Granola!

I enjoy granola in my yogurt.  Not all of the time, but as a treat.

Then, one day a few years ago, I was reading the ingredients of one of the more highly recommended "healthier" granolas and was confused - WHY did they feel the need to add salt?  The company, who shall remain nameless, had listed each item:  oats, honey, almonds, salt, etc.  So, I knew the salt was added on its own and didn't get listed simply because it was already on the almonds or another ingredient.

So, like I always do, I decided to jump on the 'net to see what I could find about this little treat.  Seriously, it couldn't be too hard to make a granola . .  could it?

Checking out pinterest and Allrecipes and a few other sites, I realized that making granola might be a little time consuming, but would come together quickly.  As a bonus, I had every ingredient on hand to make my first attempt.

And, that attempt was devoured in no time flat!  Miss Mia became a convert and started requesting it as her "dessert" after dinner.  Aisey . . . well, they were like her Scooby Snacks.  There were some larger clumps, and she took to requesting those as special treats when she was being good or celebrating successes (potty training bribes, I will admit).

I've slowed down making it . . . not because it isn't good, because it is GREAT, but because I have to watch how I "spend" my energy.  I highly recommend tying this at least once!  Plus it's always fun to show the kids how we can make something at home instead of driving to a store and buying something that may have ingredients you don't necessarily want as part of your life. 

Granola
~ adapted from wallflourgirl

6 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup almonds, chopped (walnuts and pecans would work as well)
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c water
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300F.

Spray roasting pan (or anything 9x13 or larger) lightly with Pam.  Dump the oats and almonds into roasting pan.  Set aside.

Heat brown sugar nd water in a medium saucepan until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil.  turn off heat and stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour mixture over oat mixture in roasting pan nd still until oats are evenly coated  Ensure that oat mixture is even in height by patting down gently so there will be no uneven browning.

Bake at 300F for 45 minutes, until a deep golden brown.  Stir every 15 minutes.  Remove roasting pan to cooling rack and let baked granola cool completely.  After granola has cooled, crumble to size of your choice (as I said, there were some larger bite sized clumps mixed in with mine, but the girls liked it that way because it was like getting a "treat" with the larger clumps).

Stir in airtight container (wide mouth canning jars with reusable plastic lids are great to use . . . . or the large plastic nut containers - I LOVE the squareness of those containers - and the fit nicely in the pantry).  I cannot tell you how long this can last - our granola usually disappears within a week of being made.