Homemade Granola Bars

I've been wanting to make a healthy snack for Zman's kindergarten for a long time now.  And ever since he told me he had fortune cookies and rice krispies bars for a snack at school, it made me want to give the kids a better, healthy snack.

So, Zman was the "big cheese" on Wednesday, and I got out my oatmeal and made these tasty treats!

Homemade Granola Bars

Mix Together in a Small Bowl: 
1/3 cup brown sugar 
2/3 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey 
2 tsp. vanilla 
2tbsp hot water 

Then Mix in a Large Bowl: 
2 1/2 cups oats 
1 cup whole wheat flour 
1/4 cup wheat germ or wheat flour 
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 tbsp. sesame seeds 
1 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit 
1/2 cup chocolate chips 
1/2 cup coconut 

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients 

Lastly, press into a 9x13 pan 
Bake at 350 for 20 min or until light brown 
cut into bars while warm and allow to cool completely 

Finally ENJOY!

Busy Baking Day

I was a busy girl today, let me tell ya! I can't remember the last time I baked/cooked pretty much all day long. It was very rewarding in the end, though, having my husband come home and say "This house smells fantastic!"

This morning, Pudge helped me get started by making some homemade granola, yum! We went out last week to pick up all the ingredients, we just needed more honey. I found a bunch of different kinds at the County Market on Duncan Rd. here in Champaign. My husband suggested we use local honey, because of the benefits it could have on allergies.

We made enough granola to fit into 2 (9x13) pans!

Then we found this huge Kellogg's container to fit it all into. I would have to say that that's equal to about 4 boxes of store-bought granola!

I've also been on a kick of making our own sandwich bread. Since we went to Sam's Club and got flour and yeast, why shouldn't I? The recipe I have makes about 2 1/2 loaves. I got the recipe from The Frugal Girl, and you can check it out here. She also wrote a great article on comparing the price of store-bought bread to homemade bread, I highly recommend reading it.

I also made some homemade pumpkin rolls, and those were equally as delicious. Those were made for a family who just had a baby and is a part of the Mothers and More group I'm involved in.

I also made that family a Beef and Barley Soup in the crock-pot. So our house was smelling great by the time the rolls were done!

So with all that being said, I feel like such a home-maker! It's a great feeling knowing where your food comes from. Have you made anything from scratch this week? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Wednesday: $0.31 Ice Cream!

If you're in the mood for some cheap ice cream, on Wednesday night from 5-10pm, Baskin Robbins is having $0.31 scoop night! It's been tradition for our family to go (this will be our 3rd year), because they also have a fire truck parked in the parking lot so that the kids can check it out! You can get up to 3 scoops, one time only. So I recommend getting those 3 scoops!

For more information and details, click here.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Here are some fun photos from the past 2 years of my family attending this event:

(2010)

(2009)

(2009)

(2009)

Recipe: Turkey Sliders with Homemade Buns!

I got adventurous the other day when Z-man asked me if we could have hamburgers for dinner. My son never requests anything for meals (except cereal) so when he mentioned this, I was all for it!

I looked in our freezer and saw that we had frozen ground turkey, so I quickly took that out to thaw and then promptly went to the internet for a recipe. Here's what I found:

Turkey Sliders

20 oz. ground turkey

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic from a jar)

1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Combine the ground turkey, the cheese and all seasonings. Mix together well. Shape mixture into 16 small patties. Place patties on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Side note: Our sliders came out of the oven with a lot of grease on the pan, so I just drained that and stuck them back in the oven for a few more minutes.

Homemade Slider Buns

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. As soon as milk simmers, remove from heat and stir in shortening until melted. Set aside to cool slightly (to about 105°F to 115°F).
2. Add warm milk mixture and remaining ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix on lowest speed until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium low and mix until dough is smooth and springy, about 4 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, add dough, and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough and turn onto a clean surface. Divide dough into 18 (1-1/2-ounce) pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, round bun (keep the rest covered with the towel as you work). To do so, cup your hand around the dough, press down very lightly, and roll the dough against the surface to form a bun. Slightly flatten bun and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat to make 18 buns.
5. Set buns aside in a warm area until slightly risen and puffy (note that they will not double in size), about 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F and arrange the rack in the middle.
6. When buns have risen, bake in the oven until they are golden brown, crusty, and have an internal temperature of 190°F, about 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a rack, and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Thank you to CHOW for the recipe for these Slider Buns! They turned out great!

Here are some fun after photos of our Sliders:

Did you try a recipe this week that was out of the blue? If so, I'd love to hear how it turned out!

Homemade Bread From Scratch

Have you ever tried making bread from scratch before? If you haven't, I've got a recipe that you should try out. This recipe does not require a Kitchen Aid or a Bread Machine, so if you've got two hands, it'll turn out fine.

White Sandwich Bread

5-6 c. all-purpose flour

1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast

2 1/4 c. milk (you can also use water)

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. butter or vegetable oil

2 tsp. salt

1.) In a large mixer bowl, combine 2 1/2 c. of flour and yeast.

2.) In a saucepan or in the microwave, heat milk sugar, butter, and salt to 115-120 degrees.

3.) Add hot liquids to flour and yeast. Beat at low speed until combined, then beat at high speed for 3 minutes.

4.) Add enough additional flour to make a soft, but kneadable dough, and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

5.) Put dough back into mixing bowl, cover with wet tea towel, and let rise 1 hour.

6.) Punch dough down, divide into two pieces, and roll into a rectangle, about 6"x18". Starting from the short end, roll up jelly-roll style and place into two greased 4x8 inch loaf pans. Cover with wet tea towel and let rise 30-40 minutes, or until doubled.

7.) Bake in a preheated 350 degree over for 25-30 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool before slicing.

Recipe taken from The Frugal Girl.

Chili's: Kids Eat Free on Halloween Weekend

Just a heads up in case you're planning on eating out with your kids this coming holiday. Both October 20th and 31st, dress up your kids for Halloween and they'll receive a free kids meal (with the purchase of an adult entree). This offer is good on dine-in or carry-out. Kids must be 12 years old and younger and in costume.

FREE Schwan's Food

Schwan's is giving away one item of food that is under $10.  Go here to register and pick an item of food for $10 or less.  I just ordered my item and I chose the 8-2 oz. steaks. ($9.99) for free!  I heard that lots of people have ordered a gallon of ice cream, and cookie doughs.  So check those out too!

What did you order???

Where's the Milk?

You may have seen my weekly grocery pictures and wondering where the milk is?

Yes, we go through about a gallon of milk a week, maybe even two. And I suppose you were wondering where that comes from since it's not in my weekly picture. We are fortunate enough to qualify for the Women, Infant, Children (WIC) program here in Illinois. So we get coupons to get stable foods like milk, eggs, cheese and cereal to feed our family. And I must say that it's very much appreciated. We signed up when we found out that we were pregnant with Zechariah, our first born, and have been on the program ever since.

So if you've never heard of WIC, you might want to check it out! Just click on the link above and read up on it.