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!!

A Day Downtown & Pumpkin Spice Granola

Yesterday I had an informal meeting/interview with a potential employer.  It was scheduled for late afternoon, downtown Chicago.  I decided to take the train rather than drive so I wouldn't have to worry about 5 o'clock rush hour traffic.

While planning my day mentally, I failed to think about the past times I've taken the train.  When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, he stopped working so I would use his parking pass & iPass to drive into the city rather than ride the train.  Suffice to say, it's been quite the hiatus between my other train days and now.  Let me just tell you, the second I climbed the stairs up to street level I saw 300 East Randolph, the Blue Cross Blue Shield building, staring at me from across the skyline.  And I remembered all the times I took the train into the city.  It would be to shop or walk around, but I would always stop to see my dad.  Whether it be to visit him at the office, eat a quick lunch at Qdoba or a sit down meal at Tavern on the Green, grab a strong coffee from Intelligentsia, or even just to catch a ride home with him to chat, he was always there after my train rides.  But yesterday, after my meeting, my dad wasn't there.  And when I got home last night, he wasn't there either.

After that, I'll admit I was in a bit of a funk.  I attempted to job search a bit this morning, but I really just needed to do something I enjoy - baking.  We have fresh fruit at the house and yogurt too, so I tried out a new granola recipe to mix in with everything for breakfast or a light snack.

Pumpkin Spice Granola
(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup Splend blend brown sugar - packed
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter - I used Peter Pan Whipped
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup canola oil
1 Tbs molasses
1 Tbs vanilla extract
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips