Chocolate and Oat Bars

This is one I have been making since I was a teenager. My parents gave me the cookbook it is out of in 1989. The variations on this one are endless.......

1 cup unsifted flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)**
1 (6 ounce pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips**

1. preheat oven to 350* (325* for a glass dish)
2. in a large bowl combine flour, oats, sugar and butter. Mix well (I use a pastry blending tool).
3. Reserving 1/2 cup of mixture, press remainder into bottom of an ungreased 13x9 baking pan. Bake 10 minutes.
4. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crust. Sprinkle with nuts, chips, and remaining oat mixture. Press down firmly.
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut in to bars. Store covered at room tempature.

yeild: 36 bars

**My most recent adventure with these bars was to make them with 1 cup of walnuts, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/4 cup sweetened coconut. But go crazy.....white choco chips and macadamia nuts........dried cranberries, dark chocolate and pecans.......pecans and milk chocolate chips.