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Chocolate Chip Oat Crispie Bars

Chocolate Oat Chip Crispie Bars

Spring soccer season has finally begun around here.  I made a double batch of these Chocolate Chip Oat Crispie Bars for the boys to enjoy after their game.  They played their hearts out and lost their game, but I like to think that these treats helped to cheer them up a little.  They are loaded with whole grains and sweetened with coconut sugar and honey.  I think substituting raisins for the chocolate chips would also be a tasty alternative.

Chocolate Oat Chip Crispie Bars

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Chocolate Chip Oat Crispie Bars
Serves: makes 20-24 bars
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1½ cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1¼ cups brown rice crisps cereal
  • ¾ cups chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan or line with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
  3. With a stand mixer, cream together the butter and coconut sugar. Add the honey, egg, and vanilla and mix well.
  4. Add the flour mixture and mix on medium-low speed until just combined. Mix in the oats, and then the brown rice crisps. Do not overmix. Add the chocolate chips last.
  5. Press mixture into the greased baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

 

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Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Whenever I make this vibrant and colorful salad, I feel happy and healthy.  I learned a great tip for making quinoa from Lorna Sass’s book Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way.  She recommends making the quinoa as if cooking pasta, rather than cooking rice.  This means draining the extra cooking water rather than letting the quinoa sit to absorb all of the water.  Ever since I started making quinoa this way, there has been no more mushy quinoa and it’s done perfectly every time. This is my own version of a salad that I once saw at the prepared foods counter at Whole Foods.  It keeps well for several days in the fridge and is great for packing lunches or picnics!

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Black Bean Quinoa Salad
 
Ingredients
  • For the Salad:
  • 1 cup red quinoa, uncooked
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup cooked corn, fresh or frozen
  • ½ red pepper, chopped
  • ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
  • ⅓ cup red onion, finely chopped

  • For the Dressing:
  • 1½ tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon fine grain salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon pepper
  • juice of ½ lime
Instructions
For the salad:
  1. In a medium pot, boil 6-8 cups of water over high heat. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. When the water is boiling, slowly add the quinoa and boil uncovered for 11-14 minutes. After 10 minutes, start checking the quinoa for doneness. The quinoa is done when the "dot" in the middle of the quinoa starts to disappear and when some of the white filaments start to come off the seeds. Drain the quinoa over a fine mesh strainer and let cool.
  2. In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the quinoa with the rest of the ingredients. Add the dressing and mix thoroughly. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper.
For the dressing:
  1. In a small bowl, use a wire whisk to blend ingredients.

 

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Cherry Creme Fraiche with Rock Creek Crisps

cherry creme fraiche crackers

We recently hosted a small recital at our home for my son’s graduation from his Suzuki Cello Book 1.  It seems that I’ve hosted so many recitals for my students before and I’ve always had so much fun coming up with a refreshments menu to serve afterwards. This time was different.  All of a sudden it was my responsibility to make sure that he practiced and could play all 17 of his pieces for memory.  Refreshments were not even on the radar for me this time.  I found myself at Whole Foods the day before his recital with my mind drawing a blank as to what to serve after the recital.  As I wandered around the store, I found samples of these Rock  Creek Crisps.  They were served with  creme fraiche and jam and the whole thing tasted like one delicious cookie.  Yes, please.  A perfect hors d’oeuvre which required practically no effort!

This doesn’t even count as a real recipe, but it’s so good that I’m posting it just so that I keep it in my repertoire.  I used sour cherry jam, but I think almost any flavor jam would be scrumptious.

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Cherry Creme Fraiche with Rock Creek Crisps
 
Ingredients
  • 1 5.3 oz package of Cranberry Multi- Seed Rock Creek Crisps
  • 8 oz. creme fraiche
  • 2-3 tablespoons sour cherry jam
Instructions
  1. Dollop the sour cherry jam evenly over the creme fraiche and use a knife to swirl the jam into the creme fraiche. Serve with Rock Creek Crisps.

 

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