Homemade Crunchy Granola Bars

I know, I still haven't put on my grocery savings from last week.. To say it's been crazy around here, is an understatement.  Friday the van decided it wasn't going to work right and so hubby stayed home from work. Saturday we had to back to the city.. Sunday was church and some baking... And now we are to Monday already, some popcorn chicken is cooling and freezing, bread is rising, coconut oil is getting soft to make cookies (ok..it will in a bit when I'm done here because I just remember it OOPS).  

I spent $350, but we did get some extras here and there. 

One of the things my hubby wanted to try for snacks was homemade granola bars, we can get them in bulk at Sam's for a good price.. but they have additives and since it's something we KNEW I could make, we decided to go from scratch.  I found a recipe on Pinterest and went to town. :) Fairly simply, just a little time consuming. 

I did alter it a litte, but I imagine you could make just about any flavor you wanted to using this as a base. 

Ingredients: 
7 cups old fashioned rolled oats 
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat oven  to 375. 
Line a 18*13 inch rimmed baking pan with aluminum foil. 

Combine oats, oil and salt in a large bowl and mix until the oats are evenly coated. Transfer the mixture to the baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until pale gold about 20-25 minutes. Remove the oats and lower oven temp to 300. Leave the foil on the pan, you'll need it again.

Combine honey and brown sugar in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, to dissolve sugar. (I just left the heat lower and kept an eye on it until the honey was not crystallized anymore and brown sugar was dissolved). 

Combine oats, honey and brown sugar in a large bowl and stir until combined.  Transfer the granola mixture to the pan and press down to make a firm, even layer. Bake until golden brown 35-40 minutes. 

Cool in the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes then cut. Allow to completely cool. They won't be hard when you first take them out, they harden as they cool.  

Can be kept for 2 weeks. 

The original recipe has cinnamon, nuts and vanilla in it-so I suggest looking at that, too. She also says to spray the foil before putting the sugary mixture back on the pan, but I didn't have anything stick..so that's up to you.  

Ads Are Out! Shopping Trip October 23

Hello! 

It's that time of month again, ads are out! I can't say as we have many good sales this week, but it is what it is. 

Happy Ad shopping! 

Hy-Vee
Fareway
Sunshine Foods-Hartford

This and That

Not too much out of the normal has been going on around here. I severely underestimated how much flour I would need this month, so I'm almost out of flour, with not enough to make much of anything. 

The kids have been doing school most days.  I put their art stuff and some extra worksheets in a three drawer tote so they can get them without getting in the organized school stuff.  I printed off some shape sheets that I plan on having them cut out and paste on some old cardstock I have sitting around. 

I'm sick and tired of turkey lol, but we have another week of it to eat.  

I made a pair of sweatpants, but I didn't do the waist band right.. So when I get it figured out WHAT I did wrong, I'll use my good fleece instead of scrap material and share.  

I've also been working on replacing the leg elastic in the pocket AIO diapers (All In One, One size.. they fit from around 8 pounds to 30 ish pounds thanks to a bunch of different snaps and the pockets mean I can stuff enough to last if I can't change her every few hours, such as nights).  They are four years old and needed new elastic. Thanks to a tip from a friend, it's pretty easy. Fold the diaper inside out, find the ends of your elastic, Rip the stitches out of one end, then I attach the new elastic with a safety pin in between, stuff the safety pin into the elastic casing on the diaper, rip the stitches from the other end and start pulling. You'll pull out the old and get the new in place all in one move if the safety pin holds up.  Easy, but hard on the fingers and time consuming. 

Grace's hair is getting in her face already and I don't want to cut it.. So I've been looking up ways to make some hair bows that will actually stay. I don't think I have on hand what I need, but the supplies look fairly cheap and the process easy. 

Next week is shopping week, and under hubby's request I am waiting to see the ads to meal plan (I'm going a little insane with this method....)

What Meal Plan?

Yep. Only took me a week lol. I attempted a meal plan this week... But out of two days, I've done one of the meals on the meal plan. So I give up for this week lol. 

Our meals are sort of up in the air right now, so I'm taking what we have in the fridge and making meals from that as the turkey thaws. 

I have been keeping up with baking, but have to go to the store today to do much more as I only have one egg left.  Bread, cookies and popcorn chicken are all on the list for week.  

I'm also in the process of making Grace some warmer soft-soled baby shoes with the weather getting cold.  But I must admit, compared to last week, I feel like I'm being lazy. I did get the bathroom scrubbed(minus the clogged up sink) and have been keeping the kids' rooms cleaned.. I have to clean our room deeply and go back to the hardware store tomorrow to get plastic to cover the windows. This will help keep the drafts out during the winter and into the summer, hopefully the cat won't shred them this year, just find them in the hardware department at your favorite box store or at a hardware store.  3M Makes the best in my opinion, but I have used other brands. 

