Another new breakfast addiction--homemade this time!

Itty Bitty Bistro, you rock. Thank you, Kara, for posting the yummy recipe for PB&J Oatmeal-to-Go. These little breakfast bars are easy to make and such a nice, fresh alternative to store-bought granola bars.

I think it's nifty how food blogs post lovely pictures of their finished products, don't you?



Unfortunately, I'm not that patient, so you'll have to go to the original post to see the picture Kara took. Her bars turned out a lot prettier than mine anyway.

I started making these and realized I didn't have any applesauce. So I substituted half an overripe banana, and it turned out well, though I'll try them with applesauce when I have some. Next time I make these I'll probably double the recipe, put them in a 9"x13" pan, and cook them a bit longer.

As I was eating one of these yummy little bars, I bit down on something hard. Really hard. Did the oatmeal manufacturer put a pebble in my oats? Perhaps it was a shriveled up bit of rotten peanut from the peanut butter?

Nope. It was a piece of metal.

And I was the one who put it there.

Beth's Baking Tip of the Day: When you're using a mixer and the blades just aren't working well enough (say, in pureeing the banana in your recipe), you might be tempted to use a fork to squish the banana, while the mixer is running. This would be a bad idea.



Very creative way to bend and mangle your beaters, don't you think? And apparently also a good way to get chips of metal beater in your batter.

So every time Chickie ate one of these, I had to break it apart carefully first to make sure it was metal-free. Next time I think she'll have fun eating the oatmeal bars with her fingers instead of a spoon.

But on the positive side, my fork is no worse for the wear. Southern Living at Home flatware is expensive, but it does hold up well to crazy cooks.