Italian Parmesan Tilapia

I needed a quick easy lunch. And something not PB&J. I'm not supposed to have processed meat right at the moment, so my favorite grilled cheese (with real Swiss cheese, not processed American cheese and 5 slices of black forest ham lunchmeat, and fresh baby spinach and a sliced avocado over whole wheat bread. Yum. There's not a good substitute for the ham so that meal will have to wait.

So what else is quick when the fridge is out of leftovers?
Chicken or fish usually. I try to keep a bag of frozen chicken breast and a bag of frozen tilapia or swai fillets in the freezer, and have found that the fish makes a super quick easy and healthy meal. I opt for the fish first, because they are faster and easier than chicken.

The last fish I had, though, cooked up a little dry, so I decided to try something new. I had little inspiration. I opened up the fridge, wondering if I ought to try it with some of the Asian Zing we got at Buffalo Wild Wings. That'd probably have been good. But then I had already thought to make a roast with some of that for supper tonight, and thought maybe I shouldn't make the same thing for two meals in a row. I am not usually a fan of salad with italian dressing in it, but somehow we have two or three bottles of various versions of italian salad dressing in the fridge.
Olive Garden's is my favorite. It's the only one I'll ever actually use on a salad. The rest are yucky on a salad. Ha. (In my opinion anyway. If you enjoy it, then by all means continue. Don't mind me.)

I opened a few different bottles of dressing and smelled them to see what I was in the mood to put on my fish, and that Olive Garden Signature Italian Dressing won today!
What followed was simply divine! Not at all dry, full of flavor, and a completely wonderful after-church treat while my kids enjoyed their PB&J. I may or may not have licked my plate. ;)

Here's how I fixed it:


Italian Parmesan Tilapia

1/4 C Olive Garden Signature Italian Dressing

1 T. unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 C parmesan

1-2 Tilapia filets (I use frozen, and thaw them in the microwave before cooking)

Salt

Pepper

Heat dressing and butter until bubbly. Add garlic and parmesan. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add tilapia. Season with salt and pepper. Turn periodically until fish is flaky in the center and cheese browns.
When serving, there will probably be extra sauce in the pan. Drizzle it over top.

Want some of the dressing? You can order some today. Olive Garden does not sponsor this post, but I do get a few cents if you order from my Amazon affiliate link. Thanks for supporting this blog!

Doing Away With Tissues and Using Our Sleeves

We're a cloth diaper family. I don't really do it because I care about the environment, although I agree that is important.
Mainly I'm cheap and hate buying disposable things.

We make our own baby wipes for the same reason. While, yes, they are disposable, they are cheaper, and I know what's in them.

When I can, I make our own spices, as well, such as pumpkin pie spice, ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix. Partly for health reasons, but mainly because 1) they taste better, and 2) CHEAP!

I am cheap frugal when I can be. Allergy season had me cringing over the amount of Kleenex boxes we were going through. And sometimes (okay, you have permission to announce "how cheap! those poor kids!") I would let my toddler's nose run just a bit longer before he was old enough to blow his nose, just because I didn't want to waste a whole kleenex if I was just going to wipe it again in another minute and a half. (I know, I know...)

So I got an idea.

Hankies.

Yep.

Not original with me.

But here's the thing. I don't know how they did it back when Kleenexes weren't a thing, and tissues were... especially with a cold, or allergies. The same ol' hankie all day long??

This is what has stopped me from trying it sooner.

But then somehow I got the idea to use some old t-shirt sleeves we had in the scrap bin. (I think these are left from the t-shirt quilt I have cut out but never sewn together.)

I cut off any seams, since those wouldn't feel good on a sore nose, and cut each sleeve into two pieces. If you want larger, just use the whole thing. I cut out a bunch! I knew we'd need several to keep us stocked while they cycle through the laundry.

