Try This!

I'll be moving to a new place for the summer, though as of right now I'm not sure what city that will be in. No matter where I end up, I know I'll be leaving this apartment soon. Moving is always a hassle, and if there's one thing I always try to have minimized before I move, it's the food. Eating what I have left in the freezer, not buying groceries the last week before a move, and trying to use up those obscure dry ingredients so I don't have to pack them up. This technique doesn't always work. I have some penne pasta that has lived with me in three different apartments--which means it's pretty old at this point and may not be too yummy.

These Oatmeal Bars were an easy way to use up some of what is left in my kitchen, while satisfying a craving for something sweet.

The recipe is really very simple:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup agave
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup old-fashioned oats

I began by mixing everything but the oats and chocolate chips in my go-to bowl.

I tried to blend the agave and peanut butter first, then work the rest of the dry stuff in. With a little bit of elbow grease everything was incorporated, and let me tell you, it smelled delicious!

These didn't absolutely need to be baked, and I'm sure I could have sat down with the bowl and ate pretty much the whole thing right then and there, but I chose to stick them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 325 to make them a little more solid. I pressed the oatmeal mixture into a small Pyrex dish, trying to squish it in there well enough that the bars would stay together when finished.

I can't say it much clearer: The end product was delicious. For a long time I've had quite an aversion to cinnamon, but I'm becoming more and more accepting of it. I'll even go so far as to say that without the cinnamon, these oatmeal bars wouldn't have turned out half as tasty as they are. I waited until they'd cooled before slicing myself a bar and having a taste, and I wasn't disappointed! If you need something simple yet sweet, try putting together some oatmeal bars!



Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup agave
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup old-fashioned oats

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips and oats in a medium bowl. Fold in oats and stir well to combine. Sprinkle in chocolate chips and do your best to distribute them throughout the oat mixture.
Press the oat mixture into a greased 8x10 pan, and bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Longer if you prefer your bars crispier.
Allow to cool completely, then slice into bars. Best served with a big glass of milk!