Homemade Granola Bars

I got this recipe from Destenee's Activity Days teacher. Isabel's favorite snack in the world is Quaker Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. These taste just like them, and they're homemade. All of these ingredients are things you can have on your storage shelf. They are so yummy. There are a few variations I've tried, and some work better than others.

Dry Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
2 tbsp flax seed

Sugar Mixture
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup or honey (corn syrup works better, but the honey is good. You could try half and half to see if they stick together better)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Final addition
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or butterschotch chips)

1. prepare a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray (my metal pans worked better than glass pans)
2. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients so they are ready for the hot sugar mixture.
3. In a sauce pan, make sugar mixture. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup and honey; bring to a full boil and allow to boil 1 minute. Turn down heat and add peanut butter and vanilla, stirring quickly until smooth.
4. Work quickly - pour the hot sugar mixture over dry ingredients and use two wooden spoons to thoroughly combine ingredients. Stir in chips LAST so they don't melt in the hot mixture.
5. Press mixture very firmly into prepared pan. Keep pressing down until your bars are dense in order to keep them from crumbling later when you cut them.
6. When cool, use a sharp knife to cut into 18 bars ( 1 cut lengthwise and then 9 cuts across)

The possibilities are endless. I wanted more nuts and no dried fruit, but you can substitute raisins, currants, etc. for the 2nd portion of nuts. We've used butterscotch chips, they are wonderful. Make them to your family's tastes. Adam hates peanut butter, so I leave the peanut butter out and add more corn syrup. If you use 1 cup corn syrup, with no peanut butter or honey, they stick together very well and closely resemble the Quaker bars. My family loves these. The peanut butter and honey mixture is more crumbly, but they are so yummy.

Wheat Mills

Part of our bread making class was discussing wheat mills. Having a good wheat mill makes all the difference to your bread because the condition of your flour affects how your bread turns out. Adam's parents gave me a wheat mill several years ago for Christmas, and it happens to be the brand our teacher recommended. It's one of the things you may need to save up for, but having the right tools in your kitchen is an investment. Here is the link to the site for the wheat mills. http://www.blendtec.com

Making Whole Wheat Bread

In February, our Relief Society did a whole-wheat bread making class. Most of us have mixers, and can make bread much quicker than by hand, but it is a skill we should have in our back pocket should we need it. We had sisters learning to make bread and sisters who were pros at it, working together. The mentoring made such a difference. You really have to learn what the dough feels like when it's ready, and it was so helpful to have someone there to give me tips. Here is the recipe we used at the class, it makes just one loaf of bread and works great for learning how to make bread by hand.

Whole Wheat Bread
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1 cup warm water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp instant yeast

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of water (at a temperature of 110 to 120 degrees) with one cup of flour and the salt, honey, yeast, oil and milk. Stir well.

Mix in the remaining flour and stir until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 6 to 10 minutes. You may need to add more flour a little at a time through this process.

Shape into a loaf and put in a lightly greased loaf pan. Loosely cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 30 to 60 minutes until the doughg rises approximately one inch above pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the loaf in the center of the oven and cook for about 40 minutes. After 20 minutes loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil, test if the wheat bread is done by thumping the bottom of the bread, it should sound hollow. Let bread cool on a rack, then serve.

Sanitation Kit

I am so excited! Adam had a campout this weekend, and he wanted to make sure the boys had "outdoor facilities." He went to the Army/Navy store in our town and bought a toilet seat and a 5-gallon bucket. He also got these great bags with some bio-dust that breaks down & neutralize the waste, and they seal up, so you can throw them in the trash. Now we have our alternative potty, in case the water is out and we can't flush the toilets. These are the necessities for a home sanitation kit:

5-gallon bucket
Toilet seat that fits a 5-gallon bucket
Heavy-duty trash bags
Can of disinfectant (Lysol)

This was an easy project to complete. And we discovered the Army/Navy store! They have all sorts of great survival supplies. We're going to make a list and try to get one thing every month. When planning for emergencies, don't forget your potty!

Articles of Faith FHE

We got this wonderful Christmas gift from Adam's parents, a book of Family Home Evening lessons that teach the Articles of Faith. We are so excited to learn these as a family this year, and to help prepare Thomas for baptism. The kids are giddy because for every Article of Faith they memorize and recite to their Oma, they will get a little number charm to put on a key ring. We talked tonight about the importance of the Articles of Faith, of really knowing what we believe so that we can be spiritually prepared to answer questions that are asked of us and testify of the Savior. Destenee and Calvin already knew the first Article of Faith. Thomas is just learning to read, and he read it right off the paper, then practiced reciting it until he knew it. I sang the little song with Isabel, she loved that and learned some of it. We talked about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, about their physical natures and their purpose and relationships. It is so beautiful to see their little eyes light up when they understand something about their God. They have such pure faith. I think this is going to be a wonderful year.

