Gluten-Free Granola Bars

Ohhh-kaaay, so I caught the tail-end of Martha today and they were making granola bars. Need I say more? I have tons of granola bar recipes (like this one...so good!) and I love to try new ones so I was up for the challenge.

This one sounded interesting because it called for vegetable oil...hmmm, different? Other than that, the ingredients are minimal and wouldn't you know it, I had all of them in my pantry just waiting to be used. I had to try it. It's a gluten-free recipe from the founder of Nonuttin' Foods but you could easily make it with non gluten-free stuff if you aren't into that. They are a chewy, crispy type of bar that you could surely personalize to your tastes with different add-ins...I just added the chocolate chips in a very small dose. I've gotta say, these ones are a keeper! I just love when that happens :)

Take a look at the final product:

Yummy in the Tummy!

My kidlets loved them and they are half gone already (please don't tell the hubby!)

Gluten-Free Granola Bars

1 3/4 cup gluten-free quick-cooking oatmeal

1 1/4 cup gluten-free crisp rice cereal

1/2 cup miniature gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

Mix oatmeal and rice cereal together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, mix together brown sugar, oil, and honey. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and pour over oatmeal and rice cereal. Stir until well-coated. Pour mixture into an 8x8 pan (I didn't even grease mine and it is lookin' good!) and lightly pat into pan. Sprinkle chips on top and press down into pan. Let cool, cut into bars and pig out!

Bring the oil, honey and brown sugar to a gentle boil, then cook for another minute.

Then pour that mixture over your oatmeal and rice cereal.

Mix well and pour into an 8 x 8 inch pan.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press down into the pan.

Ahhh, finished and ready to eat!

Little bars of yummy goodness!

Crisp, chewy and sweet!

More?

YES, please!

27 weeks along...

Ok, here's me and the belly. 27 weeks and kicking right along. I'm getting the heart burn and indigestion now and loving every minute of it...or not.

My hubs and I went through all the old week-by-week photos we took when I was preggers with Noah and Penelope last night. You know, trying to compare the bellies and face fat and figuring out if it's sitting high or low...all the good stuff.

Our conclusion...we have no clue. This baby is still a mystery to us. I think it would be fun to run some sort of poll and do some type of give away with the person who gets it right...not sure how blogger likes gambling though.

Soooo, Boy or Girl? What'cha think???

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Need an easy appetizer? Looking for something healthy and yummy to make for an afternoon snack? Want something fun to make for a play date that even the kiddies will L-O-V-E? How about something pretty and tasty to make for mom on Mother's Day this year? Then you need to make this recipe...stat.

This Fruit Salsa recipe is ridiculously easy and will be gone in the blink of an eye, seriously. It's one of those laid back recipes I have in my little 'ol recipe box that can accommodate lots of different seasonal fruit making it perfect for serving most of the year. The Cinnamon Chips that you dish it up with, uhhh, what can I really say, I think the name says it all...Cinnamon. Chips. Yeah, basically awesome!

What did I tell you? Looks good, doesn't it!!

Fruit Salsa

1 apple (granny smith are great but really any variety will do!)

2 bananas

2 kiwi

1-2 cups strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, mandarin oranges (frozen will even do!)

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Peel and dice your apple, bananas, kiwi and any other fruits that need to be cut into salsa-sized pieces and place in a medium size bowl.  Add in any additional smaller fruits and berries and lightly mix together.  In a small bowl, mix together the lime juice, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Pour over fruit mixture and mix gently until well incorporated, refrigerate for 15 minutes to let the juices mix. Serve with cinnamon chips and ENJOY!

Cinnamon Chips

1 package of flour tortillas

1/2 cup butter, melted or softened

1/4 cup cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside. Cut your tortillas into chip-sized triangular pieces and place onto a greased cookie sheet.  Brush melted or softened butter over the tortilla pieces.   Sprinkle each tortilla chip generously with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Cool and serve with fruit salsa.

*A little side note from me to you...I sometimes don't have any butter and instead just spray my tortillas with a butter-flavored cooking spray and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over them. They come out just as tasty and with a bit less fat per chip too!

The goods to make the salsa's secret sauce!

To make the Fruit Salsa:  first peel, dice, and chop up any fruit of your choice...whatever is in season or that you have on hand.  Then make the salsa's sauce by mixing together 1 tablespoon lime juice, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pour over top of the chopped fruit and mix until well incorporated.  Let sit in your refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so the flavors mix together nicely.

To make the Cinnamon Chips:  cut your tortillas into chip-sized pieces, brush with melted or softened butter (or even spray with a butter-flavored cooking spray), and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Then bake these little lovelies at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes!

Now they should be nice and golden brown...and ready to eat!

Delicious AND nutritious...no?

Let the party begin!

WOOT WOOT!

Fold-n-Go Pony Farm

So, it seems as of late I have been making loads of Car Cozies for some birthday gifts for my friends' little boys and as baby gifts (for the older sibling gift, can't forget them!) I made Noah one too, of course, but then realized I was leaving Penny out of all the toy-toting fun...and nobody wants to be left out of all the fun, right?. Plus, she is at an age where she wants whatever Noah has, a big fight then ensues, and this momma is NOT happy pulling two little ones apart for the millionth time in what was that, yup, just one day. Aaargh!!

