Monday, September 20, 2010

Raisin-Oat Cereal Bars


One of my new projects is cleaning up my cookbook and magazine collection so that I can fit everything on my bookshelves. As if my three bookshelves weren't enough, they are also scattered under the bed, on the couch, piled by the couch, in the kitchen drawers, and on the stairs. It's definitely time to streamline them and get organized.


Just yesterday, I started with my cooking magazines. Years upon years of subscriptions to Martha Stewart's Living Magazine.

My husband conveniently said "Just throw them away."

"Yeah right", I thought to myself. As if.

At any rate, I got them all out and littered them all over my living room floor. Martha's shining face was everywhere. I don't think my husband was very pleased to spend a Sunday afternoon in this fashion, but I know that I sure enjoyed myself! Sitting on the living room floor, I leisurely perused magazine after magazine, page after page, reveling in the idea of recipes and how they've changed over the past two decades. Some of the magazines predated the start up of the Food Network, back before food and cooking were as popular as they are today. It was fascinating and nostalgic, kind of like flashing back at food and how it's changed over the years.

Along the way, I found several more recipes to try, one of them was this recipe for Raisin-Oat Cereal Bars. I'm not sure why hours of looking at magazines resulted in me fixating on this one simple recipe, but it did. I dogeared this page four years ago, back before my son was born and also back before I even knew what a blog was. Back then I was just as passionate about food, but had no one to share it with. As I made these bars, I was thinking about how grateful I am to be part of the food blogging community, where others share the same passion as I do.

In a large saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and a 10 ounce bag of marshmallows over medium heat; stirring occasionally, until marshmallows have melted,about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Once marshmallow mixture has melted, remove from heat and add in 6 cups of Cheerios and 1 cup of dried cranberries or raisins.

Quickly incorporate the Cheerios and dried cranberries/raisins.

Pour the mixture into a 10x15 rimmed baking sheet (I used a 9x13), that has been lined with waxed paper and has either been sprayed with cooking spray, or coated in butter. Let sit for up to 1 hour before serving.

Notes/Results: Move over Rice Krispy Treats! These are just as tasty and a little healthier. The whole family enjoyed these and I can see myself making these often. So glad I took the time to go through those old cooking magazines and remove the recipes I want to try.

Nutritional Info (Makes 24 bars), Per Bar:
97 calories, 2.4 grams fat, 1.1 grams protein, 19.3 grams carbs, 1.2 grams fiber
WW points = 2

I wanted to take this time to say Thank you!
It really means a lot that somewhere out there, there are people who feel just like I do. People who would be just as floored at the suggestion of throwing away cookbooks or cooking magazines. Those of you who would be just as excited to sit on the floor and go through decades of old cookbooks and cooking magazines. I wish we could sit together and point out recipes, the ones we wanted to try and the ones where we would laugh and say "what were they thinking with that one?" I thought of all of you yesterday. Yesterday, when my husband and my Mom laughed at me for hoarding cookbooks. When they called me ridiculous and laughed in unison. I thought of all of you and I was so happy. So happy that somewhere you were all out there and understood exactly.

27 comments:

  1. Aww thanks Kim! Such a sweet post! (And if you ever want to come over and reel in my cookbook collection, you are oh so welcome to!). it's so funny to me when I talk to some of my friends about food and they look at me like I'm insane...whereas if I were talking to one of you, you would totally get me! Love it.

    These bars sound delicious! I love that they're healthier than rice krispie treats.

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  2. I agree lovely post and these look so cool

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  3. I love that you included raisins!

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  4. Aw...that's so sweet :) I think of all of you as my friends too. The bars look great.

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  5. Why dont you make a kind of scrap book with all the recipes from your martha stewart living favourites, that way you get to keep all your favourites, but you will also clear up loads of space.
    *kisses* HH
    p.s. now that i have an ipad i can get ms living and every day food in digital form, its awesome and doesnt take up any space (plus those mags are hard to find in the UK)

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  6. Haha! I did the same thing with the stack of food mags on my coffee table this weekend! I have a big binder with plastic sleeves and dividers, so I tear out any flagged recipes and file them there. Then the magazines go out to freecycle. I do still have a huge basket full of MArtha mags that go back 4 or 5 years, but I still look back at them! I have them categorized by month, so each month I pull out the issues to flip through for dinner or craft ideas. There is so much in there I rarely buy new magazines.