I kept an empty tissue box to stuff them into. (Which by now looks a bit too beat up for a blog pic, since my two-year-old found it and decided it was a toy, or something to jump on, or who knows what, so you get a pic of what we're using right now, which is an empty diaper-liner box which is working nicely) Then after a bit of blowing our nose and running to the laundry room to discard the used hanky, I decided we needed a handy place to put them.
Hence, the little blue basket in the pic.

And again, my boy decided this was a toy, and commandeered it, and guests didn't know what they were for either, so I labeled it.
I used just a scrap piece of cardstock and punched holes in it, and tied it with some cute twine left from the goody-bag from my niece's 1st birthday.

And there we go! It's been a pretty easy transition for my family. It has taken a bit longer to get guests to love the idea, so we still have Kleenex boxes around, but we've totally saved money so far!

Thai Asparagus

I told you I bought a bunch of asparagus. And by a bunch, I didn't mean 'one bunch'. I bought twice as much as usual. I told you it was calling my name.

It is ever so good.

And, ever so versatile.

I love asparagus.

I usually just eat it as a side, cooked with a little olive oil and garlic, and usually crushed red peppers. But this time I wanted to make it less Italian and more Asian. I do love me some Asian food!

So this easy recipe was born. Still probably a side dish, since there's no protein really, but it would be excellent with added shrimp, thin-sliced beef or pork, or even chicken (think beef and broccoli Chinese takeout).

I didn't measure really as I cooked, so feel free to adjust as necessary.

Thai Asparagus

1 tsp. olive oil

Dash ginger

Dash soy sauce

Dash crushed red peppers

1 1/2 cups fresh asparagus, broken into  1-2 inch pieces

1-2 Tbsp. diced onions

1-2 Tbsp chopped red bell peppers

Heat oil in small skillet. Add ginger, soy sauce and crushed red peppers. When hot, add onions and bell peppers. Sauté until onions are tender (few minutes). Add asparagus pieces and cook 5-7 min, until tender, adding water to skillet if necessary to prevent sticking or burning.

Serve over brown rice.

Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Asparagus Chicken

The asparagus was calling my name.
So was the spaghetti squash.
And I heard something about garlic.

I like to make these kinds of meals when my husband isn't going to be able to join me for lunch, because I know he's not a big fan of asparagus.

I was going to eat the entire pan.
I almost did.
The only thing that stopped me (I'm not kidding) is the fact that I wanted some for lunch the next day. It's really good as leftovers too.

Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Asparagus Chicken

2 C. Spaghetti squash, cooked and drained.

Italian seasoning

1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces.

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Cup fresh asparagus, broken into 1-inch pieces

1-2 Tbsp. sour cream or cream cheese

1 Tbsp. flour

Shredded mozzarella

Grated Parmesan

Stir a few shakes of Italian seasoning into cooked spaghetti squash. Place in small baking dish.

Cook chicken in olive oil. When chicken is almost done, add garlic and 1/4 c. water. Cook until pink is gone.

Add asparagus, cook until tender, 1-2 minutes.

Add sour cream, few shakes of Italian seasoning, and flour. Stir in until flour is blended in and you have a thick sauce.

In prepared baking dish, layer over squash, mozzarella, chicken mixture, Parmesan, mozzarella.

Bake uncovered at 350ºF 15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

By the way, when I had it the next day for lunch, my husband tried some from my plate. He took several bites before he had to stop himself from stealing my lunch. And he doesn't even like asparagus.

I bought a bunch of asparagus, so there'll be another yummy asparagus recipe coming soon!

Easy Italian Wedding Soup

It is a snowy day. I am pregnant. I want soup. But not just any soup. I want Italian Wedding Soup. And we don’t have any cans of it, and last time I used the canned stuff it wasn’t as good as I remembered anyway. Not to mention I’m snowed in and can’t get to the store. (Or rather, my husband has the carseat, and even if he didn’t, the car doors are frozen shut)

My one year old looking at the first real snow this winter

Pregnancy tastebuds persist.

I remember that when I was grocery shopping I bought both hot Jimmy Dean and a bag of chopped spinach, neither of which my husband likes.

Win.