This is where the Fold-n-Go Pony Farm comes into play. Wanna take a peak and see what I'm talking about?

Cute and Pink and Girlified!

I'm lovin' how stylin' a barn can be!

Last Easter Little Miss P got a whole slew of these itty bitty My Little Ponies in her Easter basket and now she is raring to play with them since Noah is hoarding all his cars and trains these days...yay for girl-y pony fun!

So I made this little puppy for her to play with:

A horsey farm, or in this case, a My Little Pony farm!

Now, she can have her own little toy carrying case to take with when we head out to restaurants ...and midwife visits (since those are going to be getting a bit more frequent in the near future...Eek, can I just say 3 months to go!!)

Wanna make one for the little lady in your life? It's a pretty easy project, made even easier if you own a serger. I used Homemade by Jill's tutorial and put my own little spin on it to make it nice and girl-y...easy peasy!! OK, let's get to it.

Fold-n-Go Pony Farm

Two 14 x 17 inch pieces of fabric (I used a denim for the outside and duck cloth for the inside)

One 3 x 17 inch piece of felt (mine was girly pink)

Light brown, green, orange, blue, yellow and oatmeal felt (mainly scraps!)

Scrap fabric for the applique on the front

7 inch piece of belting

1 inch piece of velcro

Sewing machine and coordinating thread

Rotary cutter and mat

Fabri-Tac glue or other fabric glue

Serger

Cut your main pieces like above...the denim and duck cloth are 14 x 17 inches and the felt is 3 x 17 inches.

Then, cut your light brown felt into strips for the fence and posts. see picture above. All strips are 1/2 inch wide and varying lengths...the longest strip you will need is 7 inches in length and one of it's ends is cut on the bias (sorry, I left it out of the picture on the right, it's the second strip!)

Then, cut the rest of the felt to make little carrot shapes, grassy areas, a water trough and hay bales (not pictured here but you can see it a few pictures up).

Arrange your shapes around the duck cloth and glue down with your fabric glue so it is easier to sew them on without all the moving around! Or, just glue them down and forget the sewing step, that fabric glue rocks I tell you, me likey A LOT!

Sew your pockets in place, I just used Jill's guide of sewing the pocket lines every 2.75 inches...why mess with perfection, right? I also didn't sew the ends in place cause I was going to serge around the whole thing in the end.

To make the fence, place your strips of light brown felt like so.

Then, put your posts on top making them spaced nice and evenly.

Sew the fence in place...and sew around your carrots, grass, water trough, and hay bales too if you want that is!

The applique will go on the bottom middle section of the denim. That way when you fold the Pony Farm up it will be on the front middle section.

I just free-handed the barn applique, I did the whole barn with one scrap piece of fabric and then the barn door in a small square of another (the pink). I place the soft side of the velcro in the middle top of the barn so it looked like a little loft door.

I sewed the rough piece of velcro to one end of the 7 inch piece of belting and then sewed the belting onto the denim a the same level I place the soft-side of velcro.
When you sew the strap (belting) on the denim, do it in a 'box' pattern with an 'X' in it for extra strength. Do this about 3/4 inch from the edge so you can still fit it through your serger when you go to serge the two larger pieces together.

Then, just match up your denim and duck cloth and serge the edges all the way around.

So now your little girl can grab her Pony Farm...

Unfold it like so...

And then again, like so...

Then, open that baby up

and play, play and...

PLAY!

(neigh!!)

Waaay fun!

I Don't Belieeeeve It!!

Ok, so I just wanted to let you all know that I was at none other than Joann's the other day and guess what I found? Chalkcloth!!! As Noah would tell me, 'I don't belieeeeve it!' Yup, yup, it's true!!

I know many of you have commented or emailed me regarding where I bought my chalkcloth and I told you to head to Vogue Fabrics and the Oil Cloth Addict on Etsy but now you can also check out Joann's...Woo Hoo for buying in store! Oh, and just an FYI, their chalkcloth is labeled Blackboard Fabric and is only sold in 28 inch width so if you need a bigger piece, like for this table cover, than you'll probably need to order it online.

The label it comes with tells you everything you need to know, I think they were reading my mind ;)

Alright, so that's it! I just wanted to share my cool find with you all! Hopefully your Joann's sells some. AAAANND, mine was only $4.99/yard too, so not too shabby especially if you throw in a 40% or 50% off coupon on top of that! For bigger pieces or oil cloth I would still highly recommend the Oil Cloth Addict, her print choices are off the wall plus she also sells some laminated cotton prints that are BPA free and CPSIA compliant...can't beat that!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Happy Earth Day to You

So, today is Earth Day and this marks the end of the One Small Change Challenge. If your new to my bloggy just click here to find out more about it. I just wanted to look back at all the fun I had doing this and to let you know that if you have always thought about making some changes to reduce, reuse and recycle more now is the time. I mean, shouldn't every day be Earth Day?

