Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Granola!!

We love our granola here!

We eat it with yogurt or milk....make it into muffins...and love granola bars!

But man, it is expensive to purchase. So, I make it myself. It is SO much cheaper than way, plus you can control the flavors.

Here are my favorite recipes (created by combining my favorite recipes)
Granola
4 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups rice krispies
2 cups nuts (best if they are not toasted)
1 1/2 cup dried fruit
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix oats, cereal, and nuts in a large bowl. In small bowl, mix oil, honey, and vanilla. Pour oil mixture over oats and combine until well-coated. Add cinnamon and mix again. Pour onto large baking sheet and smooth into even layer. Bake 25-30 mins (or until golden brown) at 350 F, stirring every 5-10 mins. Remove from oven and add fruit. Allow to cool completely. Store in air-tight container.


Granola Bars (these taste like Luna Bars Nutz over Chocolate)
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter (I use natural, chunky)
4 cups rice krispies
2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
12 oz chocolate chips, melted (optional)

In a large pot, heat corn syrup and sugar until simmering. Stir in peanut butter. Remove from heat. Add cereal, oatmeal, and nuts. Mix until well-combined. Press into 9x13 pan (press hard!). Spread melted chocolate on top. Allow to cool completely. Slice into bar-sized pieces. Store in air-tight container.

**These are methods...so mix up the ingredients as you like (use different cereals, nuts, fruits, candies, spices, add ground flax seed or wheat germ).

No comments: