in my kraft kitchen

I love getting fun things in the mail. I order coupons, send little notes and cards to friends and family (admittedly not as often as I should), and I recently cashed in a few Air Miles for a year's subscription to Today's Parent magazine. Who wants to open the mailbox to discover bills and junk mail every day?

Each season I look forward to receiving my Kraft Foods What's Cooking magazine. It's full of simple recipes that are almost always big hits at our table. Lots of the recipes include seasonal ingredients, which helps me get out of my same-old rut and try new things. And the best part? It's FREE! Woot. Sign up to get it in your mail box, or click here to see digital editions of the most recent publications.

So I flipped through my Spring 2011 recipes and the first one I picked to make are these simple granola bars. I've never used wheat germ before, but it was pretty cheap to buy (about $3 for a 453g bag) and added some hearty nutrition (4g of protein and 2g fibre in a 3 Tbsp. serving).

Peanut Butter Granola Bars
1 cup Kraft light smooth peanut butter (That's the thing about the Kraft magazine, of course they're going to tell you to use their products. Truthfully though, Kraft light PB is the only kind I buy/eat)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
2 cups large flake rolled oats
1/2 cup each wheat germ, raisins and chopped dried apricots

Mix first 3 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Press onto bottom of 9-inch square pan.

Bake at 350°F for 25 min. or until golden brown (I only had to bake them for 20 minutes in my hotter-than-hedes oven). Cool completely. Cut and enjoy.

These are a delicious alternative to cookies, plus you can eat them at any time of the day, guilt-free. I'm not usually a raisin lover, but I resisted the urge to swap them out for another ingredient and I was glad I didn't. They work so well with the peanut butter. Next time, I'd be willing to substitute craisins or nuts for some more texture variety.

Note: This post was not sponsored by Kraft in any way. I just love this little free magazine and wanted to share the free love with y'all.