Another clean-plater & granola bar recipe

Hi friends. Kristin Thomas here - a college friend of Esther's. We've been sharing bento-esque ideas, and we thought you'd like to see the kinds of lunches we've got going out here in Mass. I just started packing my kids lunches in a box this school year. I highly recommend it - they eat better, and the teachers even like me a little more. Without bento, I'm always the mom who forgets the field trip money, or the permission slip, or the brownie patches.... but I digress.

Currently need to do a "big shop" but posted today because I thought the granola bar recipe was worth passing along. I bought this book - Family Feasts for $75 a Week, and I really have not been too impressed. No new ideas about saving $$ for me - sadly, so now I just need to save $13 using the book's ideas in order not to be annoyed! Cannot be a bigger fan of making kids snacks myself so I know what's in there.

The granola bar recipe is adapted from Family Feasts:

Honey Granola Bars

1 1/2 cups granola cereal (I used Quaker Oats)

1 1/2 cups oats

1 cup flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 - 3/4 cup honey

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup raisins, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, cranberries, cherries, almonds - whatever you prefer

1) Preheat oven to 350; grease 9x13 pan

2) combine granola, oats, flour & cinnamon in bowl; in 2nd bowl beat together everything else, except last ingredient - then fold butter mixture into flour mixture until combined, stir in chips/raisins

3) bake until browned & relatively firm. I had to bake mine about 40 mins.

4) when pretty much cooled, slice into bars - once they are in the fridge they get pretty firm.

I'll make these again, but I am going to try another recipe next time, just to be my usual neurotic self.