Easy-as Muesli Bars

Hey there folks!!

                                                                                     

Screaming through here today throwing a favourite recipe at you as I go.....

                                                                             

I whipped up these easy-as muesli bars yesterday arvo for my kids to pop in their lunchboxes this week. Then posted a pic on Instagram (I'm awhitestyle over there...just sayin...;)) ) ...as you do...and was asked by a few lovelies for the recipe...

                                                                                   

So...here tis......

                                                                       Muesli Bars

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup SR flour
1/2 cup coconut
1/3 cup raw sugar
120 grams butter
1 tblspn honey OR golden syrup

Method

Preheat your oven to about 160 degrees

In a medium sized bowl combine all your dry ingredients

In a small saucepan melt the butter and honey/gold syrup

Now mix the butter mix into the dry mix until all gooey and combined

Press out evenly into a greased/lined slice tin

Bake for approx 15 minutes

When it's cooked pull it out of the oven and now is when you want to cut your slices...then leave it to completely cool

Once it's cold you can pull the pre-cut slices out of the slice tin

                                                                             

I love making this...it is so quick and easy...you can also add pretty much whatever you like to it too.....sultanas...choc chips...dried fruit...apricots...whatever you can think of and stomach really.....
                                                                               
Let me know how you go...I think you may love me forever for this one...?!!?

                                                                                   

Happy Baking peeps....


                                                                 Janelle xx

Cosy Friday Evening.......

Hello and Good Evening!!

                                                                           

Popping in for a quick Friday evening chat .... nope ... no food involved ;))

Tonight we have needles, yarn and lots and lots of snuggliness!!!

                                                                                 

So recently I was very kindly asked by the fabulous crafty of craft store Lincraft to try out a few of their new patterns along with some of their gorgeous new yarn. Errmm....well ok....yes...yes please!!! The pattern book I recieved is full of fab and funky yet achievable projects that I think if you have mastered the basic purl and plain you will have no trouble in whipping up.

                                                                                   

 Now as soon as I opened the page to see this cosy pair of goodness I knew this was what I wanted to click up first!! I have never attempted to knit a sock before...let alone two....but these were honestly one of the quickest, easiest, therefore very enjoyable projects I have knitted in a long time...gotta love that!!

And the yarn...oh yes...the yarn...

It's neutral...it's chunky...it's soft as...and knits up beautifully...

                                                                                     

This particular one is named Equador and is 40% wool 40% acrylic 20% alpaca ... which seems to add up to a strong yet soft product...

And of course most importantly and what we all ultimately dream of as we click clack click away is that the end result looks good...and these socks most definitely are looking...and feeling...damn G.O.O.D. !!!

                                                                               

Whatcha think peeps???

I know what I think...I think I'm trotting off to bed now in my new cosy socks and, to be quite honest, loving myself sick!!!?!

                                                                                 

Have a great weekend folks....
                                                                           
Talk soon....

                                                                                Janelle xx

Chocolate Date Balls

Hey out there!!

Well we have more food here to discuss today...surprise surprise...I appear to be moving slowly towards the food blogger box...I really really like food...mmmmmm....
                                                                               

SO! Let's get baking yes?? Not that this recipe really calls for any actual baking...of any type..or form...we are pretty much going to grab a few ingredients from out pantry, fling them at a food processor, have a little play with our food then throw the said played-with food into our fridges, walk away to do something of which I'm sure is vitally important then when we feel exhausted from all our importanceness (that has GOT to be a word...surely... ;)) we will make a cuppa, open the fridge and proceed to the sofa...played-with food in hand... to sit and scoff.......

