Beat this Rachel Ray...

Today the boys and I sat down to the table to make some whole made granola bars. I have been using all sorts of different recipes, and the recipes we made today are forgiving. They don't crumble as easy, and I can substitute things and they still turn out great. In fact, the boys like them so much that I have to ration them!


It started out pretty...The ingredients were all together, very concise and very need (at least it made for a pretty pictures).

Seth and Zach alternated putting in ingredients. That's one of the great things about making granola bars...tons of ingredients for them to mess with!!

Eli thought he was helping. He was making noise, drooling, and shouting all sorts of directions to me!

Zach is very exact with measuring...not so much with stirring. Oh well, that's what vacuums are made for right!?

Eli got so noisy I had to give him a sample of the chocolate chips to keep him quiet!
Somewhere along they way, after the bars were in the oven, Eli made his way up on to the table to look for leftovers. He thought he was pretty hot stuff being up so high!

Since my 9x13 pans are pretty yucky, I partially filled my Pampered Chef pans. Half with just chocolate chips for the boys, the other with chips, dried cherries, and nuts for Justin and I.

Just in case you would like, here is the recipe:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup rice krispies
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I substitute 1/2 whole wheat flour)
• raisins, choc. chips, dried fruit
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I substitute some with peanut butter)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

1. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, rice krispies,brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly and very firmly into the prepared pan.
2. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.