Enter Pinterest, and too many different recipes to choose from, all a little different. I finally picked this one, but by this point I am getting hungry and decide that little tiny meatballs are far too much work. Crumbled sausage will work just fine.

So I totally skipped the meatball portion of the recipe, and made lots of other adaptations along the way, for either time or ingredients-on-hand’s sake. Here is what I came up with.

I’m enjoying it as I type, and it is totally satisfying the craving. Completely. That and then some. It is making my day so much better, and it’s been a really good day so far. And I will never buy the Campbell’s version again. Ever. This is far superior.

Okay, I know, enough already.

Mmmmm.

Here’s the recipe without further ado:

 Easy Italian Wedding Soup
1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage1/4 c. red onion, chopped3 cloves garlic, minced1-2 carrots, sliced1-2 stalks celery, chopped small7 c. chicken broth1 12-oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach8 oz package penne pasta 1 Tbsp. dried oreganoSalt & pepper. 2 eggsParmesan cheese  
Brown sausage. I added a little water along the way to prevent it from burning. Place colander over a soup pot and drain sausage into it. You should have sausage drippings almost covering the bottom of your pot. Set sausage aside.

Heat sausage grease over low-med until a drip of water dropped in sizzles. Now add onion, garlic, carrots & celery. Cover and cook for about 10 min or until veggies are tender. Be careful not to let the garlic burn. If it starts to brown too much, add a little chicken broth.

Add broth, sausage, spinach, pasta, oregano, salt & pepper. Bring to a low boil. Cover and boil 10 min or until pasta is done.

Dip out some of the broth and put it in a small saucepan. Whisk the eggs into it and return to pot. Cover and cook until eggs are set. Serve garnished with Parmesan.

Nicole's notes: 

Sausage

I used Jimmy Dean because there's just enough grease for this recipe. Although we will go store-brand on a lot of things, sausage is one we don't, because of the grease factor. The Jimmy Dean sausage just seems to crumble better and there's almost no grease to drain off. Absolutely perfect for recipes like this one.  I used hot, but Italian, sage, or original would be good too. Maple would probably be weird.

Pasta

For the pasta, the original recipe called for ditalini (almost like short macaronis. I had to Google it.) and some of the others called for more of an orzo or stelle, but we had nothing like that in our pantry. Snowed in, remember? I used Penne and it is yummy. I had macaroni but I thought that would be weird, and of course linguini or angel hair would not have worked. My other option was shell noodles, but I am saving those for some epic mac-n-cheese. Shell mac-n-cheese was always my favorite.

Salt & Pepper

The original recipe called for 1 tsp of salt and pepper (I wasn't sure if that meant combined, or each) but I didn't use that much. I used a combination of some broth I canned this summer, and broth made my chicken boullion. Use less salt if you’re using chicken boullion to make your broth.

Broth

Use a little more broth if you like a brothy soup. I think I'm more of a creamy soup or stew gal, because I don't like a lot of extra broth. I didn't completely measure the broth when I was making this, but I'm pretty sure it was real close to the 7 cups the original recipe called for. It doesn't have much broth now that the noodles are cooked.

Better Than A Christmas Candle - Homemade Crunchy Granola

Recently I was a guest at my best friend's house for a week. And as often happens between friends, she shared something wonderful she made and I had to have the recipe.
She shared the one she used with me, and added her own adjustments, based on taste, and what she had on hand. I saw no need to alter the amazingness, so I always make the same adjustments as she did, and it comes out perfect every time.

What is the recipe you ask?

Granola.
Homemade, crunchy-perfect granola.
I had tried another granola recipe that I loved, but it burned when I tried making it crispier, and then it didn't stay crisp after a few days.
That is all well and good for someone who wants chewy granola, but not me.
Crunch crunch.

