muesli bar quest

I've lost count of the number of muesli bar recipes I have tried over the years. Tired of the store bought ones - expensive and too sweet. Or lack of diversity causing the kids to become bored and not want to eat them at all. But they are just such a simple and easy snack, young or old, I must continue my quest to find a homemade muesli bar that my kids will love. I will not wave the white flag!

Last week I tried another one that has been hiding in my recipe book for goodness knows how long, torn from a waiting room New Idea. Success with the kids? No. Success with the husband? No. But me, myself and I ate the whole batch - rather quickly too, I might add. So they can't be bad, right? I have taste buds - don't I? Please make these and confirm I have taste buds.

The difference I found with these compared to other recipes I have tried, is that this recipe actually tasted of the ingredients - not the ingredients masked by the flavour of butter and honey, glueing the ingredients together. I could taste the oats, sultanas, apricots, pepitas.. and I really enjoyed the omission of honey and addition of milk! There was such a subtle milky flavour holding the ingredients together. I think the pepitas were the winner for me, I just love them.

Muesli Fruit Oat Bars (sort of a ridiculous name for them but clearly New Idea thought it was great..)

2 Weet-Bix, crushed

1 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup sultanas

1/3 cup chopped soft and juicy apricots (I used soft, plump and juiceless DRIED apricots and they worked beautifully)

1/3 cup pepitas

1/4 cup caster sugar (I used brown sugar - you could easily make this 1/3 cup or leave it out completely if you're a health nut)
1/4 cup plain flour

75g unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

// Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

// Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin, extending paper above pan edges to make it easy to lift out later.

// Place weet-bix, oats, sultanas, apricots, pepitas, sugar and flour in a large bowl and stir to combine.

// Add butter, milk and egg and stir to combine.

// Pour into pan and spread evenly.

// Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked. Stand in pan for 10 minutes before lifting out to cool on wire rack.

// Cut into 12 even bars. Or 6 - because if you eat them like I did, you can't eat just one at a time.

Bars can be stored in an airtight container for up to five days (if they last that long).

So go forth and bake! And please come back and tell me my taste buds have not died. No, really. I need to know if others like this?!

If you've got amazing muesli bar recipes in your possession, please share! And no, I do not own a Thermomix.

sushi

From hereon in, I hereby christen Thursdays at Chateau P to be Sushi Thursday. Homemade Sushi Thursday. Ruby's afternoon session of kindy means late pick up, which means later dinner, which means late bath, which means late bedtime. No, no. To keep things on track at that end of the day, I like to prepare dinner early so it can be served up the minute she and hubby walk through the door.

I have wanted to try making our own for a very long time, but it was just one of those things I never got around to. So easy. So cheap. So fun. The kids enjoyed it, and even with all that lovely sticky rice threatening to attach itself to absolutely everything, the production line was neat and clean up was swift.

Yep. Definitely Sushi Thursday.