Elfie's trip is coming to an end

 Friday is Elfie's last day here before he heads back to the North Pole with Santa. He has been one busy guy! I wanted to share some of the pictures from the last week and a half. Not everything got documented with mommy being sick (it took everything I had to just move him some nights!) but he did make it to a new spot every night. His big finale on Friday morning will include him bringing the boys their new Christmas Eve pajamas. It sure has been fun including him in our Christmas tradition, looking forward to spending the year coming up with new ways to use him next year!

A toy parade!! (Ignore the dirty carpet, waiting until Spring to deep clean it)

Elfie brought green waffle batter

The finished product

A movie (Got it free with my Disney Movie Rewards!)

Hanging out...Jeremy says he must not be a real man if he's sitting like that;)

Popcorn and m&ms for snack

Chillin' in the tree

Getting ready for Christmas

 Besides shopping, decorating, baking, crafting and creating memories there is another aspect of Christmas that has become a tradition in our house. That is the great toy clean-out that takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Actually, this has become a ritual that takes place before all gift giving holidays in our house (see this post around birthday time). We are blessed with lots of family which means several very spoiled little boys and more toys than they know what to do with. So before we take in more stuff we make an effort to go through the old. This process involves throwing out the broken toys, donating the ones that are no longer being used, and reorganizing the toys we are keeping.

While it is tempting to tackle this by ourselves to get the job done quicker and more efficiently, this is something we try to involve the boys in. First of all, their stuff = their responsibility. We certainly did not pretend to be tornadoes and hurl toys throughout every crevice of the house. It is our hope that in helping pick up the messes they make they will one day think about that before making said mess. Secondly, we like to use it as a teachable moment. If we were to just go through their stuff and pick and choose what to get rid of with out talking to them one of two things would happen...they either wouldn't notice or they would be very upset. Not to say there aren't still some grumbling moments when we involve them, but they do understand the purpose. We try to teach them that not everyone is as fortunate as us and so part of being blessed with lots of nice stuff is passing that blessing onto others who don't have as much as we do. When we come across an unused toy we remind them that it no longer gets played with and that some other little boy or girl might find a lot of joy in that toy. We then have them place it in the donation box. This way it isn't being done to them, it is something they are doing.

We tackled this project during the week and I have now moved onto their dressers. This is more of a me job and something that I am hoping will help me stay on top of laundry better. It is such a deterrent to put laundry away when their drawers are already overflowing. So I am starting at the bottom by packing up Isaiah's 0-6 month clothes then working through Jordan's too small stuff and finally Nathan's. The beauty of 3 boys is that they can just move right from one dresser to the next until I hit small fry and then they get packed away. One of my favorite things about getting their rooms organized is that it motivates me to do other areas of the house. It will make this holiday season that much less stressful when we aren't working around clutter and trying to find a spot for our new stuff.

What are some of the organizational ways that you get ready for Christmas? 

What's that elf been up to?

Another week of fun as Elfie found new ways to entertain us every morning. Here's a look at what he's been up to:

Mommy forgot to get out the Christmas books so Elfie dug them out of my closet for me:)

Hanging out with the Nutcrackers

Parachuting back from the North Pole and got stuck on our light fixture (Nathan says he must have blown in through the window!)

Getting handy on the boys' tool bench

Brought the boys hot chocolate and marshmallows, Jordan was VERY excited!

Spending some time with his old pal Mrs. Claus

Puzzles (I got them free with my Disney Movie Rewards) with a note saying that Santa sent them after Elfie reported that they were so good for daddy the last two nights while mommy was at Christmas parties

Let me say that I think Elfie is just as fun for us as for the kids. And they are really starting to get into it. Every morning they ask where he is and go on a hunt if he isn't in plain sight. If he is up high or on top of something Jordan often yells at him to get down. This morning was the cutest, after putting together our puzzles Jordan walked up to Elfie and thanked him for bringing them. The only downfall is when we forget to move him...twice this week I have had to do it at 2:00 am when I woke up with Isaiah and realized I had forgotten. But it's worth it! Stay tuned, who knows what Elfie will do this week:)

Homemade Whole Wheat Graham Crackers

In the midst of all the crazy holiday food I thought I would take a minute to share a recipe I recently stumbled upon that you will actually feel good about giving your kids. While my effort to move away from prepackaged snacks and try to prepare more at home has taken a back seat to the holidays, I know that this will be a habit I resume when the craziness subsides. My newest discovery is homemade graham crackers. These were really easy and turned out quite delicious. And you can vary them if you prefer chocolate.