We used the original recipe from here and then after the alterations it looks a little something like this:

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned oats (the bigger, 3-minute kind)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 275 and prepare a 10x15 baking pan lined with parchment paper.
2. Combine brown sugar and water in microwave safe dish. Microwave for about 1 min until sugar dissolves.
3. Add vanilla to sugar mixture and set aside.
4. Combine oats and cinnamon.
5. Pour liquids mixture over oats and stir well. Spread oats out on pan
6. Bake 20 min, and then stir lightly. (I more just shift them around. Leaving a few clumps makes for less crumbly granola)
7. Bake another 25-28 min, being careful not to burn. Let cool completely before putting in an airtight container to store. (Cooling it first helps keep it crisp.)

That's it! Your kitchen will smell ahh-ma-zing! It smells better than a Christmas candle to me.
Here's my comments, though on important things not to change:

First - old fashioned oats. When I bought this kind by mistake, I was frustrated every.single.time. I tried to make them in the microwave. Not only do they take 3 minutes instead of one minute. (I know. We're learning patience around here) but they overflowed! Every time I had a big fat mess in my microwave. When I was at my friend's house though, I noticed that's the kind she used, so that's the kind I bought, and then I had an epiphany.
They take longer to cook.
That means they absorb moisture slower, right?
That means crunchier granola.
That means yay!

Use real vanilla. This has gotten to be a must in my family. A no-compromise must. The taste alone is worth it. We have the vanilla from Mexico. You can find it at some world markets or on Amazon here:

 Once you start working this into your regular cooking and baking, you'll see why the difference. I have people ask me all the time "What did you use? This tastes amazing!" And I believe it's the vanilla. Yummy! It makes the most amazing homemade hot chocolate, too - I like the white vanilla for hot chocolate and the dark vanilla for my granola. Try both and let me know what you like best!

Those are the main unchangeables for this recipe.
The entire recipe fits beautifully in a 1-qt size mason jar. I use a mason jar and have it on the shelf with my other cereals. My friend stores it in a large Ziploc bag and keeps it in the fridge. Either way works fine.

We like to eat it with milk, or stirred into yogurt. How do you like to eat your granola?

Crustless Garden Veggie Quiche

We have been blessed again this year with garden veggies! I know a lot of people plant zucchini but then don't know what to do with it other than to make a bunch of zucchini bread. I for one, although I do love a good piece of zucchini bread, couldn't wait to start adding it to our regular meals. Lasagna, beef stroganoff, stir fry and vegetable soup, to name a few.

Today it was quiche.

I started out with a bit of baby spinach from the bottom of the bag that was neglected to be used in a salad. It wouldn't have made a good salad anymore- it was kindof limpy looking. Not gone bad, but it was close.

Part of it I cooked and made into baby food, but after the first two bites the boy had had enough of that, so I pureed up some peaches to add to that.

The other part of it I thought I'd whip into a quick quiche. We had lots of eggs in the fridge, so that sounded like a quick easy lunch. I cracked some eggs into the pie pan, and then added the rest of a bag of cheddar we had in the fridge, probably about 3/4 cup? Then that spinach, and then remembered the ham we had cooked a while back and had bagged in the freezer.

I start feeling a bit reflective of the If You Give A Mouse a Cookie at this point. But this is how I cook.

Then I remembered the frittata recipe I drooled over at Apples to Applique, and the fresh sweet potatoes waiting to be turned into baby food. I took a little one and diced it.

And no quiche is complete without onion, so I sliced off the side of a large onion and diced it while I was at it.

And then I remembered the two large zucchini in the crisper and decided that would also be delicious in there. So I made little sliced quarters of that too, and dumped it in. I leave the peels on, by the way. It's easier to cut, and it adds vitamins.
By this point, my original 6 eggs weren't going to be enough, so I added two more and stirred them in.

Then I realized to my dismay, that with all these ingredients it was going to take my "quick" quiche longer to cook than I had originally planned.

That's okay. It is a whole lot yummier than I had originally planned.

Here's the recipe minus the jabber. J

8 eggs

¾ c. shredded cheddar

1 small sweet potato, diced

1 c. fresh baby spinach

¾ to 1 c. sliced and quartered zucchini

¼ to ½ c. diced onion

¾ to 1 c. diced ham

Stir all together into greased pie pan, making sure eggs are broken and blended well with veggies, and that varieties of veggies are evenly distributed.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 min, or until set.

