Granola Bar Goodies

Somehow I had forgotten about this recipe!  I made it a lot last spring.  Since I gave up sweets again this year for Lent, I went back to these tried and true granola bars.  There are two versions posted below: the version I make during Lent and the recipe I usually follow. 

Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Granola Bars
(adapted from this recipe) 

1 cup old fashioned oats - divided use
1/2 cup cereal - divided use (I either use a Fiber One cereal or Honey Nut Cheerios)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsps vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
5 Tbs honey

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper.

Place 3/4 cup of the oats, 1/4 cup of the cereal, and raisins in either a food processor or blender a pulse a bit to chop down the composition of the ingredients.  Place this in your mixing bowl along with the coconut, baking soda, salt, vanilla, flour, oil, molasses, and honey.  Mix until ingredients are well combined.  Add in the remaining 1/4 cup of oats and 1/4 cup of cereal.  Mix until just incorporated.  Your dough should be the consistency of cookie dough, however it will be much stickier.  Using a spatula (which you can spray with nonstick to make this process smoother) transfer the mixture to the baking pan.  Bake for 18 minutes.

Original Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Granola Bars       
(adapted from same recipe linked above)
 
1 cup old fashioned oats - divided use
1/2 cup cereal - divided use (I either use a Fiber One cereal or Honey Nut Cheerios)
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsps vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
5 Tbs honey

Use same directions as above.

Which version did you try?  I hope they become one of your favorites as they have definitely become one of mine!!

Indy: Wine & Brews

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get away to Indianapolis this past weekend to catch up with several of my closest girlfriends from college!  Yay for a well deserved girls weekend!

After grabbing a bite to eat, we spent Saturday afternoon enjoying Easley Winery and Sun King Brewery.  They're both on N. College Avenue, literally right across the street from each other.

At Easley Winery, it was $5 for a ten minute tour and a tasting of seven wines.  Everyone was extremely friendly; they had no problem recommending restaurants for us to do lunch at & mapping out the area too.  Our guide was knowledgeable, interesting, and easy going.  He didn't even mind taking several group pictures (pretty crucial when a group of sorority girls get together, right?!)  Tasting wise, rather than choosing the seven wines you'd like to taste most, Easley divides their wines by "barrels" pairing two per barrel and you chose which wine from that "barrel" you'd like to try when the employee comes by.  I'm not a huge fan of dry wines, so naturally I was more drawn to the sweet wines.  I liked the Sweet Barrel Red and the Reggae Red was a big favorite among all five of us!  We walked away with several bottles.

Across the street at Sun King Brewery, we walked in, showed our IDs, and were handed three tickets for house beer samples and three lids for the seasonal beer samples.  It was pretty packed and had a laid back, awesome atmosphere.  We were able to sample Sunlight Cream Ale, Wee Mac Scottish Ale, Osiris Pale Ale (all house beers;) and Bitter Druid ESB, Foxy Jam Pants, and Batch 888 (all seasonal beers.)  The six beer samples cover a variety of tastes from light, to medium, very hoppy, and even a seasonal ginger beer.  I liked several of them and actually ended up buying a 32oz flip top growler and the Batch 888.  It was super reasonably priced - just over $12 for both the growler and the beer!

All in all, we had a fabulous time.  You should definitely put these on your to-visit list!

Cinnamon Pumpkin Pancakes

I'm always on the quest to find new pumpkin recipes since anything pumpkin is, well, perfection.  The snow is melting and robins are chirping and it is obviously spring.  But I still went back to my trusty fall pumpkin flavoring for breakfast.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Pancakes
(adapted from this recipe)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1 Tbs Splenda sugar blend
2 tsps baking powder
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup skim milk
6 Tbs canned pumpkin puree
2 Tbs canola oil
1 egg

Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Mix together until everything is well combined.  Bring griddle to a medium heat.  Pancakes should take about 3 minutes on each side.  

Serve with your choice of syrup & enjoy this filling breakfast!       

Happy St. Patty's Y'all

St. Patty's is such a fun holiday!  I love it, so I always try to do something fun to celebrate.  Back in North Carolina, that was usually going to the Emerald Isle festival.  This year, Carl came in town and we made a day downtown Chicago.  A green river, green beer, Irish food, and city full of festivity..what more could you ask for?!

Of course I've blogged about my love for Irish Car Bombs before and naturally we had several yesterday.  Just.so.good.

Irish Car Bomb
3/4 pint Guinness Stout
1/2 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey
1/2 shot Bailey's Irish Cream

Pour the Guinness into a glass or beer mug and let settle.  Pour Jameson and Bailey's into a shot glass.  Drop the shot glass into your Guinness and chug!

I actually tried a new stout drink while we were out and about too - a Black Velveteen.  Carl was not a fan, but I loved it!  Here's the recipe so you can try it too!

Black Velveteen
12oz Guinness Stout
4oz Magner's Irish Cider

Pour both into a large mug.  Serve and enjoy.
  

Wonderful Wineries: Butler Winery & Vineyards

As I've mentioned before, Carl and I love visiting breweries and wineries, sampling flights of beer, and tasting wines.  We recently stopped at the Chesterton location of Butler Winery & Vineyards.  It's located right downtown Chesterton at 401 Broadway in a converted house building.  They do free tasting for six wines and the tastes are a decent size in the traditional wine glass.  Once you've tasted your share, you can purchase a glass or bottle to enjoy there in a couple different welcoming spaces they have created.

