Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

Looking for an awesome homemade granola bar? Look no more! This one is delicious! I got this recipe on this website via Pinterest and it's on my favorite list now! It's sooo good and, best of all, it's guilt free!  

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars 

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil (or another oil of your choice)
1 cup oats
1 cup TOTAL of any combination of: sesame seeds, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips

In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.

Remove from heat and add one cup of oats.  Choose your favorite combination of coconut flakes, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and mini chocolate chips, to equal a total of ONE CUP. (She just got out her one cup measuring cup and poured in the ingredients until the cup was full.) Pour in and stir well.

Spread mixture into a 8x8 or 9 x 4 inch pan.

Chill for 2 hours, then cut into bars.

Wrap in plastic wrap for a quick grab and go snack!

Juliana

Gift Wrapping - Boxes -

Here's what I did - I transformed those standard white boxes we use for gifts into a classy match of burlap and fabric. I really like the way it turned out! And it can used for any kind of boxes, like the black one. I got this one at Hobby Lobby, painted the top black and added the fabrics. I wrapped the fabric around and glued with hot glue. 

Classy and inexpensive!

Gift Wrapping - Bags -

Lately I've been into gift wrapping. There's nothing like getting a well wrapped gift. I've got some other ideas using boxes, but for now here's my latest creations with bags :) 

Baby's Nursery

I've always loved to do arts and crafts.

I think it's my mom's influence. When I was little she was always working on some DIY project.

When I started decorating my baby's nursery I couldn't find any crib bedding set I fell in love with, so I decided to decorate with things I liked, whether there'd be a theme or not in the end.

So these are the little projects that gave the nursery the "feel" I was looking for:

Rag Flowers

I like how playful it looks and I love the colors!

I used a silky and very thin fabric.

(Find the tutorial here)

Pillow + Flowers

For the flowers I used the cheapest and thinest kind of cotton fabric as opposed to the regular 100% cotton because I didn't want the edges to be very sharp. I had an oversized organic t-shirt I used on the back of the pillow, so it feels VERY soft, and I made the pillow form with another oversized t-shirt I had. On the sides I opted to leave it seamless so I tied 2 bows on each side to make it cuter and it's easy to take it off to wash it.

(Find the tutorial here)

Felt Birds

I'm making more of these birds! Maybe a crib mobile?

They're just so cute and there're lots of cute patterns online!

Felt Frame

Very simple. That's the look I was looking for.

Same fabric as the pillow flowers.

                                                       Sandra

Old Window Project

I love old windows! They are so charming for some reason. This one I found is unique to me. I don't see it very often. So I decided to do a little make over to it and add a little personal touch.

Here's how the window looked like when I got it.

As much as I wanted to keep to original look, there were a few things that were bugging me. So I decided to give a coat of paint without taking away the "antique look" of it. First my wonderful supportive husband sanded a little bit for me (being pregnant, I didn't want to take chances with old lead dust around me). 

I added a coat of white acrylic paint then I distressed it a bit with stain. I wanted to use fabric behind the window pane. So I found this really cute one. Brown and red with birds. Perfect. Just like looking out of the window :) Here's the finished project. Great addition to my living room. I love it! 

Juliana

Chicken Pesto Pasta

A friend of mine gave me the "eye balled" version of this recipe. I just added a few things to it and .. TA-DA .. delicious!!

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

1 package of penne pasta

4 chicken breast chopped 

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion chopped

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 package fresh mushroom

1 jar 6.5 oz of pesto (Kroger brand is a great one) 

3 tomatoes chopped

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (recommended freshly grated)

salt to taste

Cook pasta in salted water according to the directions. In a medium sauce pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil for about a minute. Add the chicken and salt to taste and cook it until is almost cooked through and add the mushrooms. Cook it until chicken is cooked through. Once the pasta is done and drained, add the pesto to it. Mix in the chicken mixture and the parmesan cheese. Add the tomatoes.  You can put more parmesan cheese on top of it for the individual portions.  Done! Simple and so so good! 

Juliana

Caramel-Glazed Apple Cake

This cake is simply AMAZING! So moist and delicious. I got the recipe a while ago when looking through a Costco magazine and it's a must every Fall. 

Caramel-Glazed Apple Cake

CAKE

1 cup packed light brow sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetal oil

3 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 Washington Granny Smith apples cored, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/4 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

2 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

CARAMEL GLAZE

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 9x13 inch pan

2. To prepare the cake, beat both sugars and oil in a mixing bowl until very well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in apples, pecans and vanilla, pour into pan.

3. Bake for 50 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cream. Let cool. In the while preparing the glaze.

4. To prepare the glaze, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in both sugars and salt; cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Add cream and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

5. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer or tooth-pick. Pour on the glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Makes 12 servings. 

Juliana