Cran-raisin, Strawberry, Oat Chocolate Snack Bars

As part of our Cub Scout Pack meeting tonight, we were asked to bring a healthy snack to share with the cub scouts and their families. I know the typical carrots, apples, celery and all that... but I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted a healthy snack bar. I am not purchasing any as I have all the ingredients to make a yummy one at home. I googled a healthy homemade snack bar online and I found this one. It was a great starting point, as I have never made one before in my whole life. I was grateful for the basic needs of a snack bar. This one is packed with loads of stuff, I guess my only hope is that it tastes good and my kids will eat it. I will bring some to the church and some will stay home. This makes a LARGE batch, a jelly roll pan full.  The original batch called for a 13X9 pan.

Ingredients:
Combine...
4 cups of oats
2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups brown sugar (that’s the only bad part)
1 cup raisins
1 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
1 cup wheat germ or ground flax seed (we did the flax)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups freeze dried strawberries
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut shredded
2 cups cinnamon almond granola



Stir in...
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pint apple sauce (homemade, unsweetened)
1 cup honey
3 eggs
6 tsp vanilla

Blend well, incorporating all aspects of the mix. Spray a large jelly roll pan and pat mixture with a spatula. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees until the edges are golden brown.

Snack bars cut

Pan of 42 snack bars

 close up of the snack bar

Verdict - 

Delicious, filling, and nutritious. Not too sweet, but sweet enough. I am not a big fan of raisins, but this is very delicious. I will be cutting some of the snack bars in half and bringing those to the Cub Scout Pack meeting, the other's are staying here, and if the kids don't eat them, I'm going to, because they are very good! Enjoy

Sweet, Tangy Chicken

This was what I made in the slow cooker last night. I will be eating it for lunch today. My intention was to serve this for dinner, but we ended up going out to dinner. Why you might ask since I had food in the slow cooker. Well... Yesterday was spent at the car dealership. I was in a car accident two weeks ago. My vehicle was totaled, and I needed another car. I didn't want to have a payment, but nothing worked out to get a vehicle without a payment. We were helped by my husband's WONDERFUL parents. They helped us get into a safe family car. We are so blessed. We can afford the payment, and we will be working hard to pay it off quickly. We want to repay their kindness by getting this off as quickly as possible. Well, long story short. We also got a check from the insurance company for what my vehicle was worth that we put part of it on as a down payment on the vehicle. We decided to go out to dinner since it was easier. My brain couldn't function after all the stress. So, tonight will be leftover, but the kids don't know it's leftovers. :) They never saw it. I'm going to try to make my potato rolls to go with it like sandwiches. They will enjoy it. I'm going to shred my sweet tangy chicken to go on the rolls. mmm my mouth is watering already. That's usually a good sign. One of the things I like about this recipe is that it has a fruit component to it. My kids don't even know.

Ingredients:

1 can cranberry sauce (whole berry or non)
1/2 bottle of creamy French dressing or Catalina dressing
1 package dry italian dressing mix
3 lbs chicken tenders (boneless, skinless)

Directions:
In slow cooker place cranberry sauce, french dressing and italian dressing mix in and stir to incorporate all ingredients, then add the chicken tenders moving them around so the mixture is around each tender. Cook on low for 4-6 hrs until the chicken tenders are cooked through, then remove the tenders, shredding with two forks. Then replace back in the slow cooker on warm. til ready to serve.

Serve on rolls, toast, mashed potatoes, pasta or even on a bed of salad greens.

These are tasty, tangy and sweet. The sweetness comes from a combination of the cranberry sauce and the french dressing. The tang comes from the french dressing, the seasoning and the cranberry sauce. A great combination and an easy healthier meal. :) Enjoy :)

Peach Cranberry Glazed Pork

I was looking on line for a peach cranberry glaze for my pork roast for dinner and I couldn't find one. I'm trying to use ingredients that I have around the house and so that is what I had. I had read cranberry glaze recipes and peach glaze recipes but I didn't have all of the items needed to make those. So, using the ingredients I had at my house, I created this glaze. I had my picky 7 yr. old try the glaze, he said it was good. Therefore, I went with it. :) gotta love the honesty of a 7 yr. old. :) This will give the pork a nice glaze and sweet tangy flavor.