Here is the recipe I followed. I replaced the sucanat with brown sugar, making these all ingredients I had on hand. Some suggestions based on my experience:
*If you like these thick, stick to this recipe. If you want to stretch the recipe or prefer thinner graham crackers, split the dough between two cookie sheets instead of one.
*The longer you leave them in the oven after turning it off the harder they will get so keep an eye on them and take them out based on your preference.

This is what my dough looked like before hand (no pictures after cooking but they look like the original posters):

My kids have been eating them up, so they get my seal of approval:)

Christmas Crack

I am starting this post with a warning - If you are trying to lose weight or maintain your figure during this holiday season, this is not the recipe for you. Just stop reading right now because once you know about the crack, you won't be able to go back!! Okay, you've been sufficiently warned.

I stumbled upon this recipe and heard hundreds of raves about it on a baby site I am on. I avoided looking further into it because something about the name made me think it was going to be some white peppermint concoction which, while I don't mind in small doses during the holidays, isn't exactly my favorite. But after having it come up over and over I finally gave in and read the ingredients. From that moment on I knew I had stumbled onto something amazing. Let me just say...I had no idea. This is the end result (trust me, no picture can do this justice...you have to taste it!):

What's in it you ask? Really...you're sure you want to know? Okay, here it is:

CHRISTMAS CRACK
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter (real butter tastes best)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips
1 layer saltine crackers on a greased or lined baking tray (it takes 1 1/2 to 2 sleeves of saltines to fill a 12x17 jelly roll pan)

Directions:
- Grease your pan (it works best to have a cookie sheet or other pan with sides). I tried parchment paper to avoid a mess but the toffee mixture got under it and made it stick to the pan anyway.
- Put one layer of saltine crackers onto the greased pan - set aside

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Melt together butter and brown sugar. Boil for 3 minutes while stirring non-stop

- Pour butter/sugar mixture over crackers and spread evenly across all the crackers

- Bake at 400F for 5 minutes
- Sprinkle 1 bag chocolate chips over the tray and let sit until you can spread the chocolate over the crackers

- Let cool in the fridge or other cool place until chocolate is hardened.
- Break apart into pieces and enjoy!

I have been keeping mine in the fridge because I like it cold but it should keep in a sealed container for up to a week. But I dare you...no, double dog dare you to keep it around that long. I know it won't last in our house!!

Elfie update

I just wrote about Elfie the other day (here) but I thought I would update every Saturday so you all can see what he has been up to during the week.

Let me start by saying that shortly after posting last time Jordan, the boundary tester, had already touched Elfie to see what would happen. Now for those of you who actually know my children, you know that this is so in Jordan's character. And falling right in step Nathan, the rule follower, was the one who was upset by this because he knew it meant that Elfie would lose his magic and not be able to get back to the North Pole. So in an effort to ease Nathan and teach Jordan a lesson (yeah right!) we had Santa call and tell them that if they were good boys and cleaned their room he would send more magic dust for Elfie. Ah, what an eventful first day!

Day 2 we decided to have some fun with Elfie. He must have gotten bored during the night because he rounded up all of the boys' Toy Story friends and got into a snowball fight with some mini marshmallows:

He was outrageously outnumbered and lost horribly!!

