Chocolate Chip Pretzel Granola Bars

I did it.  I actually made a recipe I found on Pinterest.  Last Friday I took the day off work and spent it with Lil' Sis.  I love cooking with the girls and was really excited to have the opportunity to have this one-on-one time with her.

We made Chocolate Chip Pretzel Granola Bars.  A year ago we found out that Big Sis is allergic to cashews and pecans.  This means she cannot eat pretty much any store bought granola bars as they say they may have tree nuts in them.  Since discovering that, I've been on a mission to find yummy granola bars we can make ourselves.


Here's the recipe I used, which is slightly different than the one I found on Pinterest.

• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup Rice Krispies
• 1/2 cup crushed pretzels
• butter to grease the pan
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Spread the oats on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and then mix in the peanut butter and honey until smooth.

3. Mix the oats, Rice Krispies and pretzels into the banana mixture

4. Pour the mixture into a greased 8x12" baking pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

5. When the granola bars have cooled, press the chocolate chips into the top of the bars. Wait until they're completely cool before you cut the bars.

These were easy enough to make. But I will say, if you do not like banana bread, you will probably not like these.  I didn't.  Neither did Big Sis.  Lil' Sis, on the other hand, loved them!  She cannot get enough of them.  So maybe they are good, but I will not make these again.  They are worth a try though if you do like banana bread as it is a great recipe to use up ripe bananas.  The pretzel, chocolate and peanut butter combination is pretty tempting, too!

While the recipe didn't turn out that well for me, the quality time with Lil' Sis was fabulous.  She is a hard worker and really interested in learning how to bake.  Hopefully in a few years she will be making goodies for the rest of us on a regular basis!  Trying a new recipe every week will be a great way to get the girls more interested in baking and cooking.

I cannot wait to see what we make next...!

This post is linked up with Works for Me Wednesday.  Go there for more great ideas!

Gifts for Teachers

This year I finally planned ahead and made gifts for the girls teachers.  I'm so excited as I'm usually scrambling at the last minute to pick up gift cards to put inside thank you cards.  Not this year!  Thanks to Thrive in the Kitchen, I found this cute idea that was affordable and easy to do.

So this isn't my own idea, but I'm so excited that I found this after an hour or so of searching pinterest and the web.  The gift is a water bottle filled with Crystal Light mixes and a Starbucks gift card.  The cute part is the printable that I found on the Thrive in the Kitchen website.  It says "It's so refreshing having a great teacher like you!"  Super cute and also so true - the girls have had wonderful teachers this year.

I attempted to get the water bottles from the Dollar Store, but while they looked cute, they were all scratched up and the lids didn't work.  So I spent a little extra money buying Rubbermaid bottles at the grocery store.  But overall, this entire project cost just under $100.  For 6 teachers, I'm not complaining.  Here's all of my supplies:

The most exciting part of all was that the girls think these gifts are so cool.  I'm happy that they have something they are proud of to hand to their teachers on their last day of class.

In addition to the gifts, the girls each wrote out thank you cards to their teachers.  I should have taken pictures, they were all so cute.  Lil' Sis wrote her full name out (not bad for a 4 year old!) and drew a picture of each teacher.  Big Sis wrote out lovely thank you's and for her dance teachers, drew a scene of a dance each teacher taught her.  Priceless!

Lil' Sis had her last day of preschool yesterday and tonight the girls will be going to their last dance class for the year.  I am so happy to not have to worry about what we are giving their teachers.  Instead, we can enjoy these last days with their awesome teachers.

This year, their teachers have been phenomenal. Really, I think every year we've been blessed with great teachers.  My girls have really grown up a lot this year.  Both are becoming more and more confident in what they do, and I am so thankful for their teachers as I know they had a big part in making this happen.

I cannot believe that Lil' Sis will be in Pre-K in the fall.  And Big Sis is almost a 3rd grader.  It really does still seem like just yesterday that Big Sis was the one in preschool and Lil' Sis was just a baby.  I'm so proud of how far they've come and am excited to see what amazing things they will be getting into this summer!

I'm linking up to Works for Me Wednesday.  Check it out for more great tips and tricks!

Pinterest Recipe Challenge

I have posted over 50 recipes on pinterest since I joined a month or two ago.  They all look so yummy, but I wouldn't know as I haven't tried a single one!  So, to spice up our boring menu I am going to challenge myself to make at least once new recipe a week from my pins.  Sounds easy enough, right?

