Delicious Granola Bars

Mom (who my children know as "Oma") came to visit a while ago and made some granola bars for the children. They liked them so much they asked for some "Oma Bars" over March break. I found out mom had used the Crosby's Molasses recipe for "Peanut Butter and Molasses Granola Bars" and changed it a little. I did the same thing and here they are:

Here is the recipe that made them:

Peanut Butter and Molasses Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups quick rolled oats
• 1 cup bran
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup sunflower seeds or sesame seeds or a combination of the two
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• ¼ cup chopped nuts
• ¼ cup wheat germ
• ½ cup fancy molasses
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 tbsp 2% milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ¾ tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Mix oats, bran, coconut, seeds, chocolate chips, nuts and wheat germ together in large bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine molasses, oil, sugar and peanut butter in a 2 liter saucepan and cook over medium low heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth. (Stir constantly.)
3. Combine the milk, vanilla and baking soda and add to the molasses mixture. Stir for one more minute. Remove from heat.
4. Pour molasses-milk mixture over granola mixture and stir until dry ingredients are moist. Wet your hands and press the mixture into a 15 x 10 inch (2L) pan.
5. Bake at 275°F (140°C) for 20 to 25 minutes. The edges will start to brown and the bars will be slightly puffy. They will sink as they cool.
6. Let cool, cut into slices (I cut it into 27 pieces).
7. Store in the refrigerator.

Home-made Granola

This granola is a great dish at breakfast. I like it with milk, or for a treat, I stir it up with yogurt. Sometimes we just eat it dry, out of hand, for a quick snack.

It's made in the microwave, so it's pretty quick to make.

Microwave Granola
Heat on high for 30 seconds in a microwave safe measure:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Combine in a microwave safe bowl:
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flour (whole wheat or white, your choice)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 tsp. cinnamon

Pour honey mixture over oats mixture and stir very well. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 2 1/2 minutes. Stir. Microwave for 2 1/2 more minutes. Stir. Add 1/2 cup raisins if you like. Let cool. Store in an air tight container next to your cereal! Enjoy!

Hearty White Bread p. 64

My bread stash was dangerously low today, so I looked up a new recipe. Came up with all the ingredients for this Hearty White Bread. It contains eggs, wheat germ, dry milk powder and potato flakes. (I only had potato flour but figured I'd try that). I've never thought about what potato flakes might be so if you know, you can let me know!

In any event, I mixed up a double batch of this recipe since "one large or two small loaves" would only get me to Wednesday and I'm a busy woman this week! Fast Forward past the usual problem of too much flour and not enough wet ingredients and the rest of the instructions were a breeze. Unbaked, this loaf felt as soft as those wondrous rolls I keep talking about. (Must be the potato). In the end, I kneaded in 5 3/4 cups of flour instead of the "approximately 7 cups" the recipe called for!  I raised the bread in the pans, covered with a greased sack paper. I must have pulled the middle one off too quickly, because that loaf sank a bit. You be the judge:

The other two turned out nicely, but streaky. I think it was the buttered covers. No matter, they still look pretty.

So I cut up the ugly one and took a bite. The crumbs are noticeably coarser than my usual bread. The inside has a nice yellow color from the eggs. The wheat germ was what had me saying, "hmmm... what's that flavor? I don't really like it." So, I slapped on some peanut butter and kept on munching anyway! Nobody else even tried any since everyone was not interested in bread after having today's muffins: blueberry bran muffins . I should have known better!

Now, I am off to make more decorations for that cake I froze two days ago.