Get tropical with this tropical granola chocolate bark topped with granola, cashews, dried mangoes and papaya, and toasted coconut!

When I think of granola, the most common creation that comes to mind is to sprinkle it on top of yogurt for breakfast. But each year Golden Girl Granola challenges bloggers to come up with creative new ways to incorporate granola into the day. Some of my previous recipes submissions for this challenge include granola crusted chicken tacos and yogurt parfait popsicles. This year we were asked to share snack recipes using granola.

Since I am currently traveling snacks are a must, especially easy on-the-go options. Trail mix is a popular one but I thought it would be kind of a cop-op to make a granola trail mix (even if it is National Trail Mix Day). So instead of mixing up the granola with fruit, nuts, and chocolate, I melted the chocolate and then sprinkled the granola and dried fruit on top.

This granola bark takes a tiny bit more effort than trail mix but it’s that much prettier. For easy portioning, try making it into chocolate bark bites!

I used Golden Girl Granola’s truly tropical blend to make this which has cashews, dried mango, and coconut mixed in, so I added dried papaya and some more toasted coconut to my bark to stick to the theme – tropical trail mix granola bark anyone? What’s your favorite creative way to use granola?

One year ago: Bacon Buckeyes

Two years ago: Bourbon, Bacon, and Maple Mini Cheesecakes

Three years ago: No-Bake Chocolate Hazelnut Pie

Five years ago: Marble Malt Cake with Peanut Butter Malt Frosting

Seven years ago: Stone Fruit Hand Pies

TROPICAL GRANOLA CHOCOLATE BARK

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 lb. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped and melted

1/2 cup Golden Girl Truly Tropical granola

1/2 cup chopped dried tropical fruit (I used papaya)

1/2 cup toasted coconut

Directions:

1. Spread melted chocolate evenly on a silicone mat- or wax paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle granola, dried fruit, and coconut on top, pressing into the soft chocolate.
2. Refrigerate 1 hour or until fully hardened. Cut or break into pieces; refrigerate up to 5 days.

Source: The Spiffy Cookie original

With temperatures this hot, it’s never to early to eat a frozen treat. Enjoy these breakfast frozen yogurt parfait popsicles to start your day!

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I was provided with a complimentary bag of Golden Girl Granola which I used in this recipe post. I was not otherwise compensated. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.

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I don’t know about you, but it is so stinking hot here in Columbus! We have had heat advisories all weekend which means that I’m not exactly going to be weeding my vegetable garden today even though it desperately needs it. Maybe tomorrow morning before it hits 90 at noon.

Until then, I will be indoors enjoying the A/C and turning on the oven as little as possible. I seem to recall leaving Memphis primarily because of the disgusting heat (and the whole graduated without a job lined up thing), why does it insist on following me to Ohio!?

Being that it is so hot to early in the morning, the temptation to eat ice cream for breakfast has been pretty strong. What better way to way up than to sit out side, sweating at 8 am, while eating a cold bowl of your favorite ice cream?

Not gonna lie, I’ve had ice cream for breakfast on more than one occasion but after eating out 4 times this week for Restaurant Week I had to say no if I am ever going to fit into my pants again. My breakfast creme brulee made with Greek yogurt was a hit, so how does yogurt parfait on a stick sound? More specifically, frozen vanilla yogurt layered with chocolate coconut granola and berries, aka breakfast frozen yogurt parfait popsicles. I guess it’ll suffice ;-).

Wednesday #DairyMonth Recipes

• Homemade Banana Pudding by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Easy Homemade Creamy Fudgesicles by Blogghetti
• Eclair Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Grasshopper Ice Cream Drink by Art of Natural Living
• Pesto Buttermilk Dressing by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Pineapple and Cottage Cheese Ambrosia by Palatable Pastime
• Pepper Jack Cheese Wedges by Jen Around the World
• Stem Ginger Cheesecake Ice Cream by Magical Ingredients

BREAKFAST FROZEN YOGURT PARFAIT POPSICLES

Print

Yield: 12 Servings Prep Time: 12 Hours

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups vanilla Greek or regular yogurt
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 cup fruit
• 1 cup granola (I used Golden Girl chocolate decadence)

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, honey, and cream.
2. Alternate layers of Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola in a popsicle mold. Insert sticks and freeze overnight.
3. To release the popsicles, run the mold under warm water for a few seconds.

Source: Adapted from my Fruit & Yogurt Popsicles.

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Tropical, sweet, and spicy flavors all come together in these oven-fried chicken tacos. Made with coconut almond granola, these crispy chicken tacos pair exceptionally well with a sweet and spicy mango crema.

Granola fried chicken? Have I completely lost my mind? Now just hold on a minute before you hit the X button to rid yourself of this crazy notion. Don’t think of it as granola crusted chicken but rather crispy chicken with a coconut-almond-oat crust. Which then gets covered with mango crema, avocado, radish, red onion, and cilantro. See, doesn’t that sound lovely? I knew you would understand.

