Monday's Menu

Lately, I have been making a ton of granola. It is very popular with the kids and it makes a yummy, real food snack for when we just want something to munch on.

I have discovered, much to everyone's delight including our budget's, that I can purchase most of the ingredients from the bulk bins at the health food store. So I have been able to get organic oats and raw organic nuts. And I've been using raw local honey. Yum!

Honestly, you could still use non-organic and probably also non-raw ingredients to make it. I know it would still probably HAVE to be better than the pre-made junk you can buy. Or any boxed cereal you could get either.

The kids like it both plain and treated the same as cold cereal. I munch on it as it is but I also like to sprinkle some on my yogurt. Chick will even occasionally throw in a handful of chocolate chips and carry it to school for her lunch.

The original recipe came from here. She cooks hers so long though that I think her oven must have an issue. The first time I made it, I let it go for just slightly over half the time she bakes hers. It was burnt enough that I ended up eating most of it by myself just to get rid of it.

It's a basic recipe really. You just add whatever you want. You primarily just need oats and the liquid ingredients. For ours, I have been using cashews, almonds, and occasionally pecans. I've even been throwing some ground flax seed meal in for good measure. The website suggests pumpkin seeds, spices, and even sesame seeds.

Play around with the recipe and let me know what version your family loves.

Update:  I have realized since getting a new oven that it might have been mine that was having issues. Since getting a new oven, I have had to cook my granola much longer. 60 minutes rather than 30 seems to be what a proper oven temperature cooks it for.

Granola

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup each cashews and whole or sliced almonds or whatever else you want add

6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together oats, nuts, etc. in a large bowl. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add in honey. Heat gently until butter is melted. Remove from heat. Add in vanilla and salt. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and mix well until all is moistened.

Bake about 30 - 60 minutes or just beginning to brown. Cool. Break into pieces and store in airtight container with lid.