The hard part will be choosing where to start.  Right now I'm thinking about this:

Chocolate chip granola bars

But in the spirit of summer, this looks really good, too:

Banana/Pineapple/Coconut Popsicles

Or maybe I should make something for dinner, like this:

Garlic Pork Chops

Who knows what I'll end up making, but I am excited to start trying some new recipes!  I find cooking and baking relaxing, most of the time.  And I really enjoying getting the girls involved as it is never to early to start to learn how to cook.  Changing things up a bit by adding some new recipes to our menu will keep us all on our toes this summer. I'm sure we'll create some good memories and hopefully will find some recipes that are keepers.  I am looking forward to sharing my pinterest recipe adventures with you this summer!

What delicious things have you found on pinterest lately?


I'll be linking these posts up to Works for Me Wednesday.  Go there for more inspiration.

Computer Free Weekends

I've finally come to the point where I can admit that I'm addicted to the internet.  No matter what I'm doing, I always want to go online and see if there's a better way.  I want to find a better checklist for keeping my home clean.  I want to find better books to read.  I want to find the best buffalo chicken dip recipe.  If I'm not looking for ways to improve myself, I want to see what everyone else is doing.  I need to check up on the million blogs I follow, see what my IRL friends are doing on Facebook and check out the latest pins on Pinterest.  And did anyone send me an email in the last 10 minutes???  I need to check again, and again...and again.

No wonder I am always feeling anxious, unfocused and unproductive!

This habit of constantly going online has got to stop, so I've created a new rule for myself.  From the time I get home from work on Friday afternoons until Sunday evenings, I cannot use my computer.

I've done this the past two weekends and it has been amazing!  I am feeling more productive.  I am more patient with the girls.  I am relaxed and able to enjoy myself.  I'm learning not to wonder if there's a better way to mop the kitchen floor or worry about what my neighbor is doing on her weekend trip to Washington D.C.  Instead I'm focusing on the here and now and it is wonderful!

In addition, this reflection has made me realize that I've been turning the internet into a god.  When I'm worried, stressed, confused, I go online instead of to God.  I've come to the point where I feel the internet has all of the answers.  Do I trust the internet more than God?  My actions seem to say so.  I spend more hours than I want to know online, yet I probably only spend one hour a week in God's word.  I go online more often than I pray.  I wonder what the internet will tell me about my latest problem rather than seeking God's guidance.  There's something seriously wrong with this picture and it needs to change.  I pray my computer free weekends are the beginning of a new way of living for me.

I've linked up with Works for Me Wednesday today.  Go there for more great tips and tricks!

Family Calendars

I'm sure I was late to join the Google calendar bandwagon, but in case anyone else has yet to hear, Google calendar rocks!  My husband has a crazy schedule that changes every season.  In addition to being a high school teacher, he coaches three sports: college football, high school wrestling, and high school track.

Even though he's been doing all of this forever, it still is hard for me to remember what each season is like schedule wise.  Enter Google calendar.  At the beginning of each season I can enter the schedule onto our calendar.  Then, when anything changes or is added, he can make updates right away from his phone.

This helps in so many ways.  Since the calendar works on our iPhones, we can make changes no matter where we are.  And, no matter where we are, we always have access to our calendar (as long as we don't forget our phones!).  I feel like this calendar has given us freedom as I can quickly decide whether or not we can add an event to our calendar.  Believe it or not, this makes it easier to add fun things to our schedules as I can quickly see when we are free and when we are not.

Of course, this is a major stress reducer, too.  As our girls get older, I'm sure they'll get busier.  In fact, they are already pretty busy.  Now my husband and I can better coordinate our schedules to make sure the girls can get to their activities.  There's less worry, as anything we might possibly forget is on the calendar.  The calendar also helps prevent forgetting important events, like Lil' Sis's first dance recital!

Since the girls don't have iPhones, at home we have a white board calendar on the kitchen wall.  It's right by the garage door, so we can all see it every time we leave the house.  Big Sis loves the calendar as it makes it easy for her to see what she has to do each day and can easily see what big events she has to look forward to each month.  I only wish Google calendar could update the white board calendar for me!

How do you organize your family schedule?


I'm linking up with Works For Me Wednesday.  Check out more great ideas there!