Ingredients are flexible, as well as quantities. I almost never measure as I cook, so these are guesses as to how much of what is in there. That being said, you can be flexible too, if you don’t have one or another of the ingredients, or if you prefer broccoli over spinach, etc. I wish, for example, that we had mushrooms on hand that I could have added. Mmmm, would have have been yummy or what?

Let me know what you come up with!

5 Ideas for Family Fun on a Budget

We believe fun should be free.

Do you agree? Good. We are on the same page.

Sometimes it's a bit of a struggle to think of something to do that's free (or cheap) that everybody enjoys.

Right now, we have a family of three. As our family grows, this list will change. But for now, here's a list of 5 cheap family activities that we love doing together.

1) Walk. 

Don't underestimate the fun a family walk can be. While we had a habit of occasionally going on a walk, we really made this a habit when I was pregnant. The midwife recommended walking for at least 30 minutes every day, to help keep me fit and loose for when the baby came.

But something amazing happened. We talked.

Yes, we talked and spent time together before, but it was a time with no other "entertainment" or digital distractions, and we just talked. About everything. Our day, our life, our dreams, and our feelings. Plus we got more fit doing it. Now that our baby is here, we still walk. We put him in the stroller, and he loves watching the cars go by, or the birds and trees. Sometimes part way through the walk, his daddy picks him up and he gets to join the conversation (while I push an empty stroller. Which is completely okay). He loves that!

2) Bookstore or Library

So, it sounds a little silly until you try it, but one of the things we love to do is go to the bookstore and browse. We never really have any intention of buying, but it is really relaxing and somehow bonding. We leave holding hands. This can be done at the library too- our town has a really great library, but we both really love the atmosphere in the bookstores. Baby gets so excited just seeing the books too, so he's a boy after our own hearts.

3) Geocaching

This is a little new to our family, but we are fast getting addicted. We went yesterday with all of my family and husband's family (20 people in all!) and that was how we celebrated my birthday. It was so fun, and it was the first time any of them had ever gone. I think we got several of them hooked as well,. They were all so surprised that there even was such a thing, and kindof didn't believe us that there was stuff hidden right under our noses... until we found some! Then it all of a sudden became more exciting.

What is geocaching? It's a high-tech outdoor treasure hunting game that's a great way to explore the world with friends, family or on your own. Participants use GPS-enabled devices to locate hidden containers called geocaches. There are over one million geocaches hidden around the world today, waiting for you to find them. Visit Geocaching.com to search for geocaches near you. Basic Membership is free.

It helps if you have a smart-phone, and an app to access the list of caches. Geocaching.com charges $9.99 for their app, and though it may be worth it, I have never tried it. If you think of it as purchasing a family game, that is still cheaper than most board games out there. I use and love the free android geocaching app C: Geo. There is a free iPhone geocaching app called GeoBucket though I have not experimented with this one. Geocaching.com does have a free trial version of their app, though there are some limitations. If you've got a favorite, please comment below! I'd love to hear someone else's favorites. Geocaching.com does have a free trial version of their app, though there are some limitations.

4) Photo Shoot

Don't be intimidated if you are not a great photographer. Just decide to have fun. If you have a tripod, this is a lot easier, but if not, you can usually find a passer-by who is willing to take a quick picture. Also, if you don't have a tripod, think of some friends you have who might have one. This is a more common household item than you might think. You can find an inexpensive tripod here if you're interested in investing in one. They're a great tool to have around.

We bought one with Christmas money, and then went out and took some photos. This was our last photo-shoot as a two-person family. Baby was along, but he was about the size of a blueberry, so he was pretty inconspicuous. I look forward to taking an evening this summer to do a family photo shoot with all three of us. Here are some of my favorites from our shoot.

5) Cook together

Again, if you're not a cook, don't feel intimidated. This can be so easy even for someone not familiar with the kitchen. There is a reason Nicholas Sparks has so many scenes in his books with the couple cooking together- it's fun, bonding, relaxing, and you can talk while you do it.

