Oatmeal, Raspberry, and Peach Snack Bars

This recipe comes from the South Bend Tribune. Every Monday there's a recipe section. Since school's starting, the paper said "for about 50 cents eacy you can make these oatmeal, raspberry and peach snack bars, which kids (and adults, for that matter) would love to find tucked into their lunch bags. The soft, chewy bars are made with plenty of fruit so they aren't too sweet, so they even make a great on-the-go breakfast treat."
I decided this would be a good time to make them since peaches and raspberries are in season around here. The only change I made was adding at least 1 tsp of cinnamon (although if you really like cinnamon like I do, I'd add 2 tsp). Also, make sure your peaches are ripe or overripe. Mine were just barely ripe & cooking them extra still didn't soften them much. If you like some crunch then they'd be fine, I'd prefer mine a little softer.

Oatmeal, Raspberry and Peach Snack Bars

1/3 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespons, plus 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, divided

1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh raspberries

1 1/2 cups diced frozen or fresh peaches

1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1-2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the orange juice, cornstarch, and 2 tbsp of the brown sugar. Add the raspberries and peaches, then stir over medium-high until the mixture is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Heat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 7x11 or 9x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix together with a fork until the dough is crumbly but beginning to hold together. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture.

Mix the egg into the remaining dough in the bowl. Transfer the dough with the egg to the prepared baking dish and press it evenly over the bottom. Spread the reserved fruit filling on top, then sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over it.

Bake for 30 to 35 mintues, or until lightly browned and bubbling. Transfer the dish to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 16 bars.

Start to finish: 2 hours

Servings: 16 bars

Nutritional information per serving: 155 calories, 7 g fat, 2 g protein, 2 g fiber, 87 mg sodium.

Zucchini Bread

One of my favorite summer treats is zucchini bread. We've had a pretty good crop of zucchini so this versitile recipe came in handy. I really enjoy making this recipe into a bundt cake with a little powdered sugar on top. You can also make it into about 2 dozen cupcakes, just decrease the cooking time to 30 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

2 cups sugar*

1 cup oil*

Blend with mixer.

Add:

3 eggs

3 tsp vanilla

2 cups raw grated zucchini, unpeeled

Blend with above mixture with mixer.

Add:

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

3 tsp cinnamon*

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Mix on medium speed until blended. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

*I substitued the sugar, oil, & cinnamon for 3/4 cup homemade applesauce, 1 cup sugar & 1/4 cup oil.

Mexi-rice

Here's another recipe I came up with using some of the vegetables from the garden.

Mexi-Rice

1/2 green pepper, sliced

1/2 red pepper, sliced

1/2 yellow pepper, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

2 cups instant rice

1 can rotel

1 can black beans, drained

chili powder, garlic, cilantro, cumin

Cook rice (seasoned to taste) according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute peppers & onions in olive oil until tender. Add rotel & beans, cook thouroughly. Add rice & again, season to taste.

*You can save time by using frozen vegetables already sliced. Also, to make this a little thicker, you could add refried beans.