Granola

Nothing says nutritional breakfast like a big ol' bowl of granola. And nothing says sweet and crunchy lunch like a big ol' bowl of granola. And nothing says easy delicious dinner like a big ol' bowl of granola. And ya know what makes a really simple but filling snack? Yup! You guessed it: granola! 

Okay, so maybe not everybody loves granola as much as I do. During my collage years, when dorm life denied me constant access to a kitchen, I pretty much lived off of granola. With it coming in all different variations of flavors and mix-ins, I never grew bored of my breakfast heavy diet. (Not that I'm suggesting anyone should ever live solely off of cereal. EAT YOUR VEGGIES!!!) And since granola is typically protein packed, a little went a long way in satiating my hunger.

But what is better than eating ridiculous amounts of granola? Making ridiculous amounts of granola! Today, for the first time ever, I am going to share my all-time favorite recipe. A recipe I have kept locked away in my vault for safe keeping for over 10 years, helping me to create granola that has won over cereal lovers time and time again. The granola recipe I am posting here today is a great base recipe, but the variations you can create with it are endless. Depending on your own personal tastes, you can customize this recipe to create your own unique combo of flavors you can't find in a store. So please, please, please have fun with this recipe! And when you do, I would love to hear about the flavor fusions you have created, so please comment below on what delicious combinations you come up with.

After the basic recipe, I will also post a few suggestions for variations you can make that I have tried and loved! So here you go, my secret, favorite, most sacred recipe: granola!

Tasty Spoon's Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups oatmeal (old fashioned. NOT instant!)

1/2 cup dry instant milk

3 tablespoons ground flax seed

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of salt

*3/4 cup dried fruit & nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix brown sugar, oil, and honey in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Combine dry ingredients in a large cake pan. Pour sugar mixture over dry mixture and stir to combine until almost all ingredients are moist (don't worry if it doesn't cover all the oats 100% yet. It will after it bakes in the oven). Mix in dried fruit.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Stir the granola and return to the oven. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Repeat this process, stirring every 10-15 minutes, for 3-4 more times or until all the granola is golden brown.

Let the granola cool in the pan, stirring occasionally to avoid clumping as it cools. Store in an airtight container.

*Suggestions for dried fruit and nut combinations (these are ones I really enjoy): 

-raisins and walnuts

-blueberry and almonds

-walnuts and dried cranberries

-pistachios and broken up banana chips

-almond and dried coconut

-ginger and walnut (double the ground ginger in the recipe, plus add about 1/4 cup of chopped up candied ginger for a stronger flavor)

-almond and dark chocolate

A few other variations that I love are:

Peanut Butter Granola:

Add 1 cup of creamy peanut butter to the sugar mixture. Then add 1 cup of roasted peanuts in place of dried fruits. Continue recipe as described above.

Orange Cranberry Walnut Granola:

Add the juice of one large orange to the sugar mixture. Then add walnuts, dried cranberries, and 2 Tbl orange zest to the dry mixture. Continue recipe as described above.