For a couple, you have a few more options, as it's easier for adults to be safe in the kitchen. But there are plenty of options for you and your kids too. Even ones that the whole family can enjoy. An easy one that comes to mind is building a pizza. In my family growing up, we would make what I like to call "plaid pizza". We used a rectangle jelly roll pan, and after the dough was rolled out, everyone would put their favorite toppings. If you can imagine the pizza divided in half horizontally- one side with pepperoni, the other with sausage. Now divide it in half vertically, with one half decorated with peppers, onions and the works, and the other half with just olives and maybe a little extra cheese. Everybody is happy!

We have a dough recipe we like (perhaps a post for another time?) but you could even do this with a ready made pizza crust. Put the crust in the middle of the table and let everybody help. Then the best part is, you get to eat it afterwards. See that wasn't so bad, was it?

What are some of the fun things you like to do as a family? What kind of activities do you like best- indoor or outdoor? I love to hear your comments!

Crispy Kale Chips in the Microwave

This is another great one for snackers who want to be healthy.
Kale chips.

I'm going to tell you two different methods of baking them, and then which one is my favorite.

I first found the recipe over at Big Flavors From a Tiny Kitchen, I have used it several times, and love it.

I did tweak it just a tiny bit- only in method, not really in ingredients.

Wash kale. You want to be kindof rough with it, to release the bitterness that kale can tend to have. When I first heard that, I was a bit confused at what that meant exactly. Finally figured out that it just means to kindof "crush" it when you wash it.

Open up the leaves. 

Press the fluffy part firmly between your hand and thumb.

 It will feel a lot softer when you're done doing this, and the leaves will look more open.

Dry kale. This step is very important. I thought the easiest way to do this was just to shake off what water I could, and then just lay it out on a couple cookie sheets to dry, and come back to it after a few hours, or the next day. I don't have a salad spinner, but I imagine that would work too. If it's not completely dry it will tend to get mushy, so I'm told. I haven't tried it because I just make sure it's dry.

EDIT: 7/26/2013 I got a salad spinner for my birthday (yay me!), and so have been using that. It works well to dry the kale most the way. Still leaves a bit of moisture, so I used this trick I've recently learned:

After cutting the kale into chip sizes, put in an airtight bowl and lay a napkin/paper towel on top the leaves before you put the lid on. Put it in the fridge and go about your day. When you are ready to make the chips, the napkin will be damp and the leaves will be perfectly dry. Perfect. This works great for storing salads, baby spinach, etc. too!

Cut the rib out of the center, and cut into pieces. Just do whatever size seems like a good size for a chip.

Spread in a single layer on your baking pan or microwave chip maker.


Yes, I said microwave! My new favorite way to cook them is in the microwave! I have the microwave chip maker, which is silicone, raised, and with holes in it to allow for air flow. I used it for the first time on kale. (the instructions that came with it said to only use it on potatoes, apples or yucca. But I tried it with kale and it worked beautifully!) This is one tool I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to substitute, so it's worth the small investment. I love that you can make baked chips on it- it pays for itself very very quickly when you consider how expensive baked chips can get.... especially bag after bag of them over the years.

Best of all, I found that they stay green! When you put them in the oven, they usually turn brown, no matter how careful you're being. When they're brown, they taste burnt. Burnt is yucky.

The best cook time for my microwave was 3 minutes for one tray- you'll have to add a minute or two for stacked trays. Since it was a short cook-time, I preferred to do one tray, because it was nice having one cooking while I was spreading out a layer of kale and salting it on the other tray.
Buy microwave chip tray here Microwave Potato Chip Maker - Oven Healthy Crispy Flavorful Fat-Free Set

Oven cooking pros/cons:

Pro: Cook more at once
Con: Burns more easily
Con: Longer cooking time
Con: Have to run the oven 

Microwave cooking pros/cons: 

Pro: Cooks faster
Pro: Doesn't burn as easily
Pro: Doesn't heat up the kitchen on a hot day
Con: Smaller tray means less can cook at once

Sprinkle with salt and bake.

