Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices

I'm dieting again. *sigh* So in an effort to find a snack that isn't going to break the bank calories wise and still falls into the actual "snack" category I have been looking all over the internet at different refrigerator pickle recipes. I LOVE pickles and will eat just about any kind but since I've given up sugar for a while I kind of wanted something sweet. I found a recipe over on Our Best Bites that looked like it would work so last night I gave it a whirl.

I must have used all my rice vinegar so I used a white balsamic vinegar instead and it came out more sweet than I had anticipated so next time I will double the amount of red pepper flakes (I've actually thrown them into the jar since I tasted them). The recipe below reflects the changes that I made.

This is definitely a do again. I can even see this as a side dish at a BBQ like a cucumber salad. My dad always used to eat cucumbers in vinegar in the summer and this is similar but doesn't have the sharp bite that you get from cider vinegar. I actually liked it better.

Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices
1 quart

3 medium-large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar (you could use rice vinegar or white wine vinegar but I think that cider or regular white vinegar would be too strong)
1/2 c water
3 T Truvia sweetner or sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T minced red onion

Place cucumber slices in a colander sitting over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let sit for an hour regrigerated. Toss them a few times while they drain to evenly distribute the salt. While they are draining prepare marinade.

Combine vinegar, water, sweetner, onions and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to a 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). If you boil too long just add a little more water until you have 1/3 c. Let mixture cool to room temp.

When cucumbers are done resting, pat them dry with a few paper towels and then combine with the vinegar reduction. Let chill completely before serving.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

This is a blast from the past recipe that was a staple at our house growing up. I'm pretty sure that "Have a piece of oatmeal chocolate chip bar" was said by my mom almost as often as "have an apple, have an orange, have a piece of toast" when we complained that we were hungry. This was a much better option, in my opinion than a piece of toast.

I'd misplaced the recipe so after a frantic call to my sister, post it note in hand, I headed to the kitchen. It was just as easy as I remembered and tasted better than I had remembered! I did add a vanilla glaze at Julie's suggestion and that dressed the bars up enough that people thought I had fussed.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

servings: 24

1 c. butter flavor Crisco

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 c. flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 c. water

2 c. oatmeal

1 c. coconut

1 pkg chocolate chips

1. Cream together Crisco, sugars, eggs and vanilla.
2. Add flour, salt, soda and water. Mix well.
3. Add oatmeal, coconut, and chocolate chips; fold in.
4. Bake in a large baking sheet at 375 for 20-25 min. I bake mine for about
23 min. They are fairly chewy so if you like them more cakelike cook for
only 20 min.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 233
Calories From Fat: 102
Total Fat: 11.6g
Cholesterol: 22.4mg
Sodium: 168.9mg
Potassium: 69.5mg
Carbohydrates: 30.9g
Fiber: 1.7g
Sugar: 14.5g
Protein: 2.7g

Cereal Bars

I went to Girl's Camp this week as a cook and for one of the meals we were packing a bag breakfast for an overnight hike. We didn't really feel like granola bars were enough but the cereal bars that are commercially packaged were too expensive for our budget. I took the assignment to figure out something that would be easy to pack and a little bit more filling to replace the commercial cereal bars.

I made several varieties, making my girls taste test them all. This is what we finally decided upon.

Cereal Bars

6 c. Multi Grain Cheerios
1/2 c. toasted almond slivers
1/2 c. toasted coconut
1/2 c. Craisins
1/2 c. broken pretzel sticks
3 T. butter
1 bag mini marshmallows

Spray 9x13 baking dish with non stick spray. I also lined the pan with a piece of parchment paper that was lightly sprayed so that I could pull the whole thing out easily.

Toast the nuts and the coconut in the oven at 350 until they are slightly browned.

Mix the almonds, coconut, Cheerios, Craisins, and pretzels in a large bowl and stir until combined.

Melt the butter in a large pan. When the butter is melted pour in the marshmallows and stir constantly until they are completely melted. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into baking dish and press down until all the cereal is compacted well. Let cool and cut.

*I didn't cut the bars as I needed them to stay fresh for a few days until we used them. I pulled out the whole thing and packaged with my Food Saver. When it was opened to cut the bars and fill the bags they were as fresh as the first day. So, if you aren't able to eat the whole thing in one day you could easily vacuum seal the rest and it would stay good for a week or so.