PB Crave & Granola Bars

Congrats to winner of our PB Crave giveaway! I hope you enjoy your winnings! Yum!

Celery with PB Crave Choco Choco, sharp cheddar cheese, homemade granola bar, PB Crave Coco Bananas sandwiches w/ sour cherry preserves, and grapes.

Now for those granola bars, which are simple and delicious, of course. In this packed lunch, we did a peanut butter version with the Choco Choco flavor of PB Crave, and we only sprinkled a wee bit of mini chips on top. When using peanut butter, we also reduced the butter in the original recipe to 2 Tbsp. The origin of the recipe is from Rachael Ray, but we've made some changes based on what we had on hand and like in a granola bar. I'm sure these would be easy to adapt for mix-ins of your own family's favorites too.

No Bake Granola Bars
Ingredients - 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1/4 c honey, 1/3 c packed brown sugar, 2 c quick cooking oats, 1 c rice crispies, 2 Tbsp toasted wheat germ, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 3-4 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
Melt butter, honey and brown sugar in a small pot over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and let cook for 2 minutes to completely dissolve. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Pour the mixture over the cereal, oats, and wheat germ. Mix well. Stir in 2 Tbsp of the chocolate chips.
Pour the mixture into a lightly greased pan and press firmly. I like mine thick, so I use a jelly roll pan and pack them almost up to the rim. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on the top and press into the bars. Let cool, and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container or wrap individual bars. Enjoy!

 In this lunch...