                                                                                 

Right.
                                                                               
Now these little balls of gooey chocolatey goodness are a healthy version of the good old Rum Ball...which I kind of hate even saying...as I  do believe that anything I bake for my family is generally healthy...I honestly think if my kids are eating homebaked food that I have made and know every ingredient which has gone into the food  then I am happy...most of my baking is pretty simple with basic ingredients...yes it may contain sugar GASP!!!!! but we only use raw sugar and usually at least halve the original recipe's quantity...I also believe sugar is fine for kids to enjoy and they do in fact need it for energy...just in a reasonable form and quantity...and for goodness sakes brush their teeth!!!! I would also choose sugar over a random scary processed number any day of the week. Aaaannd after spilling out that small rant I will definitely add that I never ever ever think bad thoughts about parent's stocking up on store bought cookies and cakes etc...I think we are all doing what we can to raise happy healthy families and trying to stay a little sane in the process!! I just happen to kind of enjoy/love/obsess about baking!!

Goodness...if anyone is still out there let's get on with this recipe...

                                                                                 

                                                         Chocolate Date Balls

Ingredients

2 cups dates - give these a good wash
1 cup almonds - skins on
3 tablspns dutch or raw cacao powder (I actually just use my normal cocoa powder which is 100%                                                                    cocoa anyway)
1 heaped tablspn coconut oil
1 teaspn vanilla extract
1 tablspn honey
dessicated coconut - to roll

Method

Throw the dates and almonds into your food processor and blitz until they are nice and fine

Now add the rest of your ingredients (except the coconut) and blitz again until it is all stuck together in a big sticky ball

Roll the mixture into small balls, roll in the coconut and place on a plate

Pop in the fridge until ready to eat

                                                                             

Easy right?! I was really quite sceptical about making these...I really do not like dates...but after watching half of the rest of the world making them I figured why not...and surprisingly it's not like eating a date!! Who woulda thought?!! And 2 out of 3 kids gave the thumbs up...the one who didn't is an up and coming chocolate (as in cadbury easter egg type choc) addict in the making anyway so she wasn't having any of this healthy option biz.

Ok...I'm outta here...things to do...biscuits to bake.....

See you next time!!



                                                                                        Janelle xx

Banana Cake

Hi there!!

We are baking up a storm here again...well...a cake at least...technically pretty much whipped up by my eleven year old...and oh my goodness me...it is a G.O.O.D. one!!

                                                                                 

Now I'm kind of not too sure what to exactly call this...it's either a Banana Cake OR Banana Bread...probably maybe more on the bread side of things but it does seem more like a dense-ish cake to me so I think we'll go with cake...this time...quick...before I change my mind!!!!!

                                                                                 

                                                                      Banana Cake

Ingredients

2 cups SR flour
3/4 teasp bi-carb soda
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teasp cinnamon
3 bananas - mashed - the mushier and ripe all the better
2 eggs
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teasp vanilla extract
1/2 cup natural greek yoghurt
70gms butter - melted - I always melt this first so it has time to cool

Method

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees

In a large-ish bowl sift in your flour, bicarb, sugar and cinnamon.

In another bowl mix together your mashed bananas, eggs, golden syrup, vanilla, yoghurt and cooled butter

Now pour your banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir the whole lot together until they are all well combined

Pour mix into a greased and lined loaf tin

Bake for approx 45 minutes...actually have a peek at about 40 minutes...really depends on how hot your oven runs

Once it's all smelling deliciously lovely and cooked remove from the oven and let it hang out in the baking tin for another 5-10 minutes or so, then tip out onto a cooling rack

I strongly suggest you slice into this whilst still warm......it is SOOOOO good!!!!!


                                                                                   

You can either slap some butter onto your slices, eat it plain - which we tend to do - or if you really want to you can make up some vanilla icing to spread on top or really go all out and whip up some cream cheese icing...mmmm....love that stuff on anything and everything really.....ooohh and some chopped walnuts sprinkled over the icing would be perfection!!!

Whatever you choose just please remember I LOVE to hear from you if you do bake up any of my recipes...makes it all alot more fun!!!

                                                                               

I'm now off to experiment with some apple pie making...with fresh-from-the -tree-granny-smiths.....need I say more??!!!

Have a great week folks.....

Happy Baking!!!



                                                                 Janelle xx