I tend to lean towards sweet wines and Carl always goes for fruit wines, so we did not try any of their drys or semi-drys.  With that said, between the two of us we tried about all the sweet and fruit wines and we were impressed.  I've been looking for a new go-to sweet red and I do believe I've found it here.  Butler's Vineyard Red is my answer.  It's not too sweet, nor does it leave the extremely sugary feeling in your mouth as some too-sweet wines do.  It's the perfect balance for a sweet red.  And while I was a huge fan of the Vineyard White (same description as above - just sweet enough,) Carl thoroughly enjoyed the Apple.  Together, we were both extremely pleased with the Blueberry wine.  It's a great fruit wine with an interesting cinnamon finish.  Great combination!

We ended up buying four bottles because we are such fans.  I believe they told us about a 3 bottle discount of 10%, but since it's local and we will be back for more, they give a reusable wine bottle tote out.  With that tote we get 15% off our purchase and the next I stock up, as long as I have that tote, I will continue to receive 15% off.  Works great for us!

Restaurant Review: Three Floyds

If you live in the Northwest Indiana/Chicago-land area, have you been to Three Floyds Brewing Co?  If not, you should definitely go!  The brews are awesome and the food is good too.  If you happen to go on a Saturday, you can even get a tour. 

Visiting breweries and wineries is something Carl and I love to do together.  With that said, this is where we had our Valentine's Day meal with a couple beers and a sampler flight.  Yum.  On the sampler (consisting of four of their beers), the Pride and Joy was definitely my favorite.  It's an American Mild Ale and the menu describes it as a "smooth, medium bodied session beer with bright citrus hop aroma and finish."  Out of the others that we had ordered glasses of, I favored the Czech Booty Kamp, a Czech-style pilsner and Carl loved the Gumballhead, their traditional wheat beer with a citrus finish. 

Food wise, we got the Triple Threat and the Schnitzel.  The Triple Threat is a spicy pork sausage...seriously spicy, but good if that's what you have a taste for.  The Schnitzel was awesome.  We also ordered two sides of their Crispy French Fries (with herb butter) and let me tell you...you must order these if you go!  We are not particularly 'fry' people; we can usually take them of leave them.  But not these, we finished every single fry!  As a bonus, since we both had our military IDs, they gave us a whopping 50% off our entire bill, including the drinks and sampler flight!  I do believe that's the best military discount we've ever received.  Big props, Three Floyds!

What's your favorite Three Floyds beer?  And have you tried the food?  I'd love to know!

Book Review: Honor Bound

www.barnesandnoble.com

Did you follow the Amanda Knox trial in Italy?

If so, Honor Bound: My Journey to Hell and Back with Amanda Knox written by Raffaele Sollecito and Andrew Gumbel should be the next book you read.  It's a gripping memoir that chronicles Raffaele's experiences with Amanda, the media, the Italian police, and the Italian judicial system during the four year period over which the trial took place.

While I didn't follow this story the entire four years it played out, I began keeping track of it for the last year of the trial.  I read the articles, watched the news, and was relieved when Amanda Knox was released and welcomed back to the United States.  After reading media stories from the initial incident four years ago and then more closely at the end of the trial, it is amazing to read Raffaele's side while seeing how clearly the media was able to twist facts.

The Daily Beast's review featured on Barnes and Noble's website says it quite well: "Not only does Sollecito give a great insider’s look at the trial from his unique vantage point, he also clears up a number of mistruths that Knox’s ardent supporters pushed throughout the four-year affair.[...] Sollecito's book is sure to satisfy."

What a Beautiful Photo!

I saw this amazingly wonderful photo from the BabyList Blog on Pinterest a couple weeks ago.  Of course I'm not pregnant, but I loved it so much I just had to share.  How wonderful is this picture?!  Love.  I imagine this would be such an incredible experience to share with a best friend.

Jenn Moak Photography

Restaurant Review: Birch and Barley

Another restaurant review themed post!  Carl and I recently took a trip to Washington, D.C.  Whenever we do these city trips, I am all about trying to eat at local places that aren't part of a chain restaurant found all across the states.  Sometimes Trip Advisor is my best friend.

For our Friday night taste of D.C. area food, we chose Birch and Barley.  I'd read good reviews about it and it was only about two blocks away from our hotel, still a very doable walking distance in the freezing nighttime temps. 

Chef's Counter on the left.

I called over a week in advance to make reservations, but they were already booked solid.  Our only option was to sit at the "chef's counter" which we had done at a similar restaurant in Asheville before, so we gave it a go.  It was a great choice!  The whole restaurant has a seriously great atmosphere, but if you can, I would chose the chef's counter.  They send out their version of a bread basket to every table, but we also got two or three other samples of things (like some of their light flatbreads) sent from the chefs.  I'm not sure if this is just a standard for every table at the restaurant or we got it because we were sitting near the chefs.  Either way, we also enjoy watching the chefs prepare the meals and you still experience the vibe of the restaurant, just at the comfy counter rather than a table.  It worked for us.

I love a good main course meal of duck, but I will only order it in big cities (i.e. Boston, Asheville, etc.) and of course D.C. qualifies, therefore I ordered the Honey Glazed Duck Breast.  And it was just as delicious as I expected.  Tender slices were served atop a bit of pulled duck and rice for a palate pleasing meal.  Naturally, Carl chose the Brat Burger and was over the moon with how enjoyable it was.  The menu here changes every week (which we love) so we had their special lemon dessert of the night.  This dessert seamlessly combined the lemon tartness with a sweet cream for a very balanced dessert taste.  Drink wise, this place boasts a collection of 555 beers (which Carl enjoyed choices from) while also offering a handful of cocktail selections.  I ordered their version of a Mojito, which they make with Maker's Mark bourbon.  Don't let that scare you away, it was a welcomed twist to one of my go-to drinks.

Overall, we seriously loved this restaurant.  Let me know what you think if you make it there!