Homemade Granola

Here's an easy baked item that isn't a rich pie or casserole-type dish:



Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups whole oats
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted walnuts*
• 1/2 cup chopped raw almonds
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

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• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup honey
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325° F.

*It's simple enough to buy roasted walnuts, but I like doing it myself from raw. To roast your own walnuts, place 1/2 cup of nuts onto a baking sheet, and bake for about 5 minutes at 325° F, or until the nuts are fragrant. This is a good step to do while you prep your other ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Combine water, oil, honey and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil, stirring to keep the liquid from burning. Reduce heat immediately.

Make a well in the oat mixture and pour in the liquid. Mix everything with a spatula until all of the oats are evenly coated. Spread the mixture evenly over a baking sheet or glass baking dish (ideally you want as thin a layer as you can get).

Bake for 30 minutes, removing every 10 minutes to stir it around to keep it from burning onto the baking sheet. If you like crunchier granola, leave it in for an additional 10 minutes. It may still be a little soft when removed from the oven, but will become crispier as it cools.


The only downside to taking photos of my breakfast is not eating it immediately.

I normally use my granola as a yogurt topping, but it works just as well as a cereal with milk and fresh fruit, or as a base for homemade snack mix. Enjoy!