weekly staples

I noticed something funny the other day. The kids finished out all the fruit leathers, gummy snacks, cereal bars, and peanut butter + honey granola bars I had made and I instinctively started on a new batch of all four. And then I realized... working in the kitchen does get easier and... shockingly... more enjoyable! I've been on a mission to swap our weekly staples for homemade versions and the kids and hubby are adapting quite nicely ;)

I thought I would share some of my weekly staples with you. I usually take about 2 hours on Saturday or Sunday evening to make all of the snacks for the week. It's much cheaper, way healthier, and it is a tangible way I can serve my family. Win Win Win!

I already posted about the cereal bars, fruit leathers and the gummy snacks (which I purchased a lego guy silicone mold for and the kids eat them even faster! ;)... But I found an awesome recipe for peanut butter + honey granola bars! Peace out Quaker!

DELICIOUS GRANOLA BARS

1/2 Cup of Local Raw Honey

2/3 Cup of Organic Peanut Butter 

1 Cup of Rolled Oats (for added nutritional benefit, soak your oats before you use them)

2 Cups of Crispy Rice Cereal (TJ's has a good brand with no added sugar)

optional:

raisins or chocolate chips or nuts... you decide! (or add nothing else... they still are tasty!)

Stir the honey in a medium size sauce pan and put on low heat. Stir continuously. The honey should thin out and be very liquid-y but not to a boil. Add the peanut butter and stir until very smooth. Turn off the heat and mix in the oats and the rice cereal. Add Raisins or nuts if you like. If you want to add chocolate chips, wait for mixture to cool a bit or else the chips will melt into the mixture... (which isn't a horrible thing ;)

Lay out parchment paper and dump the mixture on top. Use your hands and form the mixture into a square. Let them harden (or put in the fridge for 10 minutes to speed it up) and then use a pizza wheel to cut into rectangles.

Voila! Yummy and super simple! 

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what are some weekly staples you find yourself making every week? My other staples is homemade chicken broth... but I'll blog about that later!