Oatmeal Granola Bars

Last night after work I had the most fabulous evening.  Met a friend in Bryant park for a little to soak up some rays.  Met Jvo for a great Sushi feast in Murray Hill.  Slowly walked my way home and got my life situated. I am trying to organize my life a little bit seeing as we are moving in just 2 short weeks... assuming we ever find an apartment (another post... another time).  Welp, organizing my life consisted of the usual.  You know how it goes, vacuuming, bills to pay.. and of course for this girl- BAKING!

I haven't baked in a while so I was very excited to do so! It is my college reunion this weekend and you know what that means- roadtrip!  So of course, snacks needed to be made.  Yesterday I reached out to the twitter community, specifically some lovely ladies over to help me think of a fun recipe for on the go granola bars to take with me in the car.

Well Anne never fails me and helped me out with these amazing Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Granola Bars.  I made some slight tweaks and they really hit the spot.  As you guys know, I really love my raisins.  More than that, the chocolate and dried fruit combo really hits the spot for me. Well, I guess I kind of failed at the whole Only Eat What You Have Challenge because 2) I didn't have chocolate chips and those were purchased and b) I don't know if going out to dinner with friends counts as following the challenge but I have a sneaking suspicion that it does NOT.  O well, if chocolate and dried fruit does the same for you as it does for me, check out the below!

Ingredients:
2 cups instant oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnut
1/8 cup chocolate chips
1/8 cup raisins (I went with white raisins to mix things up)
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Steps:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2) Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl
3) Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl
4) Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until combined
5) Pour batter into a pam-ed pan (11×7).
6) To make it look pretty- sprinkle raw oats on top
7) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (depending on how crunchy you want them to be)
8) Remove, let cool and cut into 15 squares.
9) Enjoy!

These are soooo good :)

Not sure how well they will travel but I will find out soon enough, I brought one to work for dessert after my lunch!

I would definitely give them a Star Fabulous Rating of at least 8/10! They are chocolatey and fruity and nice and gooey.

Star Fabulous Rating: 8/10 

My first granola bars with a success- Thanks Anne for sharing your recipe!

Craisin Honey Almond Granola

I went to the gym today!  The entire workout, all I could think about was crunchy crispy granola. After devouring the Chocolate Granola I made this weekend it was time to make a new batch of crunchy goodness for my morning yogurt. The best part about making your own granola is it is so easy you just pop it into the oven and go about your business.  I decided that this week I would try a new granola and created this Craisin Honey Almond Granola with the help of the genius mastermind behind the Simply Scratch food blog! So I whipped together a batch of this delicious goodness, popped it in the oven, hopped in the shower, and devoured as a nice dessert!


Ingredients: 
- 1/3 cup honey

- 2 tablespoons butter, melted

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 and 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats

- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

-1/3 cup sliced almonds

-1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (It needs to be hot for these to get crunchy!

2)  In one bowl combine honey, melted butter and vanilla extract.

3) In a separate bowl combine oats, flour, almonds, salt and cranberries

4) Add the honey mixture to the dry mixture and stir until mixed

5) Spread the granola mixture over a pam-ed pan

6) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes

7) Take out, turn over, bake for additional 5 to 7 minutes

* Make sure to keep an eye on them so they don't burn!

I tried these as a delicious dessert with a little bit of greek yogurt and some fresh blueberries (I am not a greek yogurt fan but I am determined to train myself to be and this crunchy addition is definitely a step in the right direction!)- Correction, I officially DO NOT like greek yogurt.  I made the smart decision to stick with what I know and not spoil this delicious treat.  Granola and skim milk with fresh blueberries is much more up my alley!

Star Fabulous Rating: 5/10 ( The more honey the sweetest)