Cook and enjoy.

Don't eat them all at once.

Recipe:

1 bunch kale
1 Tbsp olive oil
Season salt

Wash kale and let it completely dry.

Cut out stem. This is easy to do if you make one long slice along both sides of the stem.

Tear or cut the leaves into pieces.

Put into a bowl with a tight cover and drizzle the olive oil over it. Cover and shake around until its distributed on all the leaves.

Spread into a single layer on a non insulated cookie sheet, preferably one with holes in it like a pizza crisper pan.

Sprinkle with salt.
Bake 10-12 min at 350 or microwave 1 tray 3 min, 2 trays 4-5 min. (Microwave ovens vary, so start with the lesser time- you can always add more if they're not cripsy yet.)

Tip: Don't let it burn. If it's brown, it's a bit burnt, and will taste bitter.

A couple chips that did get burnt

Now you see why it's my favorite to use the microwave?
Trust me on the "don't eat them all at once" part.

Try them and let me know what you think!

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission from any purchases made through this post (Thank you!) but only recommend products I have tried personally.

4 Ingredient Granola Bars

I'm a snacker. Not a big time snacker but every now and then I just need a bit of something to go with my coffee. And every now and then I really really want that snack to have some actual nutritional value.
I really like granola. Why does it have to be so expensive? Oatmeal is cheap, right?
Enter Pinterest.
Enter too many options.
Here's what happened. When I decided I should embark on making my own granola bars, I looked at all the options, and found a few several that I thought looked good, with ingredients I could handle, such as peanut butter, oatmeal, honey, flax...
Then I went to the store, (without the recipe) and got what I needed. Or thought I needed.
Here's why having all those options was a problem.
I had purchased components of several different recipes.
What now? I'm not going back to the store.
I decided it can't be that hard, and just decided to wing it.

Here's what I decided.

And here is the granola-bar secret:You just need to mix the right ratio of gooey with the right ratio of dry and you really can't go wrong.

So play with it, have fun, and don't get too hung up on ingredients if  you don't have all the "right" ones. Use what you like. Or don't. But I'll bet you'll enjoy them better if you do. Just sayin'.

So I had fun playing. I even tried a batch of no-bake ones and a batch of baked ones. They both were awesome.
I am going to actually post all three recipes that I made at some point, but for now, here's the batch that ought to be the healthiest.
Oh yeah, that was another thing, I really wanted them to be gluten-free, and not have a bunch of sugar or corn syrup... oats are already carbs after all.

Here's one with just 4 ingredients:
Dates (or prunes), flax-seeds, oats, honey

Puree the dates or prunes.

(my dates were old and a bit dry, so I stuck them in the microwave on high for about a minute and they pureed up so easily after that.)

They will look like this all minced up. If you use prunes, they will make more of a creamy brown paste. These are for your gooiness part of the recipe.

Mix fruit, seeds & oats.

Then mix the next ingredients 1 T  at a time, adding until you get the right consistency. You'll know its right when it presses together into a ball without crumbling.

TIP: To make up for my dry dates, I did add 1-2 T of peanut butter, but if you have fresh ingredients you shouldn't need the PB. Like I said, play with it and make it work for you. 

Spread into a 9x9 dish, pressing down with rubber spatula.

Bake at 350 for 10 min.

Cut and eat. A 9x9 pan makes about 8 bars.

1/2 C dates or prunes, pureed
1/4 C flax-seed
1 C oats
1-2 T honey
1-2 T water (ok, yes that's 5 ingredients, but since it's water, I just didn't think we needed to count it.) 

Puree dates or prunes
Mix fruit, seeds & oats.
Then mix the next ingredients 1 T  at a time, adding until you get the right consistency. You'll know its right when it presses together into a ball without crumbling.
Spread into a 9x9 dish.
Bake at 350 for 10 min.
Cut and eat. A 9x9 pan makes about 8 bars.