Ingredients:

1 - 16oz jar jellied cranberry sauce

1- 18 oz jar peach jelly

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 dashes of ground ginger

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp yellow mustard

1 cup brown sugar

4 tsp Ranch dressing mix

2 tsp kosher salt

Mix till well blended.

Glaze on to pork roast - Bake according to pork Lbs.

When cooking the pork, I like to line the bottom of the baking dish with sliced onions, they become slightly caramelized with the glaze, which adds a great flavor to the dish.

When I was baking the pork, I started baking it covered for about 30-45 min. Then I removed the cover, and re-glazed the pork, left the lid off and cooked for another 40-50 min. then I reglazed the pork again. This time returning the lid on top of the dish. Again about every 30 min or so, I would glaze the pork until the internal temperature was between 150 and 160. Then I remove the pork from the oven and let it rest. While it rests, I added another coating of the glaze. While the pork continues to rest. I put the remainder of the glaze in a small sauce pan and thickened the glaze after it came to a rolling boil. I thickened the glaze with 1/4 cup water and 1 heaping tsp of cornstarch. I continued to let this stay at a rolling boil until desired thickness.

Once the glaze was thickened, the pork done resting, I removed the pork from the baking dish, removed the netting that helped keep the pork together during baking, cut the pork and then poured the thickened glaze and the onions on top of the cut pork.

Verdict... This was HEAVENLY! The pork with the glaze on it had such a nice flavor and aftertaste. It wasn't bitter in the least bit. It might have been too sweet for some, but for us, we liked it sweet. you could probably cut back on the brown sugar if you wanted for a less sweet taste. My kids ate a TON of this! I have a little left over, but I have more glaze than anything left over. I am tempted to save the glaze for another pork dish later on. But I'm not to sure if it would be good saved. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. My husband had his eyes rolling back in his head, and my kids did even want a drink until they were finished eating this delicious pork dish. Enjoy!

Cranberry Brisket - Slow Cooker

This one's for you Bonnie....

I read a couple brisket crock pot recipes from 365 Crockpot and one of them used cranberry sauce and another one used liquid smoke, A1 Steak sauce, I thought, I bet they would be good semi combined... so, I made up my own, cranberry brisket recipe.

Ingredients:

1 quarter brisket (approx. 1-3 lb.)

8-10 oz of jellied cranberries

3-4 sprinkles of liquid smoke

Steak seasoning - enough to cover all sides of brisket

6-7 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

A1 Steak sauce - enough to cover top side of brisket

foil

Directions:

Trim most of the fat off of the brisket. Leave some on for flavoring...Sprinkle Steak seasoning all over the brisket, all sides should be covered. Place in the crock pot

(I used my 6 quart) fat side up... sprinkle the Worchestershire sauce on the brisket, then the liquid smoke, Then pour the A1 Steak sauce on the brisket. Next add the jellied cranberries to the pot... spreak some on the brisket and around the brisket in the crock pot. Then any remaining room in the crock pot cover with foil to keep the smoke closer to the brisket. Set on low for 8-10 hrs, or high 3-4 hours. When finished, you can pull or slice.

Verdict..

No leftovers! I had two helpings myself. My pickiest eater... Mikey... He ate his first helping, then filled his whole plate with more... Then proceeded to eat the rest... He at at least 2 adult portions.. if not more. This was a really tasty dinner. My husband said it was nummy.... The other two boys ate theirs up with no complaints either. That's a win in my book. Easy and no fuss. Can't beat that... little to no clean up if you use the crock pot liners too... We served this with rice, corn and rolls. :)

And I'm sorry, once again, forgot to get pictures. I'll try to do better. :) Busy with finals this week, I'm all messed up... :)