Granola

I used to buy granola to put in my yogurt at breakfast for quite a while. After a few months, however, I became bored with the store-bought varieties and wanted to pursue a more cost-effective option, thus leading me to devise the following mix-in combinations for a home-made granola base.

You can make any kind of granola you want, the recipe below is provided only as a base. Basically throw in anything you think sounds tasty. A good starting point, if you are coming to a blank, would be to look at the list of ingredients in the granola or granola bars you like.

Ingredients

• Old fashioned oats
• Honey

Mix-in Combination Suggestions

• Pecans, walnuts and dried cranberries or
• Orange flavored dried cranberries, orange zest and almonds or
• Ripe banana or
• Dried cranberries, almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds or
• Lemon zest, grated ginger and dried cranberries or
• Peanut butter and brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250°
2. Combine all the dry ingredients and mix
3. Add the wet and sticky ingredients and mix thoroughly (you may simmer to infuse these ingredients for better flavor)
4. The mixture should be difficult to mix with a spoon, so I suggest mixing with your hands
5. If the mixture is too wet or sticky, add more oats
6. Bake on a cookie sheet for ~30 minutes, or until golden brown, mixing half way through
7. Let the granola cool completely before moving to an air-tight container