Granola
College Cooking Tips
If your oven cooks hot, be careful. You can burn a large batch of granola in no time. Keep a close eye on the oven until you're comfortable with how it cooks. You can buy a pretty cheap oven thermometer to place on the oven rack if you want to be certain.
If your oven cooks a little cooler, just turn it up or cook a little longer.
- Eat for breakfast with milk or yogurt.
- Keep as a back up snack in your backpack.
- Enjoy as dessert by topping yogurt with granola and a few chocolate chips.
- Use as a topping on a fruit crisp.
Yes, this is more time consