Recipe Wednesday - Granola Bars

Many of you have seen Angie's helpful weekly menu site and might already be familiar with this recipe. For those of you who have not seen the "Gobble Up Granola" recipe from here, I thought I'd post the version I make. It is super easy and very versatile. (I don't think I've made these the same twice!)

-- Mix together in a large bowl:
2.5 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, chopped apricots, etc)
Dash of Cinnamon and/or
Dash of Nutmeg (these spices are optional and may be substituted with whatever you prefer or feel would go best with your choice of dried fruit)
(Sometimes I replace 1/2 c. of the cereal w/ 1/2 c. of coconut flakes.)

--In a med. saucepan, heat just until boiling:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey

Once it hits boil, remove from heat and add in:
1/2 c. crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pour hot mixture over dry mix and combine thoroughly. If it starts to cool before it is fully blended, stick the bowl into the microwave for about 20 seconds. Once combined, put into a prepared 9x13 pan (I put a layer of aluminum foil in the pan then give that a coat of oil spray). I use another piece of aluminum foil to firmly pack the granola into the pan.
Once cooled, cut into servings. I think the original recipe says it serves 18, but I like to cut these into 15 bars.

Very yummy, easy, and you have a better idea of what is going into these bars. Biju likes nuts, so next time I make them, I'll probably use some peanuts. Like I said - the recipe is very versatile!