When I was pregnant with my first daughter, Ella, I loved the Special K granola bars. I thought they tasted like a jazzed-up Rice Krispie Treat. This recipe totally took me back. I love the gooey-ness the marshmallows give this granola bar. Its not dry like some of the other ones. This one is nice and sweet, and perfect with the cranberries. It was super quick to pull together. When I was cutting them, Ella said she wanted one. She grabbed hers and ran off to the living room. A few minutes later I hear, "Mama...I love these!" Sweet success in the kitchen! I have them all individually wrapped in cling wrap for a quick breakfast bite on-the-go!
3 tablespoons butter
1 10-oz. bag of marshmallows
3 cups granola cereal (I used Low-Fat Special K Granola)
3 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Melt butter in a large pot over low heat. Add marshmallows, and cook, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, pour the granola cereal into a large zippy bag and crush with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin (or you could dirty your food processor, but why would you want to do that?!) Combine the cereals, cranberries, almonds and salt. Stir into the marshmallow mixture. Press cereal mixture into a greased 13 X 9-inch baking dish. Let stand for 1 hour. Flip out of the pan and cut into squares or bars. If you have a 15 X 10-inch jelly-roll pan you could use that to make thinner bars.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Southern Living)
I love finding new snack food recipes. This would be great to serve at a party. Even better for movie night with the family! I found this recipe in this month's All You magazine and thought it was perfect this week because Publix had popcorn and peanuts on sale. I think it tastes a lot like Crunch-n-Munch. Clay has some for lunch tomorrow and the rest is going to my Office to get it out of the house!
1 bag popped popcorn (I used Butter Light)
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, in pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line a baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper (I used foil because that's what I had). Pop popcorn in microwave. Transfer to a large bowl, add peanuts and set aside.
In a large pot, combine 1/4 cup water, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook without stirring until mixture turns a light amber color, 4-6 minutes. If parts of syrup turn darker, tilt pot to even out heat (mine never really turned amber).
Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla and salt. Stir the popcorn and peanuts into the sugar mixture to completely coat. Scrape mixture onto papered baking sheet and let cool about 15 minutes before breaking into pieces and serving. Store in a large zippy bag.
Enjoy!
(adapted from All You Magazine)
The first time I made these, I was pregnant with my first daughter. I could not get enough granola bars. I bought Nature Valley, Special K, Fiber One, I loved them all! I came across this recipe in the Rachael Ray Magazine one month and decided to give it a try. Couldn't be easier. Most of the main ingredients you can get for a good price this week. Publix has granola and raisins B1G1. I stockpiled the chocolate chips a few weeks ago. And with the Target coupon for Kellogg's cereal, you can get a good deal on the Rice Krispies. If you've never made homemade granola bars, you ought to give this recipe a shot. Quick and delicious. Wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap and you've got a Grab-n-Go breakfast!
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter1/2 cup packed light brown sugar1/4 cup honey2 cups granola1 cup Rice Krispies1/2 cup raisins1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chipsIn a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar with the honey and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.Add the granola, rice cereal, and raisins to the saucepan and fold the ingredients to evenly coat with the sauce. Transfer the granola mixture to a 9 X 13-inch ungreased baking pan and press firmly to evenly fill. Gently press the chocolate chips onto the top of the granola. Let the granola mixture set in the refrigerator until firm, about 15 minutes, then cup into 2 1/4-by 3-inch bars.**The Quaker granola that is on sale at Publix is more like granola clusters. So, I put 2 cups in a zippy bag and crushed it up a little bit.These are great for breakfast or pack them in the kids' lunchboxes for school. Want to make co-workers happy? Wrap some up, tie with cute ribbon and bring as a "Happy"!Enjoy!(adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine)
