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Labor Day  has passed, so you know what that means... fall, football and back to school!

Now that we’ve started to host exchange students, I  start  wanting to have some nice, easy recipes when the kids are in school. Here are some of my favorite things to make, whether it be snacks or dinners for the first couple weeks of school while everyone gets into their routine!

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HOMEMADE GRANOLA BAR

6 c. rolled oats

4 Tbsp. butter, melted, plus more for greasing

1/4 c. vegetable or canola oil

1 tsp. salt

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. apple juice

1/4 c. molasses

3 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. rice krispies

1 c. wheat germ

1/2 c. finely chopped pecans

1/4 c. roughly chopped almonds

8 oz. weight milk chocolate or chocolate almond bark, melted (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, toss the oats with the canola oil, melted butter and salt. Spread the mixture out on 2 baking sheets and toast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan twice and making sure they don't burn. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Reduce the heat to 325 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, apple juice and molasses. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until all combined. Stir in the vanilla.

Toss together the toasted oats, rice cereal, wheat germ, pecans and almonds. Pour in the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour. Toss to combine; it will be sticky!

Press into 1 baking sheet (thoroughly greased with butter, or line pan with foil and grease foil) and bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut pieces with a sharp knife and remove from the pan.

OPTIONAL

Dip the cooled granola bars straight into the melted chocolate so that the top is plain and the bottom is chocolate-covered. Set on parchment until set, place in the fridge to hasten this along if necessary.

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FRENCH BREAD PIZZAS

6 whole deli rolls or French bread, sliced

Jar marinara or pizza sauce

Jar or refrigerated pesto

2 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese

Grated parmesan cheese, to taste

2 Tbsp. butter

1 onion, sliced

1/2 lb. sausage (breakfast or italian)

For the Toppings:

Pepperoni slices

Canadian bacon slices

Pineapple chunks, fresh or canned

Roma tomatoes, sliced

Sliced black olives

Goat cheese

Sliced bell peppers

Pepperoncini

Jalapeño slices

Sliced red onion

Preheat the oven to 375.

For the pizza: Slice rolls in half and lay them, cut side up, on a large baking sheet.

Top each half with a generous portion of either marinara or pesto. Next, top with a generous amount of grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese, if you'd like.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 

Add the sausage to the skillet. Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. 

Top the bread with the onions and sausage. Sprinkle on your choice of optional toppings.

Once all assembled, put the pan in the 375 oven on the lowest rack for 8 to 10 minutes. Crank up the heat to 425° and put it on the highest rack until the cheese starts to bubble a bit and turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Remove and serve immediately! You can cut the pizzas in half right across the middle so there are mini French bread pizzas for everyone.

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Don’t scoff at the sour cream in the next recipe. It’s a secret ingredient and it’s wonderful!

SOUR CREAM PANCAKES

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

7 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. sour cream

Butter, for frying and serving

Warm syrup, for serving

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Set aside.

In a separate small bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream with the dry ingredients until just barely combined (don't over-mix.) Whisk in the egg mixture until just combined.

Heat a griddle over medium-low heat and melt some butter in the pan. Drop batter by 1/4 cup servings onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles start to form on the surface and edges are starting to brown. Flip to the other side and cook for another minute. (Pancakes will be a little on the soft side.)

Serve with softened butter and syrup.

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This next recipe recreates one of my all time favorite snacks as a kid. They do still make Dunkaroos, but they are hard to find sometimes and making them homemade means you can have them at the drop of a hat. Make plenty if you have a big family to feed!

HOMEMADE DUNKAROOS

For the cookies:

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1 Tbsp. honey

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the dipping frosting:

1 (7-oz.) jar marshmallow fluff

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. rainbow sprinkles

For the cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, light brown sugar, and honey. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until the dough comes together.

Form the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate the dough until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until about 1/4-inch thick and cut out as many cookies as you can with 1- to 2-inch animal cookie cutters. Place the cookies on the baking sheets and bake until lightly golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to racks to cool completely.

For the dipping frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the marshmallow fluff and butter over medium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla and beat until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Fold in the sprinkles.

Serve the cookies with a side of frosting for dipping!

TFD: The most important day of a person’s education is the first day of school, not graduation day.

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