Homemade Granola

This is a fabulous recipe that can be tweaked to your preferences pretty easily. I had accidentally added too much honey once and then ended up pressing it onto a cookie sheet and made granola "bars" of a sort. It turned out tasty if not aesthetically pleasing!

4 c. oats (regular oats, Not quick oats)
1 1/2 c. whole almonds (shelled, but skin on)
1/2 c. flax seeds
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. natural cooking oil (Canola)
1 t. vanilla extract
PAM cooking spray (supposedly not needed but I use it anyway)

Optional: you can add dried fruits such as bananas, raisins, cranberries, apricots, etc.

Preheat oven to 3oo°. Mix together all ingredients (you can use your *blessed! Kitchen Aid or your hands...be warned if you use your hands, it can get quite sticky!), do not overmix or it will break down the oats into oat crumbs. Spray PAM onto a cookie sheet (not necessary but I haven't tried it without it as I don't trust lightly) and spread mixture out evenly (do not pack down, just level out). Bake for 40 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes (try to keep mixture level in the pan for the most part). Cool and break into clumps. It should yield about 9 cups. (You may find that if you have kids in the house, 9 cups go very quickly. I don't recommend doubling the recipe. When I tried it, it did not turn out for the better (of course, some of you are more adventurous than I, not to mention more talented in the kitchen and could make anything work doubled up or not...I envy you!). However, if you do have a *blessed! Kitchen Aid mixer, then it mixes up very quickly and less stickily which therefore means less waste being washed down the drain in the quest to remove it from your fine self.

Enjoy!

"Haven't poisoned anyone yet" Laura



* As for the blessed! remarks before the term Kitchen Aid, it refers to my incredibly wonderful and talented new Kitchen Aid mixer. After a brutal school term in which I received good grades, this is what I rewarded myself with. I have no idea how I ever got along without it. An incredible machine that, when I turn it on, I swear I hear angels sing, etc.! I bet you hear it too, admit it.