Pumpkin Granola Bars

Ok, finally, no pictures, but ... here's the recipe for Pumpkin Granola Bars that I mentioned in an earlier post:

Pumpkin Granola Bars

3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 by 8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk oats, spices, and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over oats and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. The pumpkin keeps the bars moist, so make sure they are golden and set-you don’t want them to be under baked. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
5. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars. Remove from pan and let cool completely.
Makes 10-12 granola bars*Note-these didn’t last long in our house, so feel free to double the recipe and bake in a 9 by 13 pan.

Slow Cooker Oat Groats

Another new breakfast favorite around here uses steel cut oat groats.

Groats are less processed, therefore healthier. They are also less expensive and with this recipe? They are quick & easy ... not to mention, yummy!

Another of my crew members has taken up this breakfast feature. It is a good job for little people -- no hot stuff, just throw it all together and turn it on. It gives them responsibility and makes them feel so important because ... the family is counting on them!

Prepared the night before it is ready to fit everyone's schedule in the morning:

It works best to use a heavy bowl that can sit in a water bath in your slow cooker. Trust me, clean up is a whole lot easier because the oats stick onto the crockpot in a crusty layer that is hard to get off, not to mention a sorry waste.

Slow Cooker Oats
1 1/2 oat groat
6 cups water
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Handful of raisins

Toss these into your heavy bowl. Place it into the crockpot. Fill crockpot with water up to the level of the water in the bowl. Turn on low for 8-10 hours.
If you'd it chewier, just set the crock onto the keep warm setting.

In the morning, add a sweetener like maple syrup or honey. Garnish with pecans or other nuts if you desire. Or drizzle with cream.
Then sit down and enjoy!

It's just that easy!

Homemade Healthy Chocolate

Coconut oil is VERY healthy for you. About 3 Tbsp. per day is the required amount you should try to ingest for optimal health benefits.

Chocolate, an all time favorite, is a great way to eat coconut oil.

Coconut Chocolate Almond Bark

3/4 cup virgin coconut oil
3 tsp. dutch cocoa
1/4 tsp stevia, to desired taste
1/2 cup sliced almonds (use whole almonds if desired -- or other nuts)

Mix until smooth. Pour into a wax paper lined pan/container. Freeze for 30 minutes. Remove, break into pieces. Enjoy!

Granola Recipe

We've been revamping breakfasts here lately, trying to make them healthier and less expensive along with adding new variations into the menu.

Granola has long been a favorite and for nearly as long, I've been thinking I should try making my own. An interesting recipe showed up in my search called Pumpkin Granola.

It caught my attention because we have a lot of pumpkin and hubbard squash from the bounty of last summer's harvest and I'm needing more ways to use it up.

WELL! This is a HIT!

Even if you don't like pumpkin, you should give this a try. Pumpkin Granola is absolutely delicious! Filled with flavor, spices and health! Inexpensive too, I might add. This one scores high all around for taste, health, cost and ease of preparation!

Eat it plain. Or use it for topping yogurt or ice cream, porridge or pudding. As a cereal with milk, it's better than all others ... or mix it with others.

And when you've tried that. Try making Pumpkin Granola Bars -- similar, but definitely easier to pack & neater in the car.

Pumpkin Granola just can't be beat!

Oh, btw, we have found that hubbard squash is wa-a-ay better than pumpkin in most recipes. It is sweeter, smoother and denser(not as "watery"). The picture below is a hubbard squash beside a size 12 shoe:



Where do you find hubbard squash, you say? At Klasse Woods Natural Farm, of course! Our biggest hubbard in 2010 weighed 47 lbs.! That's a whole lot of 1/2 cup packages for the freezer. Then again I make 1 cup packages 'cause I usually double or quad-ruple the recipe so that I have at least enough for a week, lol!

Nothing like cooking for a growing crew big time ... the easy way? I let one of the crew manage that operation. They love it. So do I! Lol!

Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Granola

6 cups rolled oats
1/4 tsp. ginge1/4 tsp. allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds -- did you know that? I did not.)

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt. Mix well.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into oat mixture and stir until the oats are evenly coated. They will be moist. Evenly spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and stir. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the granola is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and stir in dried cranberries and pepitas. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
*Note-serve granola with yogurt, milk, or enjoy plain.

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Making Music

In some ways, I guess you could call us a musical family.

Singing in harmony is a recent favorite pastime slowly becoming a ministry. It is always a blessing to sing together. Our hearts are filled with praise to the Father!

Making instruments is another pass time. Our oldest two made their first violin at ages 14 and 11. Since then, Carsyn has had another in the making ... will this be the year that it is completed? Going it alone, without an instructor and in between summer farming seasons draws out the process, but progress is once again being made now that it is winter.


Mostly carved by hand, this project requires a lot of patience, precision and persistance.

Awesome flaming on this piece!


It is so good to see profitable & productive pass times.

The Winner Is ...

Corbyn's can crusher @ Rosehill won the contest -- $100.

Way to go, Corbyn!

Dream Dog

A boy's best friend is his dog, right? And every boy dreams of hooking his dog up to a wagon ... or a sleigh, right?

Our boys did! They have a dream dog!

Misty, willingly pulls firewood through the snow on the sleigh. She makes the job faster & funner!

After practice with the wood, Misty was "trained" and now gives 2 year old (tomorrow is her B-day)"Taya" fun, fast rides too... Faith Mattaya knows how to hang on really tight. She loves it!! It's one of the joys of living in a house full of boys!

Poplar Project Complete

Do you recall the poplar project that our young men started last spring? Well, the whole project took 9 months, but it is now complete & functional.


The feeling of accomplishment is so rewarding. A bunk bed for our six year old twins. They are thrilled with their new bed(s).

It was a long drawn out process. Cutting the trees ... peeling off the bark ... drying the logs took the longest though it was no work at all, lol! ... then cutting the tenons & putting the pieces together ... Corbyn did the lacquering after-hours at the cabinet shop where he works (added blessing) ... finally, assembly and testing was so good to see!





Along the way, the guys have found other uses for their tenon cutters:
... Corbyn designed a can crusher for a contest at his workplace. The boss challenged his workers to come up with something for the lunch room -- rather than purchasing a can crusher. Functional & fun though not at all like the other entries, lol!:


... a tree stand ladder that is both functional and camouflaged:

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Debt- Free for Life by David Bach is available for free download today only, January 5, 2011.

Thanks,Money Saving Mom.