Monday, March 9, 2009

Crispy Rice Treats?

Well, the good news is that I have finally gotten out of my rut and I've started cooking again. Thank you to the 4 people who still read my blog (other than family and people who love me)! I'm cooking again and it's pretty good and for the most part healthy. Yay! Unfortunately, the amount of time I'm limited to because of school and subbing has gotten even smaller thanks to my furry sous chef.
Who would think that this fluffy little dog would leave mountains of dog hair around our cozy little home? Like for the first time in my life I understand the need to vacuum every. single. day. And with all the rain and mud in the back yard, yep, there's mopping pretty damn often too. It's a good thing she's so cute and loveable and happy or I'd start to get annoyed that my dog has turned me into a clean freak.

Also, challenging and new, I've given up both butter and dessert for Lent because I'm Catholic and that's what we do. Although I have relaxed the rules a little because I will eat things made with butter. And I have had a cookie or 15 as "after school snacks". In fact yesterday I had a slice of pie at midnight, which didn't follow a meal, so clearly that was a "midnight snack".

These delicious Crispy Bars are another fine example of a snack. Except these are really healthy. While I was on the couch with my bronchitis/stomach flu blend I was watching Ellie Krieger during a brief moment of consciousness (before I realized that the Food Network wasn't the best thing to watch while nauseous) and she made these and immediately I was curious.

Fast forward a week or so and I was healthy again and on a mission to make these bars. The most difficult thing about them (besides waiting a half hour for them to set) was finding the crispy brown rice cereal. I never did find it. I found puffed brown rice. Then I was praying that they turned out okay because I did NOT want to eat this cereal without slathering it in peanut butter and honey. And the peanut butter I used is my new favorite. It's Mighty Maple and mighty delicious! Overall I was totally pleased with this snack. It's healthy! It's delicious! I am definitely making it again to get rid of the excess puffed brown rice cereal!

Crispy Rice Treats

1/2 cup honey
6 cups puffed brown rice cereal
2/3 cup assorted chopped fruit (I used apricots and cherries)
cooking spray

Combine honey and peanut butter in a large pot and heat over medium-low heat until melted, about 2-3 minutes. Add brown rice cereal and dried fruit and stir to combine until mixture is sticky. Press into a 9x13x2" pan sprayed with cooking spray. Let cool, then chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Cut into 15 squares.

11 comments:

Amanda said...

Dogs will do that to you. I was sweeping down the stairs last week and ended with a hairball bigger than my cat. It was dis.gus.ting. And my sweeping/swiffering is always, always followed by vacuuming. It's lots of work to keep up with a pet, but so worth it.

I loooooove anything like a rice krispy treat--and making it with puffed brown rice and peanut butter sounds great.

And yes--when sick, it's best to stick to Law & Order. :) Glad you're feeling better & back in the kitchen!

grace said...

no more butter OR dessert? you're a stronger woman than i. :)
great bars, though--it's such a versatile treat, and i like what you've done!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you're up and feeling better! It seems like everyone has been sick with something in the last 3 weeks.

Yummy-looking treats, and they don't qualify as candy, which is what I gave up. Yay!

Siri said...

You seem to be a well-seasoned lent follower, a Pro at "bending" the rules. Maple PB sounds pretty good just on it's own. And can you believe that I've never made a batch of rice crispy treats/bars on my own? I think that it's a mandatory thing to do if you're a female from the midwest, right?

Sara said...

Of course, you could just do what I do and ignore the fur until it becomes a real menace (say a week). I'm pretty much used to fur these days but I had to stop wearing black when the long hair white cat moved in with me. That part still bugs me.

Those treats look super yummy!

Cynthia said...

I have really given up anything for lent, just resolved to eat properly :)

The Blonde Duck said...

I'm so glad you posted this! I can have my crispy treats and be healthy too!

Megan A. @ Megan Homemade said...

Man, those look good!

Cakelaw said...

These treats look delicious. Puppy is worth the vacuuming - she is so cute!

Honeyed Hashette said...

Our house is the same. Our fluffy boo bear dumps furr like crazy. It is especially bad right before summer and right before winter. We actually bought a special vacuum- the Dyson Animal. Thank God for that sucker (no pun intended). It helps to keep our house furr free. I agree with you that it is a good thing that fluffy puppy of ours is such a sweetie pie. I must love him if I am willing to vacuum three times a week!

Honeyed Hashette said...

P.S. Glad you are cooking again. :)