.  No one else really has room for 2 sets of baskets in their closets, so I sort out anything white as I'm adding clothes to the washer.

On Monday morning, the boys carry their full baskets to the laundry room, leaving an empty basket in their closet to catch the dirty clothes just in case it takes several days to get the basket back.  So glad I figured that one out.  We used to have huge piles growing on closet floors while the baskets were otherwise occupied.  And then no one would seem to realize that they needed to pick up that big old pile of dirty clothes and put it in the basket when the basket became available, so the piles would keep growing while baskets sat empty.
 

I wash everyone's laundry separately (except whites) so that when it comes out of the dryer, I know to whom it belongs.  No sorting!  The whites I do all together, but everyone has a different style of underwear and socks so it's easy to tell them apart.  I usually have 1-2 loads of towels and sheets to do as well.  Usually we end up with 6-7 loads altogether, although my record is 13 loads in one day.  I just keep cycling the loads through all day long.

At least it's clean!

As the laundry comes out of the dryer, it's placed back into the laundry baskets (which I sometimes remember to spray down with Lysol while they're empty) to await folding.  But the thing about folding is, I need to be watching TV in order to do it.  And there's nothing good on TV.  So sometimes the baskets sit for a while...um...a week?  At least it's clean, right?

I fold the pants and put them neatly into stacks, stack the underwear, fold the socks, put the shirts on hangers, and put everything neatly back into the baskets.  Then I tell the boys to take their baskets to their rooms and put their clothes away, which they do, although not so neatly.  Each of the boys has a dresser in his closet for pants, socks and undies, and a bar for hanging clothes.  It sometimes takes a week or so for everything to be put away (actually AKD usually doesn't put anything away--just uses clothes from the basket), but at least I've done my part.  As long as each member of the family has something clean to wear, regardless of the magnitude of its wrinkliness, I've done my job.  Right?  Right.

Oh, and a note on orphaned socks.  Seems like there are unmatched socks left over after every laundry day.  I used to send the sock back to its assigned dresser, figuring maybe its mate would show up there.  What actually happened was these unmatched socks were never heard from again, and in the meantime, each new load would turn up new orphaned socks until there were no pairs left.  Now I have a small basket in the laundry room to hold these socks.  At the end of the folding process, I go through the basket to see if there are any matches, and usually there are a few pairs that get reunited.  It's kind of like a dating service for socks.

So that's how we do laundry.  Hop on over to Vitafamilia to find out how Lora's family does laundry.

Heart-shaped foods to celebrate Valentine's Day all day long

Hey y'all.  Why not put a little effort into making this Valentine's Day special for your family by preparing fun heart-shaped foods all day long?

For breakfast, enjoy heart-shaped pancakes with heart-shaped bacon.  Or how about an egg in a heart-shaped basket (feel free to scramble that egg if your family prefers)?  

 

 

 

 

Or if you're in the mood for a little more sugar to start your day, how about heart-shaped cinnamon rolls (from homemade or cinnamon-rolls-in-a-tube). 

 

 

Whichever you choose, add some heart-shaped strawberry slices to add vitamin C and fiber.

 

For lunch, try these heart-shaped calzone with marinara for dipping (use Pillsbury biscuits or crescent rolls if you don't have time to make a yeast dough), this cute heart-shaped hot dog, heart-shaped hard-boiled eggs, or a heart-shaped sandwich--this one is peanut butter and jelly with sprinkles. 

 

 



On the side, try melon heart kabobs, an apple with heart cut-out, and some heart-shaped veggies.

 

 

 

Are we having fun yet?

For supper make this darling heart-shaped pizza with heart-shaped pepperoni or whip up some heart-shaped ravioli. 

On the side, serve heart-shaped roasted or steamed veggies or a tossed salad with heart-shaped croutons and veggies or a warm spinach salad with heart-shaped strawberries.
 









 

 

To end the day, treat your family to one of these these delicious treats:

Heart-shaped ice cream sandwiches
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Windowpane heart cookies
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Chocolate-Hazelnut-Raspberry Tart
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What will you choose, my friends?  I don't know--I might just have to make heart-shaped foods for a week!