Tasty Tuesday!

Reposting this for Tasty Tuesday since I just remembered it (from last year) and it's sooooooo good!

Last night I made my first ever batch of homemade granola! My sister (who used to have the nickname "Granola" because she was a serious tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, no-sugar-eating fanatic!) gave me a few tips, and combined with a basic recipe that I found online...well, I have to say - it's FABULOUS!!! I will never buy pre-made granola in bags/boxes at the grocery store again.

I really wish I'd thought to take pics of the making of the granola, but it was late and I just didn't think about Tasty Tuesday being today...so please forgive me for only having pics of the finished product.
My recipe is a version of the one found here.

I used maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup, ladies!), vanilla extract, canola oil, steel cut oats, thick cut oats, large unsweetened coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries....(you can even some semi-sweet chocolate chips if you like - and who doesn't?!) YUMMMMMY!! And all organic for around $6.00 a batch (and it's a big batch!)! I got my ingredients in the bulk section of Earthfare - I now want to LIVE in that store, btw. No need to get a huge bag, just get what you need for a batch at a time since it's all organic and doesn't have all those nasty preservatives. BTW, I saw some tiny bags of pre-made granola there for $3.89 and up...puhlease! No way! Not when my house can smell that good while it's baking - and the homemade stuff taste SO much better!

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together except for the dried fruit. Set the dried fruit aside.
2. In another bowl mix the sweetener, oil, and extract together.
3. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. The liquids will be absorbed and the granola will become darker and shinier.
4. Spread the granola in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for ten minutes. Use a spatula and turn the granola on the baking sheet. Place the granola back in the oven and bake for another ten minutes or until fairly dry and starting to brown. Remove the granola from the oven and stir in the fruit.

Tips

1. Granola will become crispier and crunchier as it cools.
2. Because of the oil, granola will not stay fresh long. Store in an airtight container and use within two weeks. Freeze for longer storage.

Yummmm...breakfast!

Click over to Balancing Beauty & Bedlam for more amazing recipes!