Hair Cuts

I just cut Adam and Calvin's hair tonight. I started cutting hair when Adam was just building his business and didn't have time during the day to get to the barber. I bought a $30 pair of clippers from Target. I had a husband that was willing for me to learn on him, and a mother-in-law to give me some tips. I started out slow, and learned more the more I practiced. As Calvin got older, he asked me to start scissor trimming his hair, rather than using the clippers so his hair could be a little longer. It took me a long time to get up the courage to do the girls' hair. It takes longer, and it's so more evident when I screw up. I've figured out how to do a little bob that looks pretty good. My little girls love their hair short. Now I cut everyone's hair. Thomas is like shearing a sheep, his hair is so fine. I'm the only one in our household that pays for a haircut. I figure at about $15 for a cheap haircut, I save between $30 and $75 a month, depending on how many need haircuts in one month, and I can do it when it's convenient for me, less appointments to keep! Don't be afraid to try. It's a good skill to have under your belt.

White Chili

This is a great recipe that is easily adaptable for food storage. So tasty, my dad got this recipe from a chili contest at his office. We made it for our Poinsetta Bowl party just before Christmas. Without the cream and sour cream, it's almost identical to Leticia's Chicken White Bean Soup, which I fell in love with a few years ago, and perfect for 3 month supply. Who says food storage can't be delicious? It's wonderful with or without the cream and sour cream, and much healthier without. This recipe fills my big crock pot, so you can scale it down if this is too much for your family. I think this is 3 times the original recipe. You have to try this!!

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (or canned chicken)
3 medium onions, chopped (or dehydrated onions)
4 tsps garlic powder (or fresh garlic, if you have it)
3 tbsp oil
6 cans (14 oz) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
3 cans chicken broth (14 oz)
3 cans chopped green chiles
3 tsp salt
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup whipping cream (or half and half)

In a large pot, saute' chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chiles, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and wipping cream just before serving.

Mortgage Rates!

There is a way to glean something good from our crazy economy. Mortgage rates are so low right now, fixed 30 year rates are around 5%. But you have to be smart about how you choose to take advantage of this. By only refinancing what you currently owe on your house (leaving your equity in tact) you can reduce your house payment by reducing your interest paid. Adam figured that if we refinanced and kept paying our current house payment for the next six years, and then at that time paid an additonal $150 per month, we would have the house paid off in 15 years. If you just need a smaller house payment, refinancing would be great too. Each person's situation is different, and you'd have to check it out for yourself. Beware of cashing out your equity, it will only lead to more debt. Talk to your mortgage broker and see if this is a good deal for you.

Sarah's Caserole

Sarah made dinner for us last Sunday. It was so nice to come home to a hot dinner! I'm thinking this is adaptable to a 3 month storage shelf meal. Let me know what you think.

1.5 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (12 oz) can of corn niblets, drained
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups cooked small pasta shells
1 (3 oz) can of chow mein noodles, sprinkle on to your liking

Brown ground beef, drain. Combine all ingredients except chow mein noodles. Place in a 9x13 baking dish and top with chow mein noodles.

Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. This recipe freezes well if you don't put the chow mein noodles on until you bake it.

Chili Spaghetti

I am working on putting together recipes for our three month supply. This is one I adapted and tried out on my family tonight. We love spaghetti, and we've eaten chili over spaghetti noodles for years. So I created something shelf-able but adaptable to using various ingredients from my food storage. If I were without the advantage of ground beef for the sauce, the canned chili provides the protein that would be missing otherwise. My family loved it. Adam put shredded cheddar on his spaghetti, everyone else used parmesan. This is obviously very easy, and a huge amount. This will provide leftovers for tomorrow for my family of seven. You can scale this down for your family, or use other ingredients such as homemade sauce, canned or dried beans, canned beef, etc. This way was very good, though. I'll post the spreadsheet I'm making for my three month supply as soon as I can.

One 40 oz can Nally Chili
Two 26.5 oz cans Del Monte Pasta Sauce
One 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
Two lbs. spaghetti noodles

I combined the first three ingredients in my crockpot and cooked on high for two hours, and cooked the pasta as directed.