Apple & Pear Oatmeal Crisp

I was at the farmer’s market today with my friend Sara and I was surprised to find so many tasty apples still available in April. And since I bought a HUGE bag of Anjou pears at Trader Joe’s the other day, the decision to make this crisp was a no-brainer. The recipe list is short and the prep/cooking time is less than an hour. Perfect treat!

Ingredients
3 apples, peeled and sliced (use a crispy, sturdy apple like Honey Crisp, Granny Smith, etc.)
3 pears, peeled and sliced
1¼ cups whole wheat flour or oat flour, divided
1 cup oatmeal
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon, divided
juice of 1 lemon
½ tsp salt

Here’s what you do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine apples and pears. Sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup flour, lemon juice and ½ tsp cinnamon. Mix well and pour into greased baking dish.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and oatmeal.

Melt butter and then add vanilla. Combine with flour mixture until mixture is moist. Crumble on top of fruit and bake for 35 minutes or until fruit is soft. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Healthy, Hearty Granola Bars

Ok, so this is one of those "make it the way you want" recipes. You can add whatever kind of nuts, dried fruit or chocolate you want. Have fun with it and I promise it'll be GOOD.

2 cups oatmeal (not the quick cooking kind)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

**other nut alternatives include almonds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts or whatever's in your pantry

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots (or any other dried fruit like cranberries, cherries, mangoes, etc. -- just make the pieces morsel-sized)

1/3 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup brown rice syrup (you can buy this at most natural foods stores)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a rectangular baking dish, mix the oatmeal and nuts. Toast in oven for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through for even toasting. Place in large bowl and let cool. Add dried fruit.

Spray empty baking dish with non-stick spray.

Pour brown rice syrup and vanilla into small pot and heat up on medium-high heat until the consistency thins out (about 2-4 minutes). Pour over oatmeal mixture and mix well until blended. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle chocolate chips on top (you can also add it to the mixture, but the chocolate chips will melt and the bars will be more chocolaty).

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before cutting. Yum!