Monster Bars

Monster

Bars

These Monster Bars are so good!  I made them twice in two days simply because they are THAT EASY!  The first batch was consumed by the kids and their friends that were over for swimming.  The second batch was for just us when we went on a picnic.  I literally had everything whipped up and ready to go even before the oven had preheated completely.  Simple!

Monster Bars

9 full graham crackers

4 tbsp. butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 c. oats

3/4 c. M&Ms

3/4 c chocolate chips

In a zip top bag, crush the graham crackers.  Once crushed, add the 4 tbsp. butter to the bag.  Place in microwave and melt in 30 second increments.  Should only take 1 minute or so.

Remove from microwave and mix the butter and graham crackers together until fully incorporated.

Press the graham cracker crumbs into a well-greased and parchment lined 13x9 baking dish.

Evenly pour the sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker layer.  Then sprinkle the oats, M&MS, and chocolate chips on top.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until browned and pulling away from the edges.

(Sorry I don't know how to do the print links yet.  You'll have to copy and paste.)

*My notes* - I made one batch with fat free sweetened condensed milk and one with full fat.  The fat free was a little chewier but I didn't really notice a change in flavor.  Yes, that means I sampled one from each batch.  Or possibly more.

Store in an airtight container.

Mom's Day #1

As a teacher, I treasure these summer months and being able to spend time with my two sons.  As each year goes by I see our time together changing, less of "us" and more of "friends."  While I realize this is normal and natural and the way it's supposed to go it still takes some getting used to.  I used to be the ringleader, the organizer, the one deciding how we spend these precious minutes.  Now I'm a bystander, and plans are presented to me and in a moment's notice they're out the door (minus the mom).

With two tween/teen boys it's getting more challenging to find activities that we all will enjoy.  At this point, I don't care if we're all going to enjoy it, we're doing it anyway.  I am calling these Mom's Days.  We had our first Mom's Day today and went to a Fossil Museum about 40 minutes from our house.  Neither boy is actually that interested in fossils or dinosaurs.  (Although Jimmy did have a dinosaur party when he was 3.  I think that counts.) 

Don't they look excited?  How about that body language?

Getting out the door is easy.  I no longer have to pack bags and snacks and make sure everyone has gone to the bathroom.  I don't tie shoes or fasten sandals.  A simple, "I'll be in the car, someone put the dog in his cage" and we're off.

The car ride is quiet.  No more babbling, fighting, crying.  A couple of IPods and we're good to go.  But even with all these differences I felt so good.  I felt full, happy, content.  It felt so perfect to be with my boys, headed on the highway, like we used to do so frequently.  I guess it's true that the less you do of something the more you cherish it. 

The trip was a success.  Both boys were able to explain some new facts to their father during dinner.  Although while we were talking about it Jimmy said, "Really, when was that mentioned?  I must have dozed off during that part."

We finished up the morning with lunch at Jimmy John's. 

Here's to many more Mom's Days!  I'll keep you posted.  (Get it?)

Homemade Doughnuts!!!

I was so excited to receive my new Wilton doughnut pans from Amazon.  Time for some homemade donuts!!

I made a vegan/gluten-free vanilla doughnut.  Some of the ingredients that I needed to purchase included coconut oil and potato starch.  I couldn't find the coconut flour so I had to substitute a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose.

Don't they look so excited to be enjoying my new creation?  Well actually, they hated it.  I think the highest score I received was a 3.0 on a scale of 1-10.  I think part of the problem was my presentation.  I need to just forget telling them about the "vegan/gluten-free" part and just say, "Hey, look, who wants a doughnut?"  I'll try that the next time.

P.S.  I loved the doughnuts.  They were very light and fluffy and had a nice, vanilla flavor.  My husband said they tasted like play-dough.  He is sleeping in the garage.

Tower Garden Post #1

Do you love fresh vegetables but are always running out of them?  How about growing your own?  This is my new Tower Garden.

Isn't she a beauty?

You can grow any vegetable here and there is no soil involved.  The seeds/seedlings are placed in each of the little openings that you see and will grow from there.  The base is filled with water and a pump circulates the water through to water all the vegetables.  I ordered this through my Juice Plus represenative.  (Want to hear about Juice Plus?  That's another post!)  You can go to www.juiceplus.com and read all about their wonderful products, including this one.  I hope to move this indoors in the winter (well, hopefully my husband will) and enjoy homegrown vegetables all winter long.  I'll take more pics as the veggies grow so you can see the progress.

Strawberry Picking

It is a tradition to go strawberry picking with my boys on the first day of summer vacation.  We continued the tradition except for Jimmy (now 13 years old).  He slept over a friend's house the night before so he didn't come.  I was disappointed, but these are the ways of teens - which I am learning.  Patrick and I set off together and picked 6 buckets.

I freeze most of the strawberries and use them for my green smoothies (which I drink for breakfast on most days) but this year I also made some strawberry muffins and jam.

Oh, I also made strawberry lemonade for the boys and my new favorite snack:  Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, and granola.  It's not too exciting of a picture.

Yes, it's kind of a large bowl but I think that was my dinner for the day. 

What is your favorite strawberry treat?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

Happy Father's Day!

OK, so I'm realizing that to have a blog you have to actually take the time to sit down and write.  The ideas and thoughts swimming around in my head cannot just jump into the computer.  I will work on that.  I hope to have 1-2 posts per week.

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads out there.  My husband happens to be one of these.  I am so lucky for all he does for our family.  I couldn't find a picture of him with the boys (which would be more appropriate for Father's Day) so this one will have to do.  Remember, I am new at this.

Thursday Things

1.  Today is my last day of school.  What a feeling to have the whole summer stretched out before me.
2.  It is a tradition that I do not cook dinner on my last day of school.  Yeah for Chipotle.  (My pick.)
3.  Should I sleep in tomorrow morning, go for a nice run, or head up to the gym?  These are important decisions, people.  I'm thinking the gym will win out.
4.  Had a great time at my son's baseball game last night.  It is pure joy to watch him play even when he doesn't do anything extraordinary.  (Moms, you know what I'm talking about.)
5.  Jim (husband) is not too crazy about putting family pictures on here but I'll try to work some in every so often.  Actually, he's not too crazy about the blog, period.  I think he thinks I'm exploiting the family.  I better be careful what I write since he is my only reader at this point.
6.  Still no travel plans made for the summer.  I'm really OK with that.
7.  I'm thinking (well, more than thinking) about getting certified to teach fitness classes.  It makes me feel excited and terrified at the same time.  That's OK, right?
8.  I'm going to miss driving my 7th grader to school every morning.  Often, it's a quiet ride.  Other times, it's the best 2 minutes of my day.
9.  I am completely excited about the new doughnut pan I just ordered.  Yeah, for Amazon Prime.  The best.  I have some recipes for vegan/gluten-free doughnuts that I can't wait to try.
10. Tell me something about your Thursday.  Leave a comment for me!