The reasoning behind this creation is that I am entering it into Golden Girl Granola’s Blogger Recipe Challenge. Sure I could have made an egg breakfast casserole or French toast of sorts but that would be expected. I wanted to throw in something inventive yet still easy to make and oven-fried chicken is one of my favorite hacks for creating crispy like-fried chicken at home without all the scary hot oil. Seriously, I love turning just about anything into breading for chicken.

The Golden Girl original granola flavor is anything but bland with coconut and almonds, resulting in perfectly tropical and nutty chicken tenders for these tacos. The sweetness of the granola is also complimented by the sweet yet spicy mango crema which is drizzled over the top. All this flavor sits on top of a smashed avocado, sliced radish, red onion, cilantro, and a soft flour (or corn) tortilla.

One year ago: Greek Hummus Dip with Homemade Pita Chips

Two years ago: Breakfast Stromboli

Four years ago: Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies

OVEN-FRIED GRANOLA CHICKEN TACOS WITH MANGO CREMA

Serves 3

Ingredients:

CHICKEN

1 cup Golden Girl original granola

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 egg white

6 small chicken tenders

MANGO CREMA

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup diced mango

Zest and juice of 1/2 lime

1 Tbsp finely minced cilantro

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp sriracha

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt, to taste

TACOS

6 small flour or corn tortillas

1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and smashed

3 radishes, sliced

Cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Place the granola in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until finely ground. Place the granola crumbs into a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add egg white to a third bowl and lightly beat. Dip the chicken into the egg and then coat with the granola crumbs. Arrange on prepared rack and lightly spray tops with cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
3. While the chicken cooks, prepare the crema. In a food processor (or blender) place all the ingredients. Pulse until combined and then process until smooth. Set aside.
4. To assemble, spread avocado evenly on all 6 tortillas, top with chicken, radishes, crema, and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from my Oven-Fried Chicken & Biscuit Waffles & Oven-Fried Avocado Tacos with Cilantro Lime Creme.

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No bake cheesecake just got even better with lime and layered with sweet blueberries and crunchy granola. The only question is will you eat it for dessert or breakfast?

After a long weekend consisting of roughing-it camping with friends (which was a blast) followed by a day of cleaning and recovery my motivation to cook or bake was pretty minimal. Who wants to completely ruin a freshly cleaned kitchen? But my sweet tooth was attempting to convert some of the others to its side so I had to appease it somehow while at the same time not making a mess.

Have you ever had no-bake cheesecake? It provides all the creamy luxury of cheesecake without the fuss of a spring form pan or turning on your oven. Even more convenient is the fact that it can be ready in a matter of minutes and topped with just about anything. Are you ready for no bake cheesecake in a bowl?

This version of no-bake cheesecake was actually turned into a granola parfait. The cheesecake mixture is freshened up with some lime zest and juice before being layered with sweet blueberries and crunchy, nutty granola. The end result can serve as the perfect free form cheesecake for dessert or even a decadent breakfast if you feel like splurging.

Other than the fantastic flavor and texture of this parfait, my favorite part was how pretty it looked layered into clear stemless wine glasses. They would also look good in small mason jars, which would make them perfect for on-the-go or picnics.

One year ago: Grown-Up Macaroni and Cheese

Two years ago: Spaghetti Avocado

Four years ago: Baked Zucchini Fries with Balsamic Aioli

BLUEBERRY-LIME CHEESECAKE GRANOLA PARFAITS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar, divided

1/2 lime, zested and juiced

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 oz. frozen whipped topping OR 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

1 pint (16 oz.) fresh blueberries, divided

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup Golden Girl Granola, plus more for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, lime juice and zest, and vanilla until blended. With a spatula gently fold in the whipped topping until just incorporated. Set aside.
2. In a medium heavy duty pot, combine half the blueberries, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, water, cornstarch and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until blueberry mixture turns thickens and turns a very dark purple; takes several minutes. Remove from heat and fold in remaining blueberries. Set aside.
3. Starting with the cheesecake mixture, place a dollop into the bottom of four small cups or bowls (using a total of 1/3 of the mixture). Top with two tablespoons of blueberries and two tablespoons of granola. Repeat the layers, ending with the last third of the cheesecake mixture. Top with additional granola and blueberries.

Source: The Spiffy Cookie original.

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary product from Golden Girl Granola. I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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If you love pb+j then you’ll love this parfait. Peanut butter yogurt is layered with strawberry jam, fresh strawberries, and peanut butter granola. Prefect for breakfast or a light dessert.

After 4 awesome days of BBQ-festing it’s time for me to return to Knoxville. Memphis is especially fun in May and I couldn’t have picked a better weekend for which to return. I may need to detox with spinach smoothies and salads however, but in the meantime lets talk about parfaits.