Day 3 Elfie brought something special, a Fisher Price Nativity Set. The funny thing behind this is that Jordan has been admiring my decorations and asking if he can have them. I told him when he is bigger and has his own house he will get a box of all his own ornaments and maybe he can have some other things too. Daily he points at one of my nativity sets saying he wants that in his box. So Elfie had a note that said he noticed how much the boys had admired mommy's nativity and that he wanted them to have one of their own to play with:

 Day 4 Elfie decided he needed a birds eye view to keep really good tabs on the boy so he found himself a spot on top of the grandfather clock:

I am excited to say that this morning was the first day I saw them really talk about Elfie as if he was magical. The other days Nathan would say, "Who moved Elfie there?" and things like that. Today when I asked him how he thought Elfie got there he told me this elaborate story of how he climbed his way to the top. Then he proceeded to talk to him and tell him to get down from there. I am glad to see him letting go and getting in on the fun. I will continue to keep you updated on Elfie's adventures...who knows where he will end up next!!

Elfie is here!

This year we are starting a new tradition in our house. We are going to have a little visitor for the month of December that I am hoping will help keep the kids in line. Hey, a mom needs all the help she can get!! I am talking about our new elf, Elfie. He was assigned to our family by Santa to watch the kids and report their behavior directly to Santa each night. He showed up this morning with a little gift for the kids:

Elfie with the advent calendars

I got this idea from Hallmark who sells Elf on A Shelf, a book and creepy little elf doll. I decided I would rather have this chubby faced elf to look at each day so I bought my own. Not to mention, I got it for $8.00 versus the $30.00 Hallmark was charging. I set this up by telling the kids last night all about Elfie and how he was going to show up each morning while they were sleeping and watch them throughout the day. Every night when they fall asleep he will go back to the North Pole to tell Santa how they did that day. The rule is that they are not allowed to touch him because he will lose his magic and won't be able to get back to the North Pole and Santa will assume they have been naughty. On Christmas Eve he will go back home with Santa for good. I also told them that he may occasionally bring back gifts from Santa. I have to say this morning was a little anti-climatic...I got up and the kids hadn't even noticed him. We went on a hunt and when I finally pointed him out Nathan exclaimed, "He's not real mom." He was looking for a REAL elf. Not as excited as I thought they would be but I am hoping as each day goes by they will get more into it.

I have gotten some really cute ideas on different ways to set him up each day so I am going to have fun playing around with that. Expect a weekly update with pictures of Elfie and his adventures. What are some traditions you are starting in your house this year?

Baby Dedication

This past weekend was one of the two weekends of the year devoted to baby dedications at our church. In the month leading up to it parents of little ones who are interested in taking part in this weekend take a class to learn what our church believes in regards to baby dedication. For those of you not familiar, a baby dedication is a ceremony in which believing parents, and sometimes entire families, make a commitment before the Lord to submit a child to God's will and to raise that child according to God's Word and God's ways. This is not the same as baby baptism, a practice we don't believe in as we think it is a personal choice to be baptized and something a child should do willingly at an age of consent.

Having taken part in the class and agreed to our church's beliefs about baby dedication we made the decision to not only dedicate Isaiah, but also Nathan and Jordan as we were not members of a church when they were born. Sunday morning we got them all dressed up and waited for the family who was going to be attending to show up at our house.

This was the first time the boys had been in service with us as they are normally in their individual kids classrooms so we were a little apprehensive of how they would do. Jordan wasn't thrilled to be missing out on his class so he was not as cooperative as we would like (shocker!) but Nathan loved worship and was clapping and dancing to the music. Before we knew it it was time to go up on the stage. There were two other families, both with baby girls named Sophia, and we all waited as our pastor shared with the congregation the importance of what we were committing to. He then asked us if we were committed to God, to our marriage and to raising our child(ren) in a godly way. He also asked the church to do their part in praying for us and walking along side us as we take on this mission.

The boys did great on stage, Nathan was funny because he kept watching himself on the big screen and making all these funny movements to see if the boy on the screen would follow. It was awesome having Jeremy's family there with us and while I missed my family I knew they were all there in spirit. We feel so blessed to have all of these people supporting us as we commit to raising our sons to be men of God. It is such a huge responsibility and I am comforted knowing we are not going it alone. I am excited to take this journey, I know it will not all be easy but I believe God's promise in Proverbs 22:6, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."










