A little Yummy Treat

So I have been trying to find the perfect recipe for granola bars to use some of this food storage that I have an ample amount of! I used to buy the Fiber One granola bars at Costco. They are super delicious, but had this horrible side effect....GAS! When I ate those, I would have the worst gas of my life and Matt did too, so I set out on a mission to find a granola bar recipe. Here is what I came up with. Both of these recipes are from my favorite recipe site: allrecipes.com Enjoy!

Playgroup Granola Bars
INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

And this one is a little sweeter(actually I do not know that, I have never tasted either of these b/c I have been on a diet since I found them, but I have tried these on my family, neighbors and sold a ton of them at a garage sale.):

Easy Granola Bars:
INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sweetened condensed milk, butter, coconut, almonds, chocolate chips and cranberries with your hands until well blended. Press flat into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them. Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.

And the verdict from my family is: Matt loves the playgroup granola bars the best. I found to only cook them for 25 minutes because they are more chewy! Have fun with these recipes. I have loved them!