"granola bar" recipe

I love granola bars, but since we are a nut free household we can't just go to the store and buy them. I have been searching for awhile and find a recipe to make at home.

I finally found one last night. It isn't a true granola bar. It's more like a granola muffin, but they are really good and filling. They will be great to freeze and have when the baby is born as a quick snack.

I found the original recipe online and made some changes based on comments left and just our own preferences.

"Granola Bars"
2 1/2 cups rolled oats (I used quick oats this time)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup flour
3/4 - 1 cup raisins
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease a 9X13 baking dish. In a large bowl combine oats, sugar, cinnamon, flour, raisins, chocolate chips, and salt. Once well combined make a well in the center of the mixture. Add honey, egg, applesauce, and vanilla to well. Mix until well combined. Pour into greased baking dish and spread to desired thickness. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until edges just start to turn brown. Remove from oven and let cool about 10 minutes. De pan and cut into desired size.

The original recipe called for wheat germ, but we don't like it so I added a little extra oats. This time I used craisins instead of raisins because it's what I had on hand. You can really change it up however you want. Leave out the chocolate chips, add more raisins, add peanut butter, whatever sounds good to you. If your not a nut free house you could always add some nuts too. In other words, go wild!

Sorry I haven't updated lately, but between going to the state fair and trying to get everything in order for Cody to go to school I haven't had much spare time.

We had a blast at the fair even though it was HOT! The boys loved all the animals. The only part that sucked was Cooper couldn't ride hardly anything. I have no idea what was up with the quacks that ran the show, but it wasn't very kid friendly. What really got me was when one of the guys running a kiddie game had a shirt on that said "I'm not mr. right, but I'll f*** you until he shows up" It is just wrong! I know that most kids playing the game couldn't read, but the parents and older kids could. It was disgusting.

The cutest thing was the banana races. They had little capuchin monkey riding dogs. It was really cute. The boys thought it was hilarious. We also saw the Pirate high flying act. It was cool, but kind of scary. Those guys had no fear.

I finally finished the top to my christmas present quilt. I went to get the backing ready and realized I don't have enough. Hopefully I will be able to get to the store this weekend.

Other than that I am dreading Wednesday. My baby starts Kindergarten. It just can't be happening already. It is sad, but he is really excited and ready to go.

Blogger isn't playing nice so I will post pictures later!

Appointment update

I had my 24 (25) week appointment yesterday and I am happy to report that everything is going good.

I only gained 2 pounds which puts me at a total of 12 pounds. Way better than with either of my other pregnancies. He is measuring right on target and his heartbeat was 159. I also got the results of my diabetes test which even the midwife thought it was stupid that I had to have an early one. I have to have the second one in September which is annoying, but at least it will be the last time.

This midwife was awesome. She answered all my questions without making me feeling like an idiot. She gave me some suggestions for the pelvic pain I've been having. Now all I have to do is fill out the preregistration paperwork for the hospital and schedule the tour. I figure it is a good idea to know where we are going especially on how fast this guy comes.

Crazy kids

There isn't too much to write about. I've been feeling kind of icky the past few days. Nothing too bad, just kind of icky. I have a doctors appointment today so we'll see how this little guy is doing.

We are headed out to the state fair this weekend. It should be interesting with the boys. Sadly it is supposed to be hot which doesn't make me too happy. Oh well, at least I'll have the hubby and the in laws to help out.


Since there isn't too much going on around here I'll leave you with some pictures of my crazy kids. This is what happens when they want their picture taken right after waking up.

The guy that came and tested our water last night was a quack. I knew that he was going to try and sell us a softener, but crazy me thought he would actually run a legitimate test.

I think he is ticked off because Jeremy knew everything he was talking about since he deals with it at work. Plus my dad is a water operator so I know a lot from him. He couldn't just tell us a bunch of stuff and have us believe him.

He did an iron test and then said that he had to repeat it because that is protocol. Yeah, well the first test came back with really high iron levels (like almost off the chart). He goes to do the second test and both Jeremy and I saw him use a different tablet than he did the first time.

Then he did a TDS (total dissolved solids) test which is supposed to show you how much "stuff" is in your water. He kept saying that it would be around 250-280 and he did the test and it only came back at 150. He said that was impossible.

Frankly the guy just pissed me off. I hate when people try to bully you into doing something just because they can fake a test. I know our water isn't perfect, but I know it isn't that bad either.

I really hate to shell out $150+ for a test that I can't be sure is true either. Why can't their be any reliable people in this world.

And on the same idea:

Rain rain go away DON'T come back for awhile!

Boring update

We spent the whole weekend cleaning and running errands. My feet and back hurt something horrible.

I scrubbed down the kitchen and Jeremy did all the furniture moving and vacuuming. I still have some more deep cleaning to do, but at least it looks better on the surface.

We have an appointment tonight with a guy to check our water. We are trying to figure out why there is a water softener here and if we can get rid of it. It is huge and I hate the noise it makes. Hopefully we will be able to get rid of it and save the money on electric and salt.

Nothing much else going on here. I have a bunch of errands to run this week, but Cody has a little cold so they are put on hold until he feels better.

Macaroni and Cheese

I have never had good luck making macaroni and cheese. It either turns out into a big lump or is curdled and runny.

A few weeks ago my mom sent me a recipe that was in her paper and said that they both
loved it. I was skeptical, but figured I would give it a try.

