Chunky Monkey Bars

Have you ever tried searching the internet or your cookbooks for a recipe that has certain ingredients in it, but just can't find it? Well, this happened to me today. I opened up the freezer and saw that we only had 1 granola bar left. Not cool, I had to make another batch immediately! So I go to the cabinet to get the ingredients out, but we're out of chocolate chips. What to use, what to use...I look over and see I have some ripe bananas that need to be eaten or they're going to get thrown out. Awesome, I'll use bananas...what goes good with bananas, peanut butter. Luckily we have massive amounts of peanut butter on hands at all times. Okay, I need to follow a recipe now. I go online and nothing! So I kinda came up with my own and it turned into what I like to call Chunky Monkey Bars.

Chunky Monkey Bars

1. 1 cup peanut butter
2. 1/3 cup butter (softened)
3. 1/2 cup honey
4. 2 tsp. vanilla
5. 2 mashed bananas
6. 1/2 cup brown sugar
7. 2 1/2 cups oats
8. 3 cups crispy rice cereal
9. 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (or use chocolate chunks/chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, honey, vanilla, bananas, and brown sugar together. Add in oats, crispy rice cereal, and protein powder. Stir until everything is combined, then pour into prepared pan and lightly press mixture down. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

I thought these tasted pretty good! I made Nathan try one and he immediately went back for a second one, so they must taste okay.

Tip for mashing bananas...put however many bananas you need for a recipe, peeled and cut in half in a sandwich baggie. Make sure all the air is out of the baggie and squeeze it. After they're all mashed up, cut a corner of the baggie and squirt into your bowl. Easy and mess-free!