Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars

Posted on July 2, 2013August 2, 2015 by Sarah

Do you ever get those custom-selected-just-for-you coupons in the mail from your local grocery store? The kind you’re happy to get because they’re mostly for things you buy, but at the same time give you that creepy feeling that they know just a little too much about you? I have such a love-hate relationship with those grocery club cards. They give me such sweet discounts and yet they’re like little plastic spies that report back to HQ about everything I buy. Double-edged sword.

Anyway, for some reason, in one of these recent mailers, I got a coupon for a free box of plain Cheerios. Totally scot free–no “buy this, get that” hanky-panky. This struck me as a little odd (though I’m sure it’s totally calculated) because I have never in my life purchased plain Cheerios, not even when my kids were babies. Undoubtedly, the good old Kroger corporation wants to offer me these free Cheerios in the hope that my kids and I will like them and become repeat buyers. Well, sorry, Kroger, you lost that gamble…but if you’re gonna give me a box for freeeeee, I’m sure as heck gonna take it.

The problem is, the coupon was only good for the enormous box-to-end-all-boxes size of Cheerios. This one:

(pictured with monster finger puppets for scale)

I think Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on this box of Cheerios. This leaves me with 18 bajillion ounces of plain Cheerios and no one who genuinely wants to eat them. (Knowing this, I was going to donate them to church, but ended up opening them when my 4-year-old wanted to try them…then he decided they weren’t flavorful enough and that he didn’t want them after all.) Okay, so 18 bajillion ounces of plain Cheerios minus the approximately 12 my 4-year-old ate.

This being the case, I thought I’d try my hand at making cereal bars. My kids consider the granola bars from Trader Joe’s a special treat (probably has something to do with them being covered in chocolate), so I’m hoping these Cheerio bars hold the same sway. Plus, it’s always nice to feed them something that doesn’t contain palm kernel oil, soy lecithin, and other mystery ingredients–though, admittedly, these are a bit high in sugar. Kids are asleep right now (how else would I be blogging uninterrupted, right?) so I’ll have to let you know the verdict in the morning!

Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup rolled oats
3 cups toasted oat cereal (aka “we’re not allowed to say Cheerios”)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar and honey. Bring to a boil (large bubbles bursting on surface) and stir for one minute, then remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter until well blended. Stir in the rolled oats and cereal. Use a strip of wax paper to press into a generously greased 9 inch square pan. Allow to cool until firm, then cut into bars.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Posted on June 29, 2013August 2, 2015 by Sarah

Muffins are the little black dress of baked goods. They are endlessly versatile–accessorize them with add a little of this, a little of that, dress them up, dress them down, and you (almost) always end up with a hand-held paragon of yumminess that everyone wants for breakfast. I am always in search of new muffin ideas. With three little kids that can’t make their own breakfasts each morning, muffins are my go-to for tossing on a plastic Ikea kids’ plate with a little butter and calling it good.

These little beauties I found on this super cute blog that not only has plenty of recipes, but also some cool sewing tutorials. They turned out delish! Nothing fancy, but nice and easy and a great way to use up the extra apple that always seems to be rolling around forlornly in my fruit crisper. Give them a try!

Cinnamon Apple Muffins
(Adapted from Little Miss Kimberly Ann)

Ingredients:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. oil
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 8 cups of a muffin tin. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until combined. Add the oil, milk and egg to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the apples. Spoon batter into the 8 muffin cups. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Kitchen Victories: Rosemary Crusty Bread

Posted on June 28, 2013January 5, 2018 by Sarah

Okay, so this is the recipe that made me realize I was really asking too much for anyone reading my other blog (which doesn’t exactly have a theme, but is definitely not a food blog) to keep indulging me posting about food. If I’m gonna keep posting about food, might as well start a food blog, right? I’ve been so inspired by some incredible food blogging ladies like Annie of Annie’s Eats, Christy of The Girl Who Ate Everything, and Shawnda of Confections of a Foodie Bride that I feel like I just want to add to the conversation about great food. Indulge me and have a look at this beautiful bread.

I never, ever thought I could or would make a bread like this in my own kitchen. I’ve come a long way as a home cook since the early days of my marriage when I made a list of things I knew how to make (It went something like this: 1. Omelets, 2. Burritos, 3. Fish Sticks.) But as time has passed and I’ve expanded my repertoire, I’ve realized that cooking is one small, relatively safe area of my life in which I can consistently try new things, and therefore progressively conquer little fears. As someone who is always trying to shake the specter of fear and anxiety from my life, this gives me confidence. My little kitchen victories–learning to use the broiler, cooking with jalapeños, finally buying and using a food processor–remind me that the best way to fight a fear is to face it. Same is the case with yeast breads–one of those things I have long had an irrational fear of making. Not like I thought it was going to morph into a menacing, drooling dough monster…more just like I thought I would screw it up. Bread is something you buy from the grocery store, where the bakery elves have made it magically appear, not something normal people make on their countertops. There’s all that rising time, the mysterious and somewhat nasty foaminess of the yeast, and then what are you supposed to bake it in?

Well, luckily, in the case of cooking, all you really usually have to do is follow the recipe. (If only everything else in life were so clear-cut!) I found this delightfully simple recipe after deciding to bust through my yeast bread angst by hunkering down and making some. And what do you know? It turned out awesome, rather like the pre-meal bread you get at Carrabba’s or Macaroni Grill. I’ve made it three times now, and this last time I added rosemary for a different flavor. Take that, yeast angst!

What are some of your kitchen victories–things you’ve been afraid to cook but went ahead and tried anyway? How did they turn out?

Rosemary Crusty Bread
(Adapted from Simply So Good)

Ingredients:

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon Instant or Rapid-rise yeast
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast, and rosemary. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 – 18 hours. (Overnight works great.) Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.