Underway Oat Bars

Ingredients (makes one 9x9 pan)

• 2 cups quick oats

• 1/4 cup chopped almonds

• 1/8 cup flax seeds

• 1 cup chopped,dried fruit (I used jump raisins and dates)

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• About 1/4 cup water

How to

• Place the oats, flax seeds and chopped almond in a 9x9 pan, toast in the oven on 375F (my magic number..because that’s the highest our oven will go, hah!) Keep an eye on them as they toast and give them a shake every once in a while to keep from burning. Toast until golden, about 10 min.

• Prepare your wet ingredients by combining the dried fruit, brown sugar, honey and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer until fruit has plumped and you have a syrup consistency. Turn the stove off, let sit until cool (or until your patience runs out) and place the mixture in a food processor or bullet and blend. Truly, if your mixture is too warm when you blend it, the heat will create pressure and when you open the container you may risk a few minor burns and a definite expansion of your vocabulary.

• Now that you've toasted your dry ingredients and blended the wet. Let’s combine! Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until it forms a firm but malleable texture. You may need to cut the dry ingredients short or add more oats to achieve this. Press the mixture back into the 9x9 pan that was used for toasting (no extra dishes here!) and place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until edges are nicely browned.

• Let cool either in the fridge (this will make them easier to cut) or on the countertop. Cut and serve!