Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

These are an on-the-go oatmeal bar without the artificial ingredients of commercial bars. This is the base for the bars, a recipe easily modified to suit your own tastes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 cup milk

• 2 eggs

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch square pan.

• Step 2

  Combine oats, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Whisk milk, eggs, canola oil, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl. Stir egg mixture into oats mixture until well combined; set aside until flavors blend, about 20 minutes. Spread oats mixture into prepared square pan.

• Step 3

  Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Crispy Potato Wedges

These make for a great side dish. They are spicy and crispy yet fluffy in the middle. They go with everything.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons paprika

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 4 large potatoes, cut into wedges

• 1 cup bread crumbs

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

• Step 2

  Mix paprika, olive oil, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl until marinade is smooth.

• Step 3

  Place potatoes in a baking dish; add marinade and rub into potatoes. Sprinkle bread crumbs over potatoes and coat each wedge well.

• Step 4

  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 355 degrees F and continue cooking until wedges are tender enough to puncture with a fork, about 30 minutes more.

Biscotti Toscani

These twice baked cookies have a delicate flavor, great with vanilla ice-cream, tea, frozen yogurt, or cappuccino.

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup butter

• ¾ cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

• 2 teaspoons orange zest

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• ½ cup toasted almond pieces

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a large baking sheet.

• Step 2

  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and zest. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in almonds. Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12 inches long. Place the loaves 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

• Step 3

  Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

• Step 4

  With a serrated knife, cut diagonally into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

• Step 5

  Place chocolate chips into a small, microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until smooth. Use a spatula to spread chocolate onto one side of each cookie. Let stand at room temperature until set. Store biscotti at room temperature in an airtight container.

Spinach Brownies

This might sound crazy, but stick with me. These savory treats are a great option to get picky kids eating their veggies.

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package spinach, rinsed and chopped

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup milk

• 1/2 cup butter, melted

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. Place spinach in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook until spinach is limp, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in eggs, milk and butter. Mix in spinach, onion and mozzarella cheese.

4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Sugar Coated Pecans

These sweet pecans are wonderful snacks for any occasion.

Ingredients

• 1 egg white

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 pound pecan halves

• 1 cup white sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Grease one baking sheet.

2. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

3. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

Easy Granola Bars

This basic granola bar recipe can easily be modified to fit your tastes. Add nuts, substitute the raisins with other dried fruit, add different grains, the sky is the limit with these granola bars. Shoot! Add some chocolate chips! Yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup wheat germ

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup honey

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.