Awesomely Easy Granola Bars

On my mission to cut down on prepackaged foods and snacks, I decided to venture into the unknown world of homemade granola bars. That is definitely something I never would have thought to make, but how hard can they be, right? Well the title "Awesomely Easy Granola Bars" sure called out to me! I found this recipe on TastyKitchen.com (a site you must check out) and the ratings were awesome, just as was the title! I cannot stress to you how easy this is to make - you stir in the condensed milk and your mixings into the oatmeal, then bake! Voilà! I must add, if you happen to not like sweetened condensed milk, you should probably try a regular recipe that calls for honey (which I will be trying next). I thought these tasted great, but you could tell that the milk was the sweetening and binding agent used. The great thing is, with making homemade granola bars, the combinations are endless! I posted the original recipe below, but I opted for white chocolate chips, cherry-flavored Craisins, and pumpkin seeds. Delicious! Thing One liked the granola bar, but not my choice of fillings (she doesn't like anything anyways), and Thing Two loved it as much as I did. I will probably start making my own granola bars every week or two, and this will definitely be a recipe I will wear out. I will still try other recipes just to see the difference, but if they don't work out, this will be my trusty, easy go-to recipe!
Awesomely Easy Granola Bars

Yields 24 bars

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened, condensed milk

2 1/2 cups oatmeal (quick or rolled oats)

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cups dried apricots

1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

1/2 cups sunflower seeds

1/2 cups milled flax seeds

1. Preheat oven to 250˚.

2. Warm condensed milk in microwave (optional). Mix all dry ingredients together; add condensed milk and fold together with spatula. Spread mixture into a greased 13x9 pan. Press lightly with hand or spatula.

3. Bake for one hour. Remove and let cool 3 minutes. Cut into bars. When completely cooled, wrap bars for goodness on the go!

My tried flavor mixes:

• White chocolate chips, cherry-flavored Craisins, pumpkin seeds