Sunday Morning Granola Bars

Hey ya'll! I went and joined this blog, and then went and took forever to post. Well, hopefully I can make up for that soon enough. Starting with this!

So, about Sunday mornings- still a bit of a challenge for us Giles folk. And just when I feel like we are getting better at them, we go and have a morning like this past Sunday where we showed up right on time... for confession. Well, Since I missed it in church, there it is. In writing. At any rate, the following recipe whips up pretty quickly the night before, (or, sometimes, if you're really on top of things, EARLY the morning of), and gets eaten pretty quickly by all of those sluggish toddlers, with crazy hair, stumbling around.

My mom's original recipe was:

Chewy granola bars

1 1/2 Cups of Bisquick (I know, I know. But if that absolutely turns your stomach, here is a bisquick substitute that I use from time to time.)

1 1/2 Cups quick oats

1/2 Cup butter, softened

1 Cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 Cup Chocolate chips, or raisins (with cinnamon and/or apples), or nuts, or whatever!

Mix everything, and spread it in a cookie sheet (about 1/2 an inch thick). Bake at 350* for 15-18 minutes. cut while warm.

Notes: If I am making this for just me and the kids, I use the above amounts, but I double it if Chad is sharing with us. Also, if it's just me and the kids, I half the amount of chocolate chips, and may add a bit of peanut butter.

Healthy Carrot Muffins

Last week we went out of town, so mom hadn't been shopping. When we got back there was very little food in the house other than carrots, corn grits and some canned pineapple. So the next meal we had was baked cheese grits and carrot, pineapple salad. I made way too much salad, as I usually do, so I made the leftovers into these muffins. Here is the carrot salad recipe, which I thought was pretty nice.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 cups pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 pound carrots, grated
• 1 cup pineapple yogurt (We didn't have yogurt, so I used mayo + juice from the pineapple)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Soak raisins in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and dry.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the raisins, pineapple and carrots.
3. Mix together the yogurt, sugar and salt. Add to carrot mixture; mix well, cover and refrigerate.

And here is the muffin recipe if you have any leftovers, or if you just feel like a warm, delicious breakfast.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 medium carrots, grated (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
• Special equipment: 12 cup muffin tin and paper liners

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin cups with paper muffin liners.
Whisk the flours with the brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl lightly whisk the egg, then whisk in the vegetable oil, and vanilla extract .
Quickly and lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Stir in the carrots and pineapple just until evenly moist; the batter will be very thick. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Turn muffins out of the tins and cool on a rack.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

This is Meredith Wilson's recipe that has been served at showers and I made it for the fondue breakfast, for those of you who stayed.

2 C flour
3 oz
1 T baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ C butter
¼ C shorting
½ tsp salt
½ C raspberry jam
½ - 2/3 C buttermilk

Frosting:
½ C powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1-3 tsp milk

In medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in cream cheese, butter, and shorting until crumbly. Stir in just enough buttermilk to moisten. Knead 5 strokes. Grease center of a baking sheet 4-inch lengthwise strip. Roll dough on waxed paper 8x15 inches and turn on to baking sheet. Spread jam down center and leave 3 inches of dough on either side. Cut ¾ inch strips all the way up to the jam. Fold strips over to create a braid. Bake 425 for 15 min. Mix frosting in a little bowl, drizzle on top of slightly cooled braid.

Creamy Goodness Oatmeal

Posted by: Meg Cooper

Oatmeal?- Yuck! I used to gag down oatmeal because it was a cheap hot breakfast. And then I started soaking to oats over night, and my opinion of oats changed...over night! Here's how you can make oats edible:

The night before:

Place 1/2C uncooked old fashion oats, per person in pot. (Note: to ensure this is gluten free, use certified gluten free oats.)

Add a little less than 1C water per 1/2C oats. 

Squeeze (or pour from store bought jar) a little (like 1/2tsp) lemon juice. 

Give it a little stir. Put the lid on the pot. 

In the morning: 

Turn the burner on. 

Cook, stirring frequently until cooked to your liking. 

Then put the lid back on while you get out the bowls and toppings.

Topping ideas: brown sugar, honey, peanut butter, cinnamon, any dried fruit-crasins, raisens, apricot, or any fresh fruit, chopped nuts, ground flax seed, and a smidge of milk. Creamy, goodness.