Ok, so let's remember...first for February I added bricks to all our toilets. What a super easy way to reduce the amount of water you use EVERDAY! Apparently, our toilets are one of the biggest water wasters in the home!! Then, I brought more plants in our house. What an easy peasy way to get cleaner air...especially come winter when our homes are all stuffed up. And lastly, I made lots of pretty cloth napkins to reduce the amount of paper towels we use. I'll be the first to tell you that we definitely still use paper towels, but now I buy them much, MUCH less often. It's a work in progress really, I would love our home to be rid completely of all paper towels but I may need a 12-step program to break the habit completely...just sayin'.

In March, I knit up some reusable swiffer sweeper pads (using the pattern found here) to reduce the amount of waste going on in the constantly cleaning my floors department because of our little black-haired pooch. They knit up fast and the materials were cheap, like $1 a skein of yarn when on sale...love it! Plus, they work just as well as the store-bought pads.

In April, my goal was to reduce the amount of plastic we used in our home. I have to admit this one was hard. I mean, with little ones running underfoot it's so easy to see the benefits of plastic: sippy cups, little bowls, plates, etc. especially when they both throw things on the floor on a daily basis. But, I bought tiffins to put leftovers in instead of tupperware/gladware products and lots more Sigg bottles (they even make these sports tops for easy drinking for the kiddies). AND, did you know that Target now carries Sigg bottles along with a bunch of other brands, on sale this week!! Go check 'em out for some great prices. A reader, Sara, even commented on how she brings her tiffins to restaurants to haul leftovers home...brilliant and really how much effort does this really take? Loved that idea!!

So, overall I would have to say that adding these small changes a bit at a time was really not too hard to do. I think it helped that I did a few little things every month instead of one giant overhaul of our entire house, that way I could really, truly try to make the change stick. A little bit goes a long way, no? I am still looking into ideas for getting rid of the little kid-sized plastic bowls and plates we use for the kiddies mealtimes, any ideas?

Alright, so that's all, just a teeny re-cap of events! Thanks for letting me share, you're the best!!

Biggest hugs,

Making Bread...Cinnamon Bread

I absolutely love cinnamon-raisin bread, it's so yummy...especially if it has gooey swirly bits in the middle! Eating it warm right out of the oven or toasted for breakfast just can't be beat. My favorite recipe for making this stuff is of course by Martha Stewart. It's the Cinnamon-Raisin Bread found in her Baking Handbook. I made it the other day, and well, it just hung on for another day...barely.

Here's the recipe in case you want to make some too. It is a super easy bread recipe, in case you are like me and super nervous about bread/yeast/rising situations in the kitchen. This one is no fail, really, and I've made it a bunch and each time it was perfect. And I'm not exactly the measure to a tee kinda person. Really. Enjoy. You and your family will love it!

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread (makes two 9 x5 inch loaves) -print this recipe HERE-

For the dough:

1 envelope (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

2 cups warm milk

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg that's lighty beaten

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup raisins

1 tbsp cinnamon

vegetable oil for bowl (or cooking spray!) and plastic wrap

For filling:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

2 tbsp water

To make the dough: In bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle yeast over the warm milk and whisk to combine. Add flour, butter, sugar, 2 eggs, and salt. Attach the dough hook to your mixer. Mix on low speed until all ingredients are well combined (about 3 minutes). Increase speed to medium-low and mix until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (about 3 more minutes).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat dough into a 9-inch round (about 1 1/4 inches thick) and sprinkle with raisins and cinnamon. Knead dough until incorporated. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. (I just sprayed cooking spray in the bowl and on the plastic wrap.) Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

Return dough to lightly floured work surface, and pat into a round again. Fold the bottom third up, and then top third down, and the right and left sides over, tapping dough to release excess flour and pressing down to seal. Return dough to the bowl, seam side down and cover with plastic wrap, and let rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes.

To make filling: Mix sugar and cinnamon with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Place dough on lightly floured surface an divide in half. Roll out one half to a 12 x 10 inch rectangle. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with half the filling. Repeat with the other half of dough.

Filling all mixed up...YUM!

Beaten egg plus 2 Tbsp water added to the filling mixture...check!

A 10 x 12 inch rectangle of dough-y goodness...

Brushed with beaten egg...

and sprinkled with the cinnamon-sugar filling.

Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, set aside. Fold in both long sides of dough, about an inch. Then roll dough toward you with short side facing you, making a nice and tight log. Place in prepared pans with seam side down. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough is just above the rim of the pan, about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees at this time.

Time to roll up the goods...

Brush tops of loaves with beaten egg and place loaf pans on a baking sheet to catch drips. Line with parchment for easy clean-up! Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until loaves are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out to a wire rack.

My last rise was lame but the end results still looked good!

See what I mean:

Nice and brown and yummy smelling...

And they tasted Oh-So-Good!

Do you see all the Ooey Gooey swirly bits just oozing out?

Yeah, it's good...

So good!