Fruit and Nut Bars

4 PB&J, 8 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and 4 Apricot-Almond

I started eating Larabars a few months ago.  I really like them, but they are expensive!  I can get them at Sam's Club for a good price, but the flavors are limited.  My kids also enjoy eating Larabars.  Since they are pretty big, I usually split them in half and let the kids share one (or my daughter takes half of mine from me).  I looked into buying the smaller size, but they were expensive- especially since there aren't any in stores around here, so I would also have to pay shipping.  A friend of mine sent me a recipe from Enlightened Cooking for homemade Lara-Type Bars.  I found a good price on dates and decided to make my own.  I made PB&J, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Apricot-Almond.  When I made the PB&J, I wasn't paying attention and ended up adding more dried cherries and dates than the recipe called for.  I think I liked the texture better with the extra dried fruit.   The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Apricot-Almond would have been better if I'd used more dried fruit.  They turned out a little too nutty and crumbly.   I am posting the proportions that I plan on using next time. I really like the taste of all the bars.  If you are interested in other flavors, check out the Enlightened Cooking blog, she has a great list of flavors.

PB&J Bars

1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup dates, chopped (you can also use raisins)
1/3 cup peanuts

1) In a food processor, chop the cherries and dates until they form a soft paste.  Move to a mixing bowl.
2) Place the peanuts in the food processor and pulse until well chopped.
3) Add the peanuts to the dates and cherries in the mixing bowl. Knead until the nuts are mixed throughout the dates and cherries.
4) Form into 2 large or 4 small bars.  You can also roll into balls.
5) Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them..



Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

1/3 cup dates, chopped (you can also use raisins)
1/3 cup almonds
2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon

1) Chop the dates in a food processor until they form a soft paste.  Place in a mixing bowl.
2) Chop the nuts and chocolate in the food processor, until they are very finely chopped. Add to the mixing bowl.
3) Add the vanilla and cinnamon to the bowl. Knead until the nuts and chocolate are mixed throughout the dates.
4) Form into 2 large or 4 small bars.  You can also roll into balls.
5) Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them.

Apricot-Almond Bars

6 tablespoons chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup dates, chopped (you can use raisins)

1/3 cup almonds

1) In a food processor, chop the apricots and dates until they form a soft paste.  Move to a mixing bowl.

2) Place the almonds in the food processor and pulse until well chopped.

3) Add the almonds to the dates and apricots in the mixing bowl. Knead until the nuts are mixed throughout the dates and apricots.

4) Form into 2 large or 4 small bars.  You can also roll into balls.  

5) Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them.

Cube Steak Sandwich

This sandwich isn't pretty, but don't judge it based on its looks.  This sandwich is very simple and tastes great.  I think that chicken-fried steak is still my favorite use of cube steak, but this sandwich comes in as a close second.  This recipe came from the Pioneer Woman's blog.  I came across the recipe in her cookbook and then I saw a friend post the link to this recipe on Facebook.  I love the Pioneer Woman because so many of her recipes are similar to things I grew up eating and her cooking style is very similar to mine.  I'm learning that if you didn't grow up in the Midwest, or have family that lives there, you probably didn't grow up eating a lot of cube steak.  Even though I grew up in Florida, I have family in Iowa and Oklahoma, so grew up eating cube steak occasionally at home and on vacation.  It really is a tasty cut of meat, and it is usually pretty inexpensive.  I used 3/4 pound of cube steak for 3 sandwiches, but you could easily use more meat. I decided to add some muenster cheese to the sandwich and I'm glad I did.  The sandwich was already really flavorful, but the cheese added a little something extra.  My 4 year old ate his half sandwich that I  made for him. I originally left the onions off of his, but he added some and ate them with the sandwich.  I didn't make my own bread for this sandwich.  I'm still learning how to shape bread, so I bought some really good steak rolls.  I am going to provide the link to the Pioneer Woman's recipe instead of typing it up on my own.  Her instructions are great and I didn't make any changes to her recipe, other than adding cheese and the amount of meat I used. Enjoy!

