Muesli Bars and Soup review

I tend to have a little cooking frenzy on a Sunday afternoon, preparing for the many school lunches in the week coming. I rarely find something that everyone is happy to have, but these muesli bars score a 2 out of 3 children's thumbs up, occasionally a 3 children thumbs up depending on how fussy Miss 9 is feeling. I give them a big thumbs up because it doesn't seem to matter what I put in them they always taste good! 

Muesli Bars

The mantra in my kitchen is 'A recipe is only a guide!' and it is so with these!

Here is your guide-

10 min, Sp 1, 100 deg in your Thermie

• 150 gm brown sugar
• 80gm tahini or 1/2 cup of Peanut Butter
•  150gm of honey
•  150 gm butter
• 2 handfuls of pitted dates  

 then give it a couple of quick turbos to makes sure the dates are mushed up

 In a separate big bowl mix together-

• 1 cup of oats
• 1 cup of puffed rice
• 1 cup of coconut
• 4 crushed vita brits
• 1/2 cup of dried fruit

Add the thermie mixture to the big bowl of dried stuff, mix together. Press into a 20 X 30 baking paper lined dish and refrigerate. When its mostly cooled down and firm enough lift out of the dish using the baking paper and cut into rectangles or squares, which ever you fancy!

So, thats the 'guide'

Do with it what you will!

I usually only put a big squeeze of honey in rather than the full 150gms, it makes them pretty sweet (and honey is expensive!)! Although sometimes I am left with some mixture that wont mix in because of it, but the chickens appreciate the treat!

My dairy free lad can handle the butter in the Muesli bars, I have accidently made them with out it, they were just crunchy! You could probably use coconut oil instead...let me know if you try it! 

The 1/2 a cup of dried fruit ( I never measure, I am sure its more like a cup and a half by the time I am done throwing things in!) is always a mixture of what I have in the cupboard. Today it was dried apple, apricot and cranberry. I also threw in some sunflower kernals, slivered almonds and wheatgerm (usually pepitas too but we are out!) Sultanas are good, so are choc chips!

 Reviews

I also made a couple of soups from the EDC today. The Pumpkin and the Minestrone.

The Pumpkin got a thumbs down from all of us except Miss Fussypants, go figure. It tasted too much like raw pumpkin? and it wouldn't have fed us all anyway (see picture below!) I will have to convert my long standing, family pleasing favourite instead...

Pumpkin Soup

Minestrone Soup

 The minestrone was a hit, (even with out the onion) it was a bit gluggy but I think that's because I used alphabet pasta instead of something larger, it was tasty enough that I could have added some more water. It definitely fed all 5 of us, with some leftovers for tomorrows lunch. 

I also made bread for the sangas .....

but I have nothing to put on it, so jam it will probably be!

 (and I also made hot cross buns...!)

all that in 3 hours, with plenty of interuptions and facebooking...I love my Thermie!