Apple Nachos!

Want to make an easy, healthy-ish snack for you or your kiddos is less than 20 minutes? I say healthy-ish because there are chocolate chips but those could easily be removed (Harvard claims peanut butter to be healthy, FYI). Apple nachos + healthy-ish + short prep time = great summertime snack! Here's what you'll need:

* 3 apples, sliced (I used Red Delicious which I thought was fine but my husband said they tasted like sponges, so maybe go with something more tart)
* Lemon juice
* Almond slices
* Pecans (though I used walnuts instead)
* 3 Tablespoons of peanut butter
* Chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)
* (optional) Unsweetened coconut

Start by preparing your apples - wash them, slice them thin, and put them on a plate (if you don't have one of these handy apple slicers, go get one right meow!)

Sprinkle lemon juice over the apples to keep them from getting brown.

Melt your peanut butter in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (I did it for 45 seconds and it was bubbling over and almost burnt so anything less than that is your best bet!) and using a spoon, sprinkle half the peanut butter over the apples.

Next, add your almond slices...

And your pecans (or walnuts, in this case)...

And don't forget the chocolate chips! If you choose to add your coconut, now would be the time.

Go back over the apples with the rest of the peanut butter.

And there you have it! Apple nachos for 2, please!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20 (if you don't have any of the ingredients - prices from Vons)

$1.49/lb for apples
$2.29 for lemon juice
$3.99 for almond slices
$5.99 for pecans
$2.79 for peanut butter
$2.50 for chocolate chips

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 15-20 minutes

Depends on how much time you take slicing your apples

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5

This is such an easy snack to make, I don't know why I never made these before! And just as a heads-up, you might need a fork.

Vanilla Almond Granola

Let me start off by saying, mine did not turn out like the original. At all. Still, this vanilla almond granola is delicious and would make a great treat for cereal, trail mix, etc. I found the original post from MyGlutenFreeKitchen (they used gluten-free oats but I used old-fashioned). Along with 4 cups of oats, you'll need:


* 1 cup of sliced or slivered almonds (you can buy them pre-sliced)
* 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon of salt
* 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
* 1/3 cup of butter or vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup of honey
* 2 Tablespoons of sugar
* 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract (not imitation extract)

Start by preheating your oven to 300 degrees and laying parchment paper down on 2 cookie sheets.

Combine the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, honey, and sugar. Whisk together until the sugar has completely dissolved. After about 30 seconds, remove the pan from the heat and add your vanilla.

Pour the butter/honey/sugar/vanilla mixture into the bowl of oats and stir thoroughly. Pour the oats onto your cookie sheets and bake. Now the original post says to bake for 25-30 minutes but after 20 minutes, my almonds were burning so I took them out. Be sure to stir them a couple times on the pans while they're in the oven so they're all baked evenly.

Now this is where my granola didn't follow orders... while it's cooling, it's supposed to clump up. If you stir often while it's cooling, it'll supposedly form smaller clumps. Mine didn't clump at all so I decided to add pretzel sticks, peanuts, and chocolate chips to make it trail mix. Perhaps you'll have better luck with the clumping but either way, it's still delicious!

TOTAL COSTS: About $25

$1.99 for oats

$3.99 for almonds

$.99 for salt

$4.79 for cinnamon

$.99 for butter

$4.29 for honey

$2.69 for sugar

$4.99 for vanilla

I made my own brown sugar - see my instructions here

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 1 hour

20 minutes to prep

20 minutes to bake

20 minutes to cool

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 3 out of 5

When I think of granola, I think of clumps of oats. I managed to get maybe 3 or 4 clumps in the entire batch. Perhaps it requires more of the butter/honey/sugar/vanilla mixture, maybe less time stirring while in the oven or while it's cooling, maybe less time in the oven, it's hard to say. There are a lot of different variables here so be prepared to do a little trial and error!