Granola

I use this recipe as a guide, but ratios and ingredients are incredibly flexible with granola.  Basically, I just dump whatever oats and nuts I have into a bowl and toss some honey and olive oil over the top and bake them. I love the fact that it is healthy, delicious, and my whole family loves it. I originally got this recipe from allrecipes.com (“Megan’s Granola”), but have tweaked it according to our family's preferences.  If you are looking to boost the nutrients in your granola, try adding 1 ½ cups each of wheat germ, flax seed, and oat bran. For a cheaper granola, cut back on the nuts and increase the oats. Pumpkin seeds are also an inexpensive, nutrient-boosting addition.  I find that when I make this size batch, our family of four goes through it in about the same time it takes us to eat one gallon of home-made yogurt (this easy crockpot recipe, doubled).

Home-made Crockpot Yogurt that we
enjoy with our granola

Prep time:  20 minutes

Cook time:  20 minutes

Servings: 30

Ingredients

8 cups rolled oats

1 cup sunflower seeds 

1-2 cups sliced almonds

1-2 cups chopped walnuts

1-2 cups sweetened coconut

1 ½ teaspoons salt

According to my cost-analysis, making
home-made yogurt is about 1/3 the price of
buying yogurt in quart size containers.

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup honey

½ cup olive or vegetable oil

½ cup applesauce

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

2.  Combine the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, and coconut in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, honey or agave, oil, applesauce, cinnamon, and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat.  Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets. 

3.  Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes.  Stir once halfway through.  Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.