Posts Tagged ‘Rolled Oats’

Homemade Granola Bars

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Granola Bar

My daughter is crazy for granola bars. Between sports workouts and working her show lambs granola bars are her snack of choice for a quick energy packed pick-me-up. Unfortunately, most of the store bought granola bars are nutritionally no better than candy. Their cleverly designed packaging only makes them look like they are natural. The few that are truly natural are so tasteless it’s like eating cardboard and they cost like the dickens.

So, out of sheer necessity I was on the hunt again for a homemade alternative to a store bought item. After a bit of research and a few experiments I think I’ve found an unbeatable recipe for homemade granola bars. The list below is the core ingredients for the recipe, but it can be easily changed to accommodate personal tastes and preferences.

The cost of making your own nutritious flavor-packed granola bars is pennies on the dollar compared to their store-bought counterparts. But what’s even better than their low cost and high food value is that these bars are truly delicious — as any snack food (nutritious or otherwise) should be in order to make the list of favorites. Read the rest of the story »

Red, White and Blueberry

Sunday, July 4, 2010

4th of July recipes

I always look forward to this time of year. It gives me a chance to reflect upon our great nation, with the liberties and freedoms we enjoy, regardless of budgets and economies and politics and climates. My mind turns to those, known and not known, who have paid the ultimate price to preserve what I enjoy every day.

Our small town celebrates the 4th with a community-wide picnic at the local park. Hundreds of families spread out on blankets eating fried chicken, potato and macaroni salad, watermelon and a festive dessert, while they wait for the military fly by and of course a wonderful fireworks display.

This time of year is a busy one on our suburban homestead. Veggies are picked daily and canning is a weekly occurrence. It’s also a time that we share the bounty of our farm with friends and family. And now I want to share some of our favorites with all of you.

Red Raspberry Crisp

1 quart raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup butter
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 cup rolled oats

Blend butter, flour, brown sugar and rolled oats. Spread half over bottom of 9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle raspberries with sugar and spread over oat mixture. Top with remaining oat mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

Serve a warm or at room temperature with homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

White Peach Cheesecake

Base
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour

Body
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3 eggs
16 ounces white peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup Amaretto

Base
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in egg.
Add flour; mix well. Spread dough onto bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Body
Combine cream cheese, sugar and flour, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add peaches and liqueur; mix well.

Pour over crust. Bake at 450 degrees, 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F; continue baking 1 hour and 5 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill.

Garnish with toasted almond slices and additional peach slices, if desired.

Blueberry Jam

9 cups fresh blueberry puree
6 cups sugar

Wash and remove stems. Discard any bruised or damaged berries. Using an immersion blender, blend berries until smooth. Measure after each batch until you have 9-cups. Pour into large stock pot and add sugar. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 20-30 minutes. Jam is ready when it is thick, jamlike and sticks slightly to the bottom of the pan.

Pour into hot, scalded half-pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace, and seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes 9 half pints.

Because the blueberries are blended the consistency of the jam will have a fruit butter texture.

Creative Commons License photo credit: Rubber Slippers In Italy