Granola

I remember back in the 70's (ok, I'm showing my age) when Granola became the "thing to eat"!! Euell Gibbons was asking people if they had ever eaten a Pine Tree and granola was becoming the rage!!

Granola is one of those foods to take along with you to munch on when you're hungry. You can keep a stash in the car for those long car rides or just to munch on when your on your way home from work when you just need a little something to tide you over until dinner.

I'll let you in on a secret.......

It's really easy to make!! You'll have a batch ready in no time. Ready for your munching pleasure.

I made this batch for my friend Jonathan at work. He's having issues with his cholesterol and so I made  this recipe for him to munch on and hopefully to help with getting his cholesterol in check. Oats are good for your cholesterol.

As far as the cafe, we couldn't keep enough of this on our shelves. You see there was a gym up the street from the cafe and the morning ladies wanted a place to relax after their workouts. So they would come to the cafe and munch on the granola and talk about life over a cup of coffee. Granola and coffee, life was good.......

Teri

Notes: You can use any kind of nut you like. I used sliced almonds in mine, but walnuts or pecans or even peanuts would be good.

You can also use any kind of dried fruit you want. You can use just one type, or you can add a mixture of several kinds of fruit.

Granola is great on yogurt, ice cream, as a topping for a coffee cake or just to be eaten by itself. I enjoy it with yogurt!!

Granola

3/4 cup oil (I use canola, I would stay away from vegetable oil)
1/2 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar
1 tblsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
8 cups of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup sweet coconut
1 cup almonds (I used sliced, but you can use any kind of nut you prefer)
1 cup craisins (I used craisins, but you can use any type of dried fruit you prefer)

Heat oven to 325 degrees

In a small saucepan on top of stove, mix oil, sugar, vanilla, honey and salt together and heat until sugar is melted. About 5 minutes

 

Combine oats, almonds and coconut in a large bowl. Once mixture above is ready, pour over oats and stir to cover.

 

 

 

 

Prepare two cookie sheets with either parchment paper, foil or some kind of lining. I use my silicone mats. Divvy up the granola between the two pans and spread it out.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Take pans out and stir the granola and spread back out. Put pans back in oven for 15 more minutes. Take pans out. If the granola is a golden brown, it's ready. If it's not, then back it for a few more minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool. Add craisins.

Store in an air tight container. Will keep for 6 weeks.

Enjoy!