chocolate granola bars

I love making things in the afternoon as my little ones nap and my oldest son is at school. I feel like our evening starts well when we can walk in the door from picking Jaxon up and sit right down to a yummy snack and catch up on our day together before we press forward. It's even fun to bring a friend or two home from school and let them pig out together and listen to their laughter. Such a fun time to be a mom to a 7 year old boy!! I recently tried these out and they were a fast hit! There is good stuff in them and they taste good too. My 4 year old thinks they are a candy bar, so I let him assume away :) These can be thrown together in about 20 minutes.... give 'em a try!

Chocolate Granola Bars


1/2 cup (natural if have it) peanut butter
1/3/ cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup whole oats
2 Tbsp wheat germ or flax seed
1/2/ cup shredded coconut
1/2/ cup milk choc chips


Melt butter, peanut butter, and honey in pan over medium low heat. Stir often. Once melted pour in oats and wheat germ or flax seed. Let cool and then stir in coconut and chocolate chips. Or, just stir in right away and get melted choc chips for an over-all chocolate taste.  Pour and flatten into greased 8 by 8 pan lined with wax paper.Let cool in fridge until hardens. Flip out of pan and cut to your preference. I store these in a Rubbermaid container in fridge.

sweet as pie

One thing I love about Thanksgiving is the variety of dishes you get to try out! Now I know Thanksgiving is all wrapped up, but if you want to try a new recipe out for Christmas or for next year...I suggest this one! Not a lot of people love sweet potatoes, but they are REALLY good for you, so I try to use them when I can. I like to boil them, run them under cold water, and just let the peel fall off easily. I mash them up and sometimes freeze them for throwing into tomato sauce foods (spaghetti sauce, lasagna, meatballs sometimes, you get the idea). It is an easy way to sneak some good nutrients in (and by sneak, I mean you don't tell your kids or husband you put it in what they are eating. What they don't know just helps them in this case :) 

However, I do "sweeten" this dish up quite a bit, but it is super yummy in the end. And what's a Thanksgiving without a super sweet yummy dish on your plate!!

Sweet as Pie, Sweet Potatoes Dish

Boil sweet potatoes until soft. Peel and mash. About 3-4 cups needed.

Mix sweet potatoes with:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup soft butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup orange juice

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

2 Tbsp soft butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup mini marshmallows

Combine above ingredients and then place into 13 by 9 greased dish or use a casserole dish of your choosing. Hand mix your topping together until crumbly and sprinkle over sweet potatoes mixture. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until lightly brown and bubbly. Serve warm!

 Mashed sweet potatoes

 ready for oven

Yum!