Homemade Cliff Bars

It is the first Monday of the month which means it’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day!  I love this day.  It is so much fun to share what I made from someone else’s blog, and see what someone made from mine.  This month I was assigned This Chick Cooks.  And boy does she cook!  Katie is all about healthy living with a few treats along the way.  She has so many healthy, yummy treats on her site.  Whole Grain Brownies anyone?  How about Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips? 

I had a hard time picking what to make!  In the end I had to go with something I could make with what I had in the house.  We are moving on Friday, so I had to use up some stuff in my pantry rather than buy anything new.  These Cliff Bars looked perfect!  I could add a few extra things of my own to use up what I had, and my 6 year old would love them!

 

Homemade Cliff Bars

From This Chick Cooks

Printable Recipe

1 1/4 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3 Tbls ground flax seed (or you can just substitute oats –this is what I did)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup marshmallows

¼ cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or light molasses (I used honey)
2 Tbls brown sugar
1/3 cup nut butter (I always use peanut butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

Chocolate Chips (1/2 cup for full 8 in pan – less if you just want a drizzle), melted

Combine the syrup and peanut butter in a small pan over medium heat, stirring until melted and well-blended.  Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture over cereal, stir until coated.  You may need to use your hands to get it blended well.  Press mixture firmly into an 8-inch square pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray. 

Pour melted chocolate over the top (or drizzle if that is your thing).  Cool in pan on a wire rack and chill at least 30 minutes to help it set. Cut into approximately 12 bars.  Store in refrigerator.

Greek Cinnamon Stewed Chicken

It is that time again….Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day!  Don’t know what Secret Recipe Club is?  Go check it out here!  Amanda puts so much work into coordinating this fun event each month.  Thanks Amanda, you do a wonderful job!

This month I was assigned I Was Born To Cook.  Melissa has an amazing blog!  I had never seen her site before, but now I am so glad I found it!  Melissa was born and raised in New Jersey, but comes from a Greek/Italian family.  I think her tag line says it all “A journal of recipes, stories and more from the kitchen of a 1st generation Italian/Greek girl from New Jersey.”  I immediately decided I was going to try something Greek.  I had a really hard time picking; there were so many great looking Greek, Italian and Desserts recipes.  But I stuck to my guns, and went Greek.  And I guarantee I will be trying more of her recipes soon.

I finally decided on this Greek Cinnamon Stewed Chicken.  I must say, I loved this chicken.  Cinnamon is the Greek twist here for sure.  I hardly ever use cinnamon in savory dishes.  My husband didn’t like this as much as I did, but he ate a large piece, so he must not have had that many problems with it!  The recipe calls for skin on, bone in chicken.  I only had boneless skinless chicken breasts, but I think it worked well.  It was still crispy on the outside, and moist and juicy on the inside.  The sauce was amazing!  I liked it so much, I put it on my couscous too! 

Melissa got this recipe here by Cat Cora.  Being that I am not experienced with this type of cuisine, I did not make any changes to the recipe (well, aside from the kind of chicken I used).  I cut down on the amount of chicken I was making, because only two of us were eating it.  But I made the full amount of the sauce.  I had some leftover, but it was so good I am glad I made more than enough of it!