Monday, July 2, 2012

Granola

One of our favorite breakfast cereals is granola.  But finding inexpensive dairy free granola can be a challenge.  I have found that if I want granola with no dairy I have to buy the expensive organic brands in the tiny boxes.  It seems to be a bit of a waste of money to me when I can easily make my own.  I have made it several times, but I tried this recipe recently and wanted to share it with you all.


                                    Easy Granola*
  • 2 teaspooons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups whole oats ( I like the Trader Joes Brand)
  • 1/2 cup Rice Twice cereal ( or other crisped rice)
  • 1/4 cup flax seeds or flax seed meal
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds
  • 1 cup dried cranberries ( I used the orange flavored ones from Trader Joes)

If you look real close at the TV you will see the severe weather alert crawling across the screen.  We had some wild storms roll in while I was putting this together. 

First things first, preheat your oven to 300F.  While the oven is heating, mix together your spices.  In a medium bowl whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, salt, honey, oil, maple syrup, water, and vanilla.

Add in all your dry ingredients and coat evenly.  Spread on a baking sheet.  You can line the baking sheet with parchment paper, but I didn't have any on hand.  We are trying to lower our waste so I stopped buying things like that and am finding alternatives.  I used just a small amount of cooking spray on my pan and spread it evenly with my (clean) fingers to lightly grease the entire sheet. 

Bake until the granola is dry and crisp, but do not let it  brown.  It took about 35-40 minutes for mine to finish up.  You can stir it a couple times as well. 


Once cooled completely, store in an airtight container.  I use Ball Jars- they work perfectly!  This amount filled 1 large jar and 1 small jar.  You could easily double it.  

I adapted the recipe from the original to suit our tastes.  I omitted the pecans and added almonds, used flax seed meal instead of whole flax seed, and added in some dried cranberries.