The Amell Family Blog

We didn’t try out too many new recipes in June. It seemed to be a whirlwind month with cleaning, organizing, meal planning, and that stuff so there wasn’t a lot of room in the schedule for new recipes this month. I also felt exhausted and needed a month to just relax a bit before summer hit! The recipes we do have, I fully encourage you to check out because these are the ones that have made it to the Amell Recipe Book!

Harvest Crunch Granola Bars

This adventure all started because I had 4 boxes of Harvest Crunch that were maple flavoured. I had bought them to use for granola on top of yogurt, but the maple flavour was not yummy on yogurt so I needed another way to use the cereal. So naturally my next move was to make it into granola bars. I was hesitant to make these because I have been searching for a granola bar recipe that is healthy and actually stays together and these are made with marshmallows. I made these anyway and I am so happy I did! I am obsessed and these are so delicious!! I highly recommend you try this recipe because it is a perfect snack and great for hikes, beach days, etc. You can also go and watch what it was like to make these while chaos was happening in the house!

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup butter
• 10 oz. Marshmallows
• 6 cups Harvest Crunch cereal

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Coat a 9×13′ pan with cooking spray or butter.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat. Once melted, add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
3. Once melted, remove from heat and quickly stir in the cereal and mix until well coated.
4. Using parchment paper or a buttered spatula, evenly press the cereal into the pan. Let cool completely and cut into bars or squares. Enjoy!

Original recipe from Tasty Kitchen.

Blueberry Overnight Oatmeal

I wanted to find a breakfast that would be delicious, but didn’t require me to stand in front of the stove for an hour making it. This started my search for a great oatmeal recipe. This recipe can be made right away or can be made the night before and set in the fridge to bake the next morning. This is why I like this recipe. I have not baked the overnight version since I forgot to prepare it the night before. It was delicious, but the immediate version does not create a “cake” oatmeal bake. It is a bit looser and mushier, but still delicious to me! You could also totally substitute the blueberries for strawberries, mixed berries, bananas probably too! They can be made with fresh or frozen fruit. I also modified this recipe and omitted the walnuts. You could totally put almonds in here I’m sure and I definitely want to try it with almonds, but Josh is allergic to walnuts which is why my version just doesn’t include the nuts.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups oats (I used quick oats as that is all I had which added to the mushiness)
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 cup applesauce
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS

1. If baking immediately, preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except for the blueberries.
3. Lightly grease a 9×13′ casserole dish.
4. Spread half of the mixture into the casserole dish. Sprinkle half to three quarters of the blueberries over the oat mixture. Pour the rest of the oat mixture on top and top with the remaining blueberries.
5. If making overnight blueberries, cover the dish and chill in the fridge until morning. Then in the morning, preheat the oven, put the dish in and bake!
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes. The oatmeal should be set and golden on top.

Original, unmodified recipe is from Savory Nothings.

Tuna Casserole

I have made this recipe many times and it is a hit with most of the kids. I like making it on Friday’s when I’m in a pinch because it doesn’t take too much time or effort to make and it’s delicious! The unmodified version looks delicious, but most times I just don’t have all of the ingredients so I do encourage you to check out the unmodified version at the end of the section. This also makes a great freezer meal too! Just freeze the dish before adding the cheese and crackers!

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 cans of flaked tuna
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, diced or sliced
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• milk (fill an empty soup can)
• table cream (fill an empty soup can)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 lb. pasta, rotini, macaroni, or your preference
• 1 cup cheese
• ¼ cup parmesan
• 1 cup Ritz crackers, crushed in food processor

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13″ baking dish (or bigger; I use my 10×14.5″ baking dish) with cooking spray.
2. In a large pot for pasta, heat the water over high heat to boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook while continuing on in the instructions, stirring occasionally. Add salt to the water to reduce the risk of the pasta sticking together.
3. In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Once heated, add onions and mushroom and cook until al dente and onions are translucent; about 7 minutes.
4. Add mushroom soup, milk, cream, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Stir and heat until the sauce is hot.
5. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix together until all of the pasta is well coated.
6. Pour the covered pasta into the casserole dish. Top with cheese and the crushed crackers.
7. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling or the crackers are golden brown. Serve warm.

Original recipe is from Six Dollar Family.