Roasted Veggie Sticks

I wanted to do something fun with roasted vegetables and dip for Meatless Monday.  I started thinking about how much fun it is to dip veggie sticks into dip...then I came up with this recipe.  It was very easy to make and tasted great.  This could be used as a main dish, side dish, or as an appetizer.  I chose the seasonings for the vegetables because they were the same seasonings found in the parmesan peppercorn ranch dressing I was using for the dip.  I also made a second dip using some green goddess dressing mix and sour cream that I had on hand.  Both dips were fun and went well with the vegetables.

Roasted Veggie Sticks

1 8oz package baby bella mushrooms
1 pound fingerling potatoes cut in half (you can also use red potatoes and quarter them)
4 carrots, cut into sticks
1 zucchini, cut into sticks (similar to pickle spears)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1) Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat (optional, but makes cleanup easier)
2) Mix the olive oil, salt, parsley, dill weed, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl.
3) Place the potatoes and mushrooms on the baking sheet and toss with half of the olive oil mixture.
4) Bake for 20 minutes.
5) Turn the potatoes and mushrooms. Add the carrots, zucchini, and remaining olive oil mixture.
6) Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until carrots are warm, but still a little crunchy.
7) Serve with your favorite dipping sauces.  I recommend parmesan peppercorn ranch dressing.

Peas

 I joined a "Seed of the Month" club last year and have enjoyed getting seeds in the mail every month.  Last fall, one of the packets of seeds I received was for peas.  I had some free space in the garden, so I planted them in early January.  I only planted 10 seeds and 6 of them sprouted.  Today I harvested 12 pea pods.  I will probably harvest more in a week or two. I shelled them and placed the peas in boiling water for 2 minutes.  They were delicious!  It was a small harvest, but I'm glad I tried peas.  Next winter I will be sure and plant more of them.

Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

Parmesan peppercorn ranch and bleu cheese are my two favorite salad dressings to get when I go out to eat.  I posted a recipe for bleu cheese dressing in December and have spent some time tweaking my parmesan peppercorn ranch recipe in the last few months.  The pink-ish color in the dressing comes from the paprika.  I love this on salads, but it makes a great dip for vegetables, too.  My son dipped fish sticks in it the other night and loved it.  He calls it "spicy ranch," even though it isn't really that spicy.  This will keep in the fridge until your buttermilk expires.  I will post a recipe on Monday for warm veggies that can be dipped in this dressing.

Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon instant minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon (or more) freshly ground pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika

1) Mix all ingredients.
2) Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hour to blend flavors.  Stir well before serving.

Lettuce Wraps

I made these lettuce wraps using vegetables that were in my fridge.  I wanted to have a fun dipping sauce to go with it, so I made the peanut sauce from my favorite stir-fry recipe.  These were really simple and tasted great.  I used iceberg lettuce for the wraps because I couldn't find bibb lettuce.  I think that the bibb would have been sturdier than the iceberg lettuce.  Feel free to use any stir-fry friendly vegetables you want, just make sure they are cut small enough to fit in the lettuce wraps.

Lettuce Wraps

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 package white mushrooms, chopped

2 carrots, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup red cabbage, chopped

8 iceberg lettuce leaves (cut in half if they are large)

Peanut sauce for dipping

1) Heat olive oil and sesame oil over medium heat in a large skillet. 

2) Add all vegetables and saute for 7 minutes, stirring frequently.

3) Place a small amount of the vegetables into each lettuce leaf.  

4) Dip in peanut sauce and enjoy.

Spring Garden

I thought I'd post a few pictures of my spring garden. It doesn't look like I will have any eggplant, tomatoes, beans, or peppers for the county fair next weekend.  I may have a cabbage and some carrots, but we really like eating those, so I don't know if I will submit anything this year.  The fair is a little early if you ask me!

Pineapple sage.  It smells just like pineapple and is great in fruit salads and salsa.

 Container Garden.  I'm in the process of harvesting the carrots, beets, onions, and lettuce.

 Recently harvested carrots. Yummy!

 Strawberries in my son's Earthbox.

 Heirloom tomato in my son's Earthbox.

 Square-foot garden with kale, parsley, marigolds, thyme, heirloom tomato, basil, hyssop, dill, pineapple sage, and beans.

 Red cabbage.

 Sweet potato vine.  I have 4 of these in the garden now.

 Cherry tomatoes and marigolds.

 Green cabbage.  I harvested this for St. Patrick's Day.

Celery.  It's my first time growing it.