My husband who hates anything but the blue box kind actually ate three helpings of it so I know it must be a winner.

Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground mustard (I used Dijon mustard instead)
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I used extra sharp cheddar)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni as directed on package. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute, remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.

Drain macaroni. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2 qt casserole. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!

Life out of control

Life has gotten somewhat out of control around here.

Cody has just a mere 3 weeks until Kindergarten. It has been rough on me to think about my baby going to school. Plus I am still wondering if I am doing the right thing by sending him this year. I know that he is excited and probably ready, but he is so small and just doesn't seem academically ready yet.

Cooper has been a terror lately. He is always getting into trouble, not listening, saying that he is peeing all over everything, and just being a wild child. I know that a lot of it is just part of the age, but it really wearing on me.

This pregnancy has been really hard on me. I haven't been able to sleep much at all lately. I go to bed at 10-11 and then back awake at 12:30. I usually am up until around 5 and then I try to squeeze in some sleep between Jeremy's alarm, him getting ready for work, and the kids waking up. It is killing me to feel so tired all the time. I know that things are only going to get worse. I love this little guy, but some days I wonder what I was thinking about having another one.

My house looks like a tornado ran through it. It not only needs the general cleaning, but it needs a really deep cleaning. I just do not have the time or energy to do it. There are so many projects around this house that need to get done. I honestly don't know how everything is going to get done.

I was supposed to go to a quilting class this weekend, but I think I am going to cancel and stay home instead. I am just not up to sitting through a two hour class right now. I would love to take it, but I just kept up the energy to do it.

Hopefully things will start looking up soon. If we could get more than a few minutes of sunshine a day that would help too. I swear that we moved to rain forest country and no one told us. It is crazy!

Cupcakes

I have been trying to find a good chocolate cake/cupcake recipe for awhile now. I've tried at least 5-6 and they just haven't fit what I wanted.

Finally it is Martha Stewart to the rescue. I found the recipe while searching yet again for a new recipe and I have to say these are a keeper.

The recipe is here: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/one-bowl-chocolate-cupcakes. It is super moist and chocolaty.

These aren't the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made, but they taste good and that is all that matters!

Our mini vacation

We took a mini vacation to Knoeble's amusement park this week. We had so much fun. It is a great park for kids and adults alike. They have two (soon to be 3) coasters and a bunch of smaller rides. The best part is you don't have to pay to park or enter the park. You just pay for the rides you want which is great when you are pregnant and can't ride anything!

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Cooper was the only one of the kids that would ride the flume. He had a blast!

The next Mario Andretti racing the cub cars.

The three stooges. The biggest is my nephew that went along with us.

Cooper showing pop pop how happy he was with the day!

Cody just being his goofy self.

We had a great time, but now it's time to get back to the real world. I have a ton of housework to do and yard work. Plus Cody starts Kindergarten soon so we need to get all his supplies. It is going to be a busy few weeks around here. I'm hoping to squeeze in some crafting and baking.

There are days that I wonder what else can happen during this pregnancy. I am pretty sure that I either really jammed my toe or broke it last night. I was walking around our bed and slammed my toe into the corner. It is swelled a little and black and blue tonight.

It made doing all my errands a little more painful today. I'm hoping it is better soon because I really don't want to walk around the amusement park with an injured toe.

Nothing much else is happening here. I haven't spent much time sewing because of trying to get stuff together to go. Plus hubby has been working a lot of hours this week. I made chocolate chip cookies to take to work tonight because they have been working so many extra hours I figured they needed a little treat.

I also plan on making monkey bread for breakfast tomorrow morning. Definitely not healthy, but oh so yummy. There are lots of different ways to make it, but here is how I do it.

Monkey Bread

1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 cans Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits (they usually come in a four pack)
1.5 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters and place in bag. Shake to coat.

Place biscuit pieces into a bundt pan. Combine brown sugar and butter. Pour over biscuits.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 28-32 minutes or until golden brown and not gooey. Cool for 5-10 minutes in pan. Invert pan on to plate. Pull apart and enjoy!!

Pregnancy insomnia sucks! I have slept about 5 hours in 3 days. I am exhausted. I keep thinking I will be able to sleep and then I toss and turn for hours on end.

Since there is nothing else going on here. I will leave you with some pictures of my crazy kids.

Not much to say

There isn't too much going on around here. I made 6 trays of baked ziti and garlic bread for hubby to take to work tonight. That was pretty much the excitement for today.

I did manage to get two rows sewn on the Christmas present quilt. I hate matching seams! It was a nightmare on some of them. Luckily I only had to resew two and they weren't too hard to fix.

I have become obsessed with Debbie Macomber books. They are nice light, easy reads. I'm not a big fan of books that make me think. I read for enjoyment and nothing more right now. Someday maybe I will get back into heavier subject matters, but not right now.

I finished Someday Soon by her last night after only two days of reading. It was a pretty good book, though the last section didn't really seem to fit with the rest of the book. It was almost like she finished and then decided it needed to be longer or something.

Once I get started on a book I have to keep reading until I finish it. That's probably why I don't read very often because I get sucked in and lose contact with the outside world. When I was younger I would hate to stop because I thought of books like TV. If you stopped reading, the story went on without you. It's crazy I know, but it's how I thought.

Now I am off to watch some fluff TV and head to bed. I have to find my kitchen again in the morning!