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  7. "Just throw them away" Is he mad?? I would love to spend the day sitting on the floor going through cooking mags and cookbooks with you. I actually did that for a couple of hours Sunday evening too. Great post. Love ya!

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  8. I love this post! I would have absolutely no problem hanging out with you looking through old magazines :o) This recipe sounds fantastic and with three constantly starving kids I'm so making these. BTW the picture of your handsome little man holding the gooey marshmallow spoon is precious! :o)

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  9. I love this - I am actually always reeling in and condensing. I have over 20 yars of Bon Appetits...(organized by month). Every month I take out a few and browse - looking for seasonal. And I must say the bars do indeed look like they'd give Rice Krispie treats a run for their money.

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  10. What a truly wonderful post. I can so relate (as I'm sure we all can). It's funny you brought that up because every day I look at my very messy pile of cookbooks and think I HAVE to do something about this. When I start going through them I lose myself though, sometimes for hours flipping through the pages. But I really have to do something about them, lol. At least put them in some kind of order because I'm certainly not getting rid of them!! And your bars are awesome! LIke you said, healthier than rice krispy treats and what an adorable helper you had. :o) Great post Kim!

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  11. The cookbooks are easier to organize than the magazines! I wish I hadn't dumped so many Gourmets....now I'm saving everything!!

    Those cereal bars look delish...I bet kids love them. I'd love one, but then I always was a sucker for rice krispie treats!

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  12. Your cereal bars are cool and your son is darling. He looks like a very good helper.

    I'm addicted to cooking magazines and cookbooks. I need to get organized too, but continually put it off because I don't like to throw my old favorites away.
    Sam

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  13. I'm glad you didn't listen to your husband, and that you turned a deaf ear when he and your mother laughed at you.

    Come over anytime, we'll sort through magazines and get inspired to try new recipes!

    Just bring a few cereal bars with you!

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  14. I'm with you, there is absolutely no reason to throw away a cookbook or cooking magazine. If you can still make the recipes and eat the food, they're still good! I like the idea of using cheerios, sounds tasty!

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  16. Love ur blog check out my new food blog http://thedailysmash101.blogspot.com

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  17. It is such a joy to sit and look through cooking magazines. My Bon Appetite collection dates back to 1980. I would never dream of throwing one of them out. I am a little more ruthless with other cooking magazines, I just tear out the recipes I want and toss the rest.
    Mimi

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  18. I loved this post. I would have loved looking through the magazines with you. I have so many printed / torn out recipes that I need to organize. What was your plan?

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  19. Oooh. Healthier than rice crispy treats...I dig it...and I'm sure that my kids would too! Way to organize, Kim!

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  20. Your pile up of cookbooks looks like the pile on my kitchen counter right now. I need to do something with mine soon too!

    Your bars look great with the cheerios and it looks like your son had fun helping to make them! :)

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  21. Oh honey, come over to my house--it is much worse and we could have a field day going through everything! ;-) I have a 10 magazine a day goal right now to go through, pull out what I want and then toss so I am SLOWLY working it! The cookbooks we won't even talk about!

    Great post and I love the cheerios treats! ;-)

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  22. Yup, I think Deb may have us beat!
    But I wouldn't dream of pitching my mags either. And my kitchen mags, books, dishes and gadgets are slowly taking over the house..
    Yummy bars, Elijah would love them. :-)

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  23. Thank you so much for your kind comment on my photo at Tomatoes on the Vine. :-) Your squares look scrumptious and so kid-friendly.

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  24. Kim, we are like two peas in a pod. I love my cookbooks and my magazines. I love going through my cookbooks and magazines and rediscovering them. Unfortunately, there was a time that I had to go through my cookbooks and make some decisions. If not, it was going to get ugly :-) My magazines...I make a point of going through them once a year, and sharing them with friends.

    I am liking these cereal bars.

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  25. I LOVE looking through all my old cooking magazines. And I wouldn't throw them away either. Those cereal bars look good! Never thought of using cheerios.

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  26. Isn't the food blogging community just the best?! FINALLY people I can relate to that think flipping through food mags all day is fun!!
    And these bars sound great--I love the addition of raisins.

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  27. Throw away perfectly lovely recipes? Oh my goodness! ha ha, the men just don't get it, do they? I definitely want to try these out on my kids. Your little one stirring the pot is darling!!

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