Honey Bars

Original Recipe HERE

These were an easy thing to make since I had all the ingredients on hand.  I'm not a fan of dried fruit or nuts in something that looks like a dessert-ish bar; it confuses my taste buds and my brain cannot decide whether it's processing a sweet treat or a healthy snack.  In the cup of dried fruit the recipe calls for, I mixed craisins, golden raisins..and mini chocolate chips.  Next time I'll leave out the raisins (which I only included because my kids like them) and go with more chocolate.  I used pecans for my nut selection and thought they worked fine.  Husband remarked that he could detect the honey flavor, and I could smell it while baking, so the "honey" element doesn't get lost.

I used a 9x9 silicone pan, so my bars were pretty thin.  They baked for 19 minutes (should have been 18, but I was feeding the baby) and were done upon removal from the oven.  I let them cool a few minutes and then cut them into two large slabs.  I removed them from the pan (much easier to do than from a regular metal or glass pan) and put them on the rack to cool more quickly.

Ingredients

3 egg whites

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)

1 cup dried fruit

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup all-purpose white flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 chopped nuts

1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8x8 baking pan.

(2) In a large bowl, whisk together salt, flours, nuts, oats, and cinnamon.

(3) Add dried fruit; stir until well-coated.

(4) In a separate bowl, whisk together honey, vanilla, and oil.

(5) In a third bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

(6) Combine dry and wet ingredients until well-mixed.  Fold egg whites into mixture; do not overmix.

(7) Pour batter into pan.  Bake 25 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.

Kid Participation:

* Whisk together dried ingredients

* Whisk together wet ingredients

* Crack eggs

* Pour batter & smooth in pan

Moroccan Inspired Couscous

Original Recipe HERE

My kids liked the raisins and craisins in this dish, which I expected.  They are unpredictable about cauliflower, but since I chopped it up into pretty small pieces, they ate most of it because it was too much work to pick it out.  I offered grated parmesan, goat cheese, and feta to any who wanted them.  I'm the only one who picked the goat, which I thought suited it well.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup Israeli couscous

1/2 red onion, chopped

Dash of ground cinnamon

1 3/4 cups vegetable broth

Small handful of pine nuts, toasted

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped [optional; I used a few shakes of dried]

Small handful of golden raisins

Small handful of dried cranberries

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped

Salt to taste

Directions

(1) In a medium pot over medium heat, add olive oil, couscous, and onions.  Toss to coat.
(2) Add salt and cinnamon.
(3) Meanwhile, in a separate small pot, bring vegetable broth to a boil.
(4) When the couscous is just starting to toast, slowly add in the broth. Stir.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover.  Let sit 10-12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
(5) While waiting, steam cauliflower until fork-tender.
(6) When couscous is done, remove from heat.  Stir in golden raisins, dried cranberries, pine nuts and parsley. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
(7) Add in the cauliflower and gently toss.  Serve warm.

Kid Participation: None.