Have a good week y'all! 

Popcorn Chicken!

As we were meal planning last week, hubby decided that he wanted popcorn chicken for lunch again.  I found a recipe on Pinterest months ago that I tried, and everybody LOVES it.  You can look at that here.  I know the original poster (who is linked to in the recipe) has a printable version.  

I know from trial and error (and running out of corn flakes), that you don't want to just use flour for the second coating, it just doesn't work.  

With most of this batch, I am baking them, letting them cool, then putting them on a cooling in the freezer to flash freeze for about 10 minutes, then throwing them in a freezer bag. I have about 20 pounds of chicken breast I'm making into popcorn, so this will keep it fresh. Warm it up in the microwave for a few minutes and you are good to go. 

I think it's good just plain, the kids like it dipped in ketchup and hubby prefers BBQ sauce. 
If you get really adventurous (and love spicy), mix Arby's sauce, Arby's horsey sauce, honey mustard and a squirt of sriracha sauce. Shake it all up so it's coating the chicken and eat with a fork. Now there's some good chicken. But in the interest of my baby's belly, I'm not even trying. LOL 

Enjoy! 

Meal Plan September 28-October 4

So I'm trying something new this month with the planning... I had a list of meals once I saw the ads (using sales and what I had in the pantry). So now, every week, I'm going to make a meal plan, along with a baking list for each day. 

Sunday-Breakfast-Eggs, bacon, pancakes
       Lunch-Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, apples
       Supper-Ham, Potatoes, Vegetables 
Monday-Breakfast-Egg Burritos
       Lunch-Burritos, popcorn chicken
       Supper-Leftover ham, potatoes and vegetables
   Baking List-Popcorn Chicken, Bread, Chicken broth, mix trail mix
Tuesday-Breakfast-same
        Lunch-popcorn chicken, fruit
        Supper-Tacos
   Baking List-Tortilla, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Pear Turnovers
Wednesday-Breakfast-egg burritos, coffee cake
        Lunch-Popcorn chicken
        Supper-Leftover
   Baking list-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Thursday-Breakfast-same
         Lunch-same
         Supper-Ham Bone Soup
   Baking List-Take ham off bone, hamburger buns
Friday-Breakfast-same
       Lunch-Popcorn Chicken, PB & J
       Supper-leftovers
   Baking List-Bread
Saturday-Breakfast-eggs, bacon, pancakes
         Lunch-hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries
         Supper-Roast Beef Sandwiches

Shopping Trip September 27

Boy oh Boy did we get some good sales!!

We decided we were going to cut out the processed foods a little at a time. Snacks came first.  We will slowly be cleaning out the cupboard with the process foods we already have. 

Sam's Club
Vinegar 2 at 3.88 7.76
Beef Patties 19.88
Mixed Nuts 14.98
Bacon 2 packages of 4 lbs 11.36 each 22.72
Corn Tortilla 3.50
Eggs 3 dozen 3.89
Chicken Breast 10.23
Chicken Breast 11.52
Hot Dogs 3 pounds 5.16
Sliced Cheddar 11.98
Smoked Ham Deli 6.98
Flour 4.69
Sugar 3.98
Brown Sugar 3.90
Whole Dill Pickle 4.62
Cat food 18 pounds 8.98
Total of 153.54

Dollar Tree
Banana Chips 4
Pretzels
Paper Towels 2
Liquid Dish Soap 2
Total Of 9.54

HyVee
Butter 2 at 3.99 7.98
Baking Cocoa 2.69
Baking Powder 1.58
Baking Soda 2 at .69 1.38
Instant Dry Milk 8.28
Minisweet chocolate chips 2 at 1.88 3.76
Ground Beef 4 at 2.99 each 11.96
Cheddar Cheese Dip 2.88
Carrots 4 at .88 3.52
Total of 46.67

Sunshine Foods
Sour Cream 2.29
Frozen broccoli 3 at 1.00 each 3.00
Frozen Corn 3 at 1.00 each 3.00
Picante sauce 1.50
Nacho Cheese sauce 2.50
Round Roast (3.99 per pound) 8.14
Round roast 10.13
Turkey (Buy a 12-14 lb turkey, get potatoes, onions and celery free) 12.71 lb at 1.19 a lb 15.12
Boneless Half Ham 2.99 per lb 23.20
Potatoes 5 lbs 2 at 2.49 each 8.58
Total of 79.15


Trip Total of 288.90
I'm doing the happy dance. :D 

Have a good weekend and I'll see you next week with my meal plan and extensive baking list. :)