Monday, October 28, 2013

Granola!


When I was little, my mom would make granola from scratch.  It smelled wonderful, and tasted delicious.  It was, unfortunately, for my Dad, and NOT for us kidlets.  Such cruelty.  Luckily, my mom still has the recipe, so I whipped this up today.
I was a little bit worried it wouldn't be quite as delicious as I remembered.  After all, part of the deliciousness of some food is in the sneaking, right?
I needn't have worried.  It's delicious.  So here's the recipe.

10 (very full) c oats
1 c wheatgerm (found in the cereal aisle, freeze after opening)
1/2 lb shredded coconut
2 c raw sunflower seeds
1 c flaxseed meal
3 c almonds and walnuts (I used 1 c walnuts, 2 c almond slivers)
1 c all bran
1 c grapenuts
1 c brown sugar
1 c water
3/4 c oil
1/2 c honey
1/2 c molasses
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, water, oil, honey, molasses and cinnamon.  Combine with oats, wheatgerm, coconut, seeds, nuts, all bran and grapenuts.  Bake in 5 9x13 cookie sheets at 275 for 20-30 minutes.  (I did 20, if you want crunchier, go for 30).  Stir every 10 minutes, use within 6 months.

You can add in craisins or raisins after baking. If you do it before, you'll burn the raisins.  Ick.

This stuff is fantastic, I'm so excited to have finally made it.  It's full of fiber, protein, iron, folic acid, and all sorts of other good stuff.  Healthy and delicious!  Enjoy!