Granola Bars

A while ago I decided that I was tired of spending a ton of money on granola bars that were loaded with ingredients that I didn't want my kids eating.  Sugar was the main deterrent for me, but I've been trying to cut out preservatives and artificial anything, as well.

After trying a few different recipes, I finally found one that I liked with minimal tweaking on ingredients.  I love the versatility of the recipe because I have added different ingredients so it's not always the same, boring granola bar.  The result is delicious!!

Some variations we have tried and loved include:

1/2 C crunchy peanut butter (this makes a denser granola bar)
1/2 C Chocolate chip/peanut butter chip mix
1/2 C shredded coconut
1/2 C raisins

You can view the original recipe here: (Note - I omit the sliced almonds and use quick oats.  If you don't have wheat germ on-hand, you can substitute an additional 1/2 C of quick oats - or use the suggestion at the bottom of the recipe to grind 1/2 C of quick oats.)

Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
½ cup wheat germ
1 cup sliced almonds
½ cup of semi- or bitter-sweet chips or chunks (about 3 ounces)
½ cup dried cranberries or cherries
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-square-inch baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. For bars’ easy removal, line pan bottom up the two sides with a 9- by 18-inch strip of heavy-duty foil. Grease foil with vegetable cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Turn into prepared pan and pat down until firmly packed. Bake until golden brown about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature and put pan in freezer.

When firm, use foil handles to remove bars from pan. Remove foil and use a long, sharp knife to cut bar into 16 1- by 4-inch bars. Can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week or frozen.