 

A Woman After God's Own Heart

I am so excited to be diving into a new book with my woman's Bible study. We have chosen A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. This wasn't even my first choice but as I browse through it and begin to look at the message I realize that this is exactly the book I need to be reading in this moment and time. It deals with the topic of priorities starting with God and moving through husband, children, our homes and our ministry. This is an area where I have been really convicted lately. I feel like I am not being a good steward of the time God has given me, especially when it comes to home and family.

I was just doing a devotional last night that touched on Proverbs 31:27 "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat of the bread of idleness." This is something that I need to be praying on daily. Not only does it remind me that I am in charge of the presentation of our home, but that watching over the affairs of my household includes being aware of the needs of my family members. I am lucky that I am able to stay home to raise my children and meet my husband when he walks in the front door. I want to treat that job with the respect it deserves and give it my all. I can honestly say I am not doing that at this point.

I look forward to sharing more with you as I get into this book as I know that God is going to use it in powerful ways to speak to where I am at in life right now. I love that He is patient with us as we grow into the women of God He has designed us to be. I know that this will be a life long transformation and I pray that I will continue to do it with an open heart and that God makes me transparent so that in the areas I stumble He can be glorified.





 

Chicken, Chicken, Chicken....did I mention Chicken???

I mentioned awhile back that I was getting a great deal on some chicken from Zaycon Foods. So last Saturday we picked up our 40 lbs and drove 20 lbs of it to my in-laws. I took my 20 lbs home and decided to spend some time getting them meal ready to save me time down the road. All in all I prepped the chicken for 11 meals and had about 5 lbs of chicken left to freeze and use later. Here is the chicken all chopped/sliced/trimmed and separated by Ziplocs:

Here are the recipes I am using the chicken in (this is the list I am keeping on my computer for reference, hence the notes). In most cases I just cut up the amount of chicken needed in the recipe and then wrote on the Ziploc. Those that were supposed to be marinated, I tossed in the marinade as well before freezing. For the fajitas, I even through in the onion and green pepper. Talk about ready to serve! To be even more organized, I used the dry erase board above our chest freezer to write down all the meals so all I had to do was glance at it when doing my meal planning. Anyway, here is the list, hope you find some new things to add to your dinner menu:)

1. Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Cheddar Mustard Sauce (4 chicken breasts)
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/pretzel-crusted-chicken-breasts-with-cheddar-mustard-sauce/

2. Chicken Nuggets x2 (2 lbs cut into small chunks)
Deceptively Delicious (pg. 75) - This is a cookbook I have, you add pureed broccoli to the egg when dipping your chicken...tasty and nutritious!

3. Breakfast Casserole (2 cups cubed chicken)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Breakfast-Casserole/Detail.aspx
* Use 2 cups chicken instead of ham, mix French onion mix into sour cream instead of raw onions

4. Chicken Tacos x2 (2 lbs cut into ½ inch pieces and marinated)
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chicken-tacos-52514.aspx
*Cook marinated chicken instead of adding sauce later

5. BBQ Chicken Salad Sandwiches (1 ½ lbs , halved and marinated)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Barbecued-Chicken-Salad-Sandwiches/Detail.aspx

6. Chicken Fajitas x2 (2 lbs cut into ½ inch strips, marinated plus gr peppers and onions)
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/easy-chicken-fajitas

7. Chicken Enchiladas (2 cups chopped)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-chicken-enchiladas-2/detail.aspx

8. Nacho Chicken Casserole (2 cups cubed) double for 1 meal
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Nacho-Chicken-Casserole/Detail.aspx

9. Chicken Spaghetti (2 cups cubed)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/

10. Anniversary Chicken (6 half breasts)
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/anniversary-chicken-i/Detail.aspx

Christmas Card 2010

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Me Times Three

 
As I was trying to wrangle all 3 kids by myself at bedtime last week, I begin to think about how nice it would be if there were 3 of me.  Those nights when my husband is working night shift and I am being pulled between bigger boys who want help getting pjs on, brushing teeth, and having a story read to them all while baby is getting fussy and wanting to be cuddled/fed are almost enough to make me crazy. Somebody's needs are always being put on hold and by the time all is said and done I am just worn down. That particular night I let my imagination wonder to a place where there were three of me, one for each child. They would never want for my attention because there would be a mommy for each of them. This surely would make life easier.

