Fruit & Nut Bars

I have been on this mission if you will to make a good granola bar, something that is chewy, crunchy and tastes good all in one.  My past attempts have been lacking the chew, the flavor has been good but not what I really am looking for. So I came up with these...they aren't really granola bars (there is no granola in them) they could however be considered, maybe, an energy bar. 

These are so simple and can be adjusted to your liking, you will need a food processor for best consistency.

2 1/2 cups dry roasted, unsalted nuts* (I used a mix of almonds, walnuts and pecans)
1 cup dried dates
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used a mix of blueberries, strawberries and cherries)
2/3 cups shredded coconut
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
*You could also add seeds

Soak the dates and about half the dried fruit in hot water for about 5 minutes just to soften them slightly. Add them to the food processor.  Pulse until fine, almost paste like.  Then add about half of the nuts. Pulse with the fruit mix until well combined. Add the remaining fruit, nuts, coconut and syrup, pulse only lightly just to combine (keeping some of the nuts large).  

Line a jelly roll pan with foil (or if you want thicker bars use a baking dish).  Dump the mixture on the pan.  Press the mixture evenly on the pan, wet your hands to make it easier since the mixture is very sticky.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, let cool completely and cut in to bars. Store in a plastic container or wrap individually.

To make these raw. Use raw nuts and prepare as above but keep the coconut out of the mixture. Roll the mixture into bite size balls and then roll in the coconut to make fruit and nut bites.

Love this picture of my helper!  Taking pictures as we make the bars.

Mimi's Play Dough

I came across a large canister filled with flour, and me being me struggled to just throw it out. Why throw it out you ask? Well, if I had to take a guess the flour in this canister was at least 6 years old and it was just plain ol’ all-purpose white flour which I don’t use anymore anyway, so…throwing it seemed to be the right option.  Well I sat staring at the flour thinking of all the things I could use it for (I even sent texts my friends to see if they could use it for anything), since it was too old to use for food my mind was instantly thinking crafts.  I thought of homemade modge podge, paper mache, salt dough…then I looked over at my son, sitting at the kitchen table sifting through his poor selection of play dough. My mind was made up…PLAY DOUGH! And of course my little helper was eager to help.

Now you can go on Pinterest and find oodles of different play dough recipes, but I am sticking with my mom’s recipe that she used when I was a kid. (I posted something a few years ago, you can see it here.) I am Gluten-Free, my son is not, and so making the dough using regular flour wasn't a concern for me. BUT, if you child is Gluten-Free then I would substitute the flour; use rice or even GF oat flour. I personally haven’t tried it using other flours but I would assume it would work fine.  (Here is a site called Creative with Kids that shares her gluten free play dough recipe.)

Mimi’s Play Dough

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tbsp. oil

2 cups water

Food coloring*

Mix all the ingredients in a large pot. Stir and cook over medium heat until the mix pulls away from the sides. Constantly stir! This is an arm workout.  (*If you want to have all one color, add the food coloring to the water and mix in while heating.  If you want multiple colors, once you take the dough out of the pot, divide the dough and knead the food coloring in.)

Once the dough is formed, put on wax paper and knead until smooth.  Store in an airtight container (nothing metal), you could even use old empty play dough containers.

He wanted multiple colors, and we were short on food coloring so the only color he wanted that he wasn't able to get was purple; maybe next time.  We added the food coloring in at the kneading stage, and I let him do the kneading.  You may need to add more coloring as you go if you want a more vibrant color.  

Now go play!