Rainbows and Fruit Bars

Now that Valentines' Day is over I had to do something with my living room window for St. Patrick's Day.  Well I didn't have to but I wanted to and what's more fun than playing with Crayola Window Markers when you know if you make a mistake its just a damp cloth clean up away?

I'm not the best artist and I haven't drawn much in the past decade but the photo to the left is what I did yesterday afternoon while on my "bed rest".  So its not really bed rest but I'm restricted to what I'm supposed to do with the round ligament pain and ovarian cyst.

Today I made Fruit and Nut Bars of which I will share the simple recipe with all of you, my favorite people, my blog readers.  I just took the pan out of the oven and its still sizzling.  I won't be eating any of these creations, though I'd love to and they smell irresistible, as they are for the soldiers my husband works with at the COF.  The photo below is of the fruit and nut bars before baking.

Fruit and Nut Bars  (Makes 24-36 bars)
2 cups unsifted flour        1 cup sugar     1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt                     1/4 cup milk    1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (27 oz.) jar of None Such brand Ready-To-Use Mincemeat (Classic, Original, or Brandy & Rum)   1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Add oil and milk, stirring until mixture is well moistened and crumbly.  Reserving 1 cup crumb mixture, press remainder firmly on bottom of 13 x 9-inch  baking pan; top with mincemeat.  Sprinkle evenly with remaining crumb mixture, then nuts.  Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool.  Chill if desired.  Cut into bars.  Store loosely covered at room temperature.

I used the Brandy & Rum None Such brand mincemeat.  I just prefer the taste.  When creating the crumb mixture I used extra virgin olive oil and used a wire dough blender, an antique handed down to me.

Have fun baking and don't forget to be a kid when you use window markers.