I figured as long as I was going down this path, why not clone myself a few more times and really make life easy. I decided that 6 of me would be enough to get the job done. As I said earlier, 3 of my clones would be devoted to my children. Number 4 would be for my husband. Not that he is overly needy but it sure would be nice to meet his every need and make him feel like he is my number one priority (not that I have ever been great at that but it certainly doesn't happen now that the kids are here and so demanding of my time and attention). This clone would be the one that is always dolled up and smelling good. She would pack all his lunches for him, let him put his feet up when he got home from work, listen to all his stories with full attention, and keep him satisfied in the bedroom. Wouldn't I have one happy husband?

Number 5 would be the work horse clone. She would be the one who accomplished everything around the house as well as attending all of my weekly commitments outside the house. The laundry would always be done, dishes caught up, bathrooms cleaned, yard work completed, meals on the table and when she was done with that she would rush off to attend whatever I had planned that day. How nice would it be to have someone like this around...I think she would be my favorite.

And then there would be number 6. She would be the me that I would be if there were no kids, no husband, no work, no obligation. She gets to do all the fun and leisurely things that so often don't make it on the list. She would sleep in, drink coffee in her pjs while watching her favorite morning shows, bake for fun, do crafts to her hearts content, shop for hours on end, read a book from cover to cover in one sitting, talk on the phone to friends with no interruptions...the list goes on. She would have the good life!

Breaking it up into separate categories like this really makes me realize what all comes with my job. I have a lot on my plate and often that comes with the feeling that I cannot possibly get it all done. But when I stop and think about it I realize that God did not make us clones for a reason. We are each unique and each made for a purpose. He knows the plans he has for us and they are all capable of being completed in the time lines he has provided. If there is more on our plate then we can accomplish, it is most likely our priorities that need changing. I noticed right away that 4 of my 6 clones were devoted to my family. That right there tells me how important they are too me and so that is where I should be spending most of my time. The other stuff is secondary and shouldn't hold such importance in my life. Of course there needs to be balance in all things. There is room for me time and chores are a necessary part of life. But what should come first and be top priority is how I distribute my time between my boys and my husband. I may dream about a life with more than one me, but I am grateful for the one life I have been given. Hectic days, messy house and all.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I know it is October and awfully early for some to be even thinking about the C word. But besides getting my shopping done early, I also like to get a jump start on my Christmas cards. Yes, I am that person who sends them out the day after Thanksgiving:)

As I was browsing through the Shutterfly holiday card choices, I found it hard to settle on just one! In the last year or two I have taken to ordering my Christmas cards online. Not only do they tend to be cheaper, but I can sit at home and fill in my own photos and details and then have them shipped straight to my mailbox. For completely hassle free shopping they even give you the option to let them stamp and mail them for you. Doesn't get much more convenient then that! 

I am narrowing down my choices based on meeting the following criteria:
     * I want something with multiple picture spaces. I want to put at least one picture of each boy, if not also one of all of them together.
     * I prefer a flat stationary card. I have taken to decorating my fridge with pictures of my loved ones from their holiday cards and find these flat cards much easier to deal with.
     * I prefer dark or warm colors to bright sunny ones on my Christmas card. Something about this time of year that lends itself perfectly to those deep colored cards.

Here are my top 3 contenders:
1.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/with-love-chartreuse-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

2.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards/elegant-damask-noir-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93491
3.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards/snowflake-wishes-cranberry-holiday-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

I will say that this may change tomorrow and even next week if I keep giving it too much thought. Some input would be great, which one do you like best? Here are the entire line of holiday cards if you would like to browse a bigger selection: 
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

For those of you planning to ship them out yourselves, they have some pretty adorable address labels as well:
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-address-labels

Shutterfly is currently offering 20% off all holiday cards, you know I love a deal!  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery 

What are your holiday card plans? Do you love to do a picture card or stick to the plain boxed variety? Do you send them out early or the week of Christmas? Share your traditions, picture plans, what you do with the cards you receive. As Christmas gets closer I will post some more about what I do with my cards during the season and when the holidays are over.


***Shutterfly has offered my 50 free holiday cards for writing this post but I am not being compensated in any other way. All of the opinions expressed in this post are solely mine.***

Good food, Great price

In the ongoing effort to feed my family good food at a low price, I have stumbled upon some amazing opportunities that I wanted to share with the rest of you. I love a good deal and most of what I find is passed on from some other wise person so I thought it only fair to continue passing this along.

I wrote awhile back how we had taken part in a CSA where we had a share in a farm and did weekly produce pick-ups. This ended last week and while the idea was nice, it didn't quite meet our standards. Since then we have been turned on to a program called Bountiful Baskets (thank you Kira and Dani!). I can honestly say since the first time we participated, we were hooked. What this is is a co-op of people who pool their money to get produce at reduced prices. You pay $15 (or $25 for organic) for approximately $50 worth of produce. This is what our first weeks pick-up looked like:

2 lb bag potatoes, 2 honeydew, cauliflower, lettuce, 6 ears of corn, 2 cucumbers, 3 pears, several apples and oranges and nectarines, bananas, broccoli

They also have occasional extra offers that you can take part in. For instance, we just added an order of 7 dozen tortillas for $10 to our next weeks pick-up. I would definitely recommend checking out the website and seeing if this is taking place where you live. You check the site Tuesday to place your order and pay and then pick up at a specific date and time later in the week. This has worked better than the CSA for us because we can choose week by week whether or not to participate. The food was also high quality and all things that we would use on a regular basis. I foresee us using being a part of this for a long time.

The second thing I have come across (just today actually) is a similar concept but with meat. This is through Zaycon Foods and right now they are doing there fall chicken sale event where you can get a 40 lb box of boneless chicken breasts for $59.20 ($1.48 a lb). That is a pretty amazing price. They currently are only doing drop offs in Washington, Idaho and Oregon but if you register with your city and state and your area generates enough interest, they may expand. Like the bountiful baskets, there are specific locations and pick-up times and dates depending on where you live. We decided to go in on a box with my in-laws since we have an extra freezer and there are a million things I can do with chicken (posts about this to come I am sure:).

I will keep you posted as I continue to find these bargains. I believe that feeding our families healthy foods shouldn't cost an arm and a leg so I am constantly looking for cheaper ways to get what we use the most of. Feel free to share any of the amazing finds you have come to love. 

Homemade Granola Bars

The first time I laid eyes on these, I knew I had to give them a try. What's even better is that it comes at a time when I am trying to get back to homemade, healthier foods especially for the kids. During my pregnancy I fell  into old habits out of convenience and I am looking to get back to being more intentional about what I am feeding my kids. Now this particular recipe isn't the healthiest one out there, but I know what is in them and that is more than I can say for the boxed version. For those of you who don't care about that kind of stuff can I just say these are worth trying if for no other reason then that they are absolutely delicious. Hands down better than anything you could buy at the store!

Here is the recipe as I followed it:

Thick Chewy Granola Bars
1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar  (I used 1/2 c and that was plenty)
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (total of 10 to 15 ounces)*
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter (optional)**
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon water

*I used 1 cup blueberry craisins, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
**For this batch I omitted the peanut butter...what can I say, I hate peanut butter and I wanted to try some for myself;)

-Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8x2 pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.
-Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts (I pulsed the fruits and nuts in my food processor for smaller pieces but you can leave yours chunky if you like it that way).

-In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry (and peanut butter, if you’re using it) until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan.

-Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.
-Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)
-Once cool, a serrated knife to cut the bars into squares. If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the “glue”, then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.

Next I am going to try them with almonds, coconut, white chocolate chips and dried bananas. I would also like to try substituting peanut butter for homemade applesauce or mashed bananas. I would love to hear the variations you think sound good so feel free to share.