Cereal Bars - Take 1

I am lazy in the morning.   Even pouring a bowl of cereal is really more than I'm capable of doing  before 8am in the morning, so when I'm getting ready for work at 6am, it's got to be hand held. Bananas are the ultimate handheld.  I also really like Clif, Luna, Lara, and Odwalla bars.  The downside?  That they are usually at least a buck a piece at the grocery store.   If they are more than a dollar, I won't buy them, but if they are on sale for 88 cents a piece?  I consider that a shopping victory.   

I've been tempted to try and create my own version of a breakfast bar.   This was my first attempt.   Not too shabby if I say so myself.     It also gave me an opportunity to use some Colorado local products that I bought on road trips last fall.

What you need
3 cups honey nut O's (I used some brand made with wind energy that was on sale for $1.50/box)
1 cup  honey nut crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup of Honeyville Maple Hazelnut whipped honey (warmed in the microwave for pouring)
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup pumpkin butter
1/8 cup ground flax seed
dash cinnamon
splash vanilla

What you do
Mix the honey and peanut butter together in a bowl.  Mix in all other ingredients and work together with a spoon or your hands until all cereal and oats are incorporated into the mix.     Press mixture into a 9x13 pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.   Refrigerate until firm.   Pull foil out of the pan and cut into squares.

What I will do next time
I think that I will melt the peanut butter and honey (and pumpkin butter, if I use it) in a sauce pan to bring it more to a liquid consistency.  It may help evenly coat the bar ingredients and hold them together better once they've cooled.     This really was just an experiment seeing if I could use ingredients I already had on hand to make a tasty morning snack.

Denver makes the news
When the weather is the top trending topic on every local media outlet as well as on CNN and the Weather Channel, you know it's a big deal.   There is even a twitter hashtag #snOMG.    It started snowing on Thursday night and continued through this morning.    My sister put the "weather ruler" on top of the air conditioner outside yesterday and it was covered this morning, so we got at least a foot.    I didn't get a snow day yesterday, so I'm adopting a snow day attitude today!   Hello lazy.