The Picnic Game! (Recipe: Granola Bars)

When I was a child, we would play games on long road trips to make the time go more quickly. One of our favorites (that I still play with my husband sometimes) was the I'm Going to Grandma's House game. You start with "I'm going to Grandma's house, and I'm bringing [something starting with the letter A]. The next person says, " I'm going to Grandma's house, and I'm bringing [the word that starts with A] and [something that starts with B]. So on and so forth, you work your way through the alphabet, with each person reciting all the previous items before adding their own.

Apparently, there is a game that is very similar, called the picnic game. Same basic rules, just a couple differences. First, you start with "I'm going on a picnic..." And second, when we "went" to Grandma's house, we "brought" all sorts of random things, like aardvarks, umbrellas, and tutu-toting tortoises. For the picnic game, you have to "bring" a food. Actually, half the time our items for Grandma's house ended up being foods anyway, so this is right up my alley.

Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations is hosting a virtual Picnic. In order to participate in the Picnic Game, each blogger chooses a letter and brings a dish that begins with that letter. I love playing this kind of game, so I was excited to be invited to play Louise's virtual Picnic Game. Here goes!

I'm going on a picnic, and I'm bringing...

A - Almond Joy Pie
By Modern Day Ozzie and Harriet

B - Baked Beans
By Grub and Stuff

C - Chocolate Picnic Cake
By Dying for Chocolate

D - Dutch Funnel Cake

By Sporadic Cook

E - Easy Blender Chicken Pie
By Simple Recipes

F - Five Bean Salad
By Moveable Feasts

And my letter: G - Granola Bars!
By Fun Foods on a Budget

These bars are super yummy and super easy to make. Plus, you can customize them any way you want!

Granola Bars
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ or wheat bran
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup flour - all-purpose or whole wheat
1-2 cups additions - like nuts, dried fruits, and baking chips
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey, corn syrup, or pancake syrup
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, additions, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes for chewy bars, or 30-35 minutes for crunchy bars. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

I have made these several times, doing something different each time. This delicious batch is chewy, made with 1/2 cup each raisins, slivered almonds, and white chocolate baking chips. Yum!