Homemade Lara Bars, Take II

When you make these, you might as well make more than one because it's a pain to clean your food processor after!

There are tons of recipes for different kinds - basically you need approximately 1c nuts : 3/4-1c dates : 3/4-1 c dried fruit.

The flavors I made most recently include-

Almond Cranberry
1 c almonds
3/4 c dates
3/4 c cranberries
2 tbsp almond butter

Walnut Cranberry
1 c walnuts
3/4 c dates
3/4 c cranberries
2 tbsp coconut

and my FAVORITE were the
Pecan- Hazelnut Apricot
1/4 c pecans
3/4 c hazelnuts
3/4 c dates
3/4 c apricots
1 tbsp sunflower butter

I then wrapped them up and refrigerated for about 20 minutes to harden a bit, then cut into individual bars/ or roll into balls/ however you like.

Artichoke Mustard Tarragon Chx Thighs

I used this recipe as a guide, but made a bunch of changes as listed below.  This is Chris' new favorite meal!!

1 pkg (~2 lbs.) chicken thighs
2 cans artichoke hearts, halved
1 large onion, cut into strips
1 pound baby portabello mushrooms, quartered

~3 tablespoons brown mustard
olive oil to saute
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock/ chicken gravy (*I had leftover homemade gravy from cooking a whole chicken and used this in place of stock - made it nice and thick)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoon dried tarragon
kosher salt and pepper (to taste)

First, saute the onions and artichokes with olive oil to brown.  Rotate artichokes frequently to brown each side..when almost all browned, add mushrooms, some mustard, white wine, tarragon, pepper, and stock.  Once cooked and blended, place in baking dish.

Add chicken to saute pan and brown each side.  Once browned, add some more mustard, vinegar, wine, stock, and spices. 

Mix all and cook for a few minutes.  Then add to baking dish and bake for ~30 minutes or until your chicken is well cooked through.

Enjoy!  Chris had his with a few artichoke raviolis...I may or may not have had 1 or 2 :)