ZFW: Crystallized Honey, Rock Hard Brown Sugar, and Brewer's Yeast?

I went through my pantry last night and did some organizing. I found some things I really needed to use up but just stood there staring blankly at them for a while unable to come up with any ideas. They were just so random it wasn't working for me. So I walked away and took some time to think about it.

This morning I needed to figure out how to get the crystallized honey out of the plastic container and into my dinner recipe. I fought with the rock hard bottle for a bit then got the bright idea to stick it in boiling water for a few seconds to loosen it up. Since it was a plastic container I didn't want to leave it for very long so I heated it up for about 30 seconds. It was much easier to get loosened up and I was able to get a cup of honey out for my dinner recipe (recipe at bottom). I then tipped it over to drain into a glass jar for future use. I figured that it would be easier to get it out of a wide mouthed glass jar the next time I needed it rather than the small opening on the plastic container.

While it was draining I was talking to my husband about something random when it suddenly hit me...........GRANOLA BARS! I stopped mid-sentence and went off on a rant to my husband about all the things I could use out of the pantry to make granola bars. He of course looked at me like I had lost my mind. That however is nothing new so I was off to gather my ingredients.

Random items I needed to use up:
*Rock hard brown sugar my neighbor brought over
*Crystallized honey
*Brewer's Yeast (good source of B vitamins and no taste)
*Pine nuts
*Chopped Walnuts
*Coconut
*Quinoa (I bought a massive bag then realized my husband HATES it)

I added in some butter, salt, and oats and we were good to go!

Granola Bars

2/3 c Brown sugar (rocks and all, the heat dissolves it)
1/2 c Honey (again the heat dissolves the crystallization)
4 Tbsp Butter
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 c Brewer's Yeast
3/4 c Pinenuts
1c Chopped Walnuts
1c Coconut
1c Quinoa, cooked
1c Oats

Place the brown sugar, honey, butter, and salt in a middle sized pot and stir till heated through and combined. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix well. You need to make sure that the honey mixture is coating all the dry ingredients or your bars will fall apart. Once mixed well pour into a aluminum foil lined 9x13 baking pan. Add another sheet of aluminum foil on top and press down firmly till the mixture is flat and firmly pressed into the pan.  Leave the top layer of foil on top and place in the refrigerator till cooled. Once cooled lift the granola bars out of the pan by the bottom layer of aluminum foil. Turn out onto a cutting board and remove all foil. Cut into bars and store in an air tight container.

My verdict? Eh, not terrible but not amazing either. My oldest daughter (9yrs old) had 3 and my husband had a BIG serving though so they are getting eaten which was the point. If I were making them again I would change the walnuts to peanuts and the pine nuts to sunflower seeds.

Now on to tonight's dinner.

Crockpot Honey Soy Chicken

1 cup Honey
1/4c Soy sauce
1 Tbsp Salt
5 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 lb chicken breasts

Add the chicken breasts to the crockpot and top with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 4-6 hours till the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is fragrant.

Serve with some quinoa if you happen to have a massive amount on hand like I do. I am starting to see some light at the end of the quinoa tunnel!