September Fun ('13 Edition)

Here are some of the goings on around these parts for the last month.

Kramer kept on looking cute. I'm not sure what she was trying to convey with this expression, but I'm sure it has something to do with walks, treats, food, or scratches.

The first day the daily high temperature dropped below 80, Kramer decided it was time to start using her bed again. Typically she gets to spend the days in here in the winter, rather than her kennel. I think she was trying to move up the start date for the bathroom stays.

Drew and I went to the UCLA game. It was... a great first half! And beautiful weather.

Spotted at the game, this guy. In a full on red unitard. My dad said he saw him the previous week and he wasn't wearing the shirt. Also, I'm pretty sure it's a Power Rangers costume.

Chicken Pomadoro with tomatoes from the garden! Delicious!

Spaghetti using spaghetti squash instead of pasta. It was so tasty and we'll definitely be making it again. What a great low carb alternative!

Granola Bars Revisited

A while back I posted a recipe for granola bars. These bars are great and it's still a great recipe. However, we've made some modifications around here so I thought I'd share the changes.

First, we've pretty much switched to almond butter in our house in general, so I switched the peanut butter for almond butter in the recipe. And, we had to use unsalted almond butter once so I added sea salt to the recipe to make up for it. Turns out I like the bars with a little bit of salt added so that's on the list of ingredients now too.

Almond butter and sea salt.

Second, we had a small portion of dried cherries and dried cranberries around the house and I wasn't using them for anything. One day I got tired of looking at them in the cabinet so I added them to the granola bars. Delightful. So, we either buy dried fruits in bulk to add to the mix or use some of our own dehydrated fruits. We had a big batch of strawberries earlier in the spring and some peaches and apricots from earlier this summer. I chop them up with kitchen scissors and mix them right in.

Dried fruits.

Finally, I didn't have sesame seeds one day and so they didn't get added. I didn't miss them and it was one less thing to buy at the store so they're gone.

So, here's the updated recipe:

Mix the following in a large bowl:

5 Tbsp. melted butter
2/3 cup almond butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup whole flax seeds
1/2 cup ground/milled flax
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tsp. vanilla

sea salt to taste

Then stir in:
1/2 cup steel cut oats
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 bag of dark chocolate chips

dried fruits of your choice

Press into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I usually let them cool for a bit before I cut them and then I store them in the fridge.

Enjoy!