Despite my love for all things peanut butter, it took me a long time to get on board with peanut butter and jelly things beyond the sandwich. For some reason it did not appeal in dessert form but that all changed when I had the peanut butter and jelly candy bar from Trader Joe’s. Then when I got my hands on the KIND peanut butter granola I decided it was time to make a peanut butter and jelly parfait! With all the fresh strawberries I’ve had on hand after picking them on three separate occasions it was an easy decision to incorporate them and the freshly homemade strawberry jam my dad and I made.

This recipe is written for one since it is Single Serving Sunday, but it’s incredibly easy to multiply for more servings. As you can see I ended up making two.

One year ago: Twinkie Truffles

Two years ago: Thai Chicken Pizza

Three years ago: Grilled Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY PARFAIT

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)

2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

2 Tbsp strawberry jam

1/4 cup sliced strawberries, plus one whole for garnish

1/4 cup KIND Peanut Butter Whole Grain Clusters, plus more for garnish

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, blend together the yogurt and peanut butter. Divide 1/3 of this mixture into the bottom a cup or bowl. Top with a tablespoon of jelly, two tablespoons of strawberries, and two tablespoons of granola. Repeat the layers, ending with a third layer of the yogurt mixture. Top with additional granola and strawberries.

Source: The Spiffy Cookie original

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary product from KIND Healthy Snacks. I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Strawberry season is my favorite, not just because it’s finally spring but simply because of all the fresh strawberries. I have already gone picking 3 times this month and let me tell you, fresh-picked strawberries are infinitely better than anything you can get at the grocery store. These berries dissolve in your mouth like cotton candy.

In Rochester, I grew up a bike-ride away from the best U-pick farm I’ve ever seen (Green Acre Farms) and I would eat as much as I picked – I took their approval of testing them out seriously. They should have weighed me pre- and post-berry picking!

My three berry-picking adventures this season resulted in about 6 gallons of strawberries. About two went into the making of strawberry syrup and strawberry jam and the rest, well they were for whatever else I came up with and eating! If I have enough I would like to try a strawberry rhubarb cake, too.

But, the first thing I made after the syrup and jam was this strawberry-rhubarb granola crumble, with a simple granola topping. I specifically used the KIND Cinnamon Oat Cluster Granola made with gluten-free oats, brown rice, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa, and flax seeds. It was excellently crunchy and I loved the addition of cinnamon to this fruity crumble.

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One year ago: Blue Velvet and Lemon Cake Pops

Three years ago: Pomegranate-Goat Cheese Ball

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB GRANOLA CRUMBLE

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. red rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces (1-1/2 cups)

1 quart strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tbsp cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1-1/2 cups KIND Cinnamon Oat Cluster Granola

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Pour into prepared pie pan. Sprinkle granola evenly over the top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until fruit is bubbling.
3. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Source: Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen.

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary product from KIND Healthy Snacks. I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This month for the Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to Finding Joy in My Kitchen. After digging through some delicious sounding recipes such as White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese, Zucchini “Pizza”, and Healthier Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Crumble Topping, I finally decided to make these sweet potato dark chocolate bars. It seems that I have not been able to get my fill of sweet potato lately.

These bars could have been made with pumpkins puree, which would have been easier because all I would’ve had to do is pop open a can. But I decided to go ahead and cook up some sweet potato and dig out my food processor to make puree. Was it worth it? Definitely. These bars are like sweet potato cheesecake, with a dense-cakey (almost sugar cookie-like) crust and a granola-dark chocolate topping. I have never used granola for a topping (only oats) and really enjoyed the extra crunch it added. I used one of my favorite store-bought granolas that has pumpkin seeds in it to complete the fall-ness of these bars.

Also, in the original post she wondered if this recipe would also work with a homemade yellow cake mix. So took up this challenge and went ahead and made my own homemade cake mix and used it in this recipe. Sure enough it worked! I’ll be sharing the recipe for the homemade mix tomorrow.

SWEET POTATO DARK CHOCOLATE BARS

Makes about 20 bars

Ingredients:

CRUST

1-18.25 oz. box yellow cake mix (homemade mix works too, about 2-1/2 cups)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1 egg yolk

FILLING

2 cups sweet potato puree (could also substitute for pumpkin)

4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 egg white

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

TOPPING

1 cup granola (I used a store-bought granola with pumpkin seeds)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine the cake mix, butter and egg yolk together until it forms a ball of dough. Press into a the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. In a medium bowl, combine sweet potato puree, cream cheese, egg white, sugar and spices.  Mix well until most of the lumps are blended. Pour the sweet potato puree mix over the top of the crust.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the granola, cinnamon and dark chocolate chips together. Add the melted butter to help the ingredients stick together. Sprinkle the topping over the sweet potato filling.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. The sweet potato layer remains somewhat creamy and solidifies as it cools. Allow to cool completely and then refrigerate before cutting into bars (not necessary, but the bars cut cleaner if you chill them first).

Source: Adapted slightly from Finding Joy in My Kitchen