Homemade Granola Bars

Hi!
I'm making my own snacks at home for my husband and me. Today I made granola bars, which are so easy to make and delicious! The best part is you can choose what to put in the mixture. I only added pecans and raisins, but the options are limitless! :0) next time I'll add chocolate chips and almonds. Enjoy!

6 cups Rolled Oats (not Quick Oats)
4 Tablespoons Butter, melted, plus more for greasing
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup molasses
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, toss the oats with the canola oil, melted butter and salt. Spread the mixture out on 2 baking sheets and toast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan twice and making sure they don't burn. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F.
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, orange juice and molasses. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until all combined. Stir in the vanilla.
Toss together the toasted oats, rice cereal, wheat germ, pecans and raisins. Pour in the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour. Toss to combine; it will be sticky!
Press into 1 baking sheet (thoroughly greased with butter, or line pan with foil and grease foil) and bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut pieces with a sharp knife and remove from the pan.

Bananas & Oats Bars

I'm trying to cook more healthy snacks for my husband and I and this is an excellent option. The best part about this recipe is you don't need any flour and you still get the consistency to make cookies and even bars, either for snacks or dessert. It smells delicious by the way! :)

8 bars

Ingredients
3 bananas, peeled
1 1/4 cups of oats, Old Fashioned or Instant
1 full tb raisins
2 tsp chocolate chips, optional

Directions
Purée the bananas along with the oats very well. Add the raisins and chocolate chips (optional) to the batter, mix very well.
Preheat the over at 350 and grease a cookie sheet or baking ban and pour the batter into the sheet/pan, spread evenly to make bars or scoop the batter into the sheet to make cookies. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool it off and enjoy!

Hubby's Apples in Yogurt

My hubby and I were hungry tonight after church but it was kind of late to eat too much, so he tried this for tonight, and is delicious and a healthy snack. Yum!

1 serving

Ingredients
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1 tb yellow raisins
1/3 cup organic vanilla yogurt
Hershey's chocolate shavings to garnish (optional)

Directions
Chop the apple, put it in a bowl, mix it with the yogurt and raisins and mix. With a potato peeler shave the chocolate bar over the apples to garnish.

Black bean soup

This is a very delicious bean soup and so easy to make. I had some Jasmine rice in the refrigerator from another meal and added 1/3 cup of rice into the soup. The rice is a nice compliment to the soup because it's a grain and its flavor is not too strong, so it blends perfectly with the beans.

By the way, I cook my own beans. Here's my method, it's so simple:
1. If preferred soak 1 cup of beans overnight and the next morning drain, discarding soaking water.
2. Add water to about an inch from top of beans and boil gently 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. or until tender.
Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
3/4 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp cumin
15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp Mexican sour cream

Directions
1.In a large saucepan, combine onion, oil, garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in beans and broth. Reduce heat to medium-low.
2.Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Mash some beans against side of pan. Serve sprinkled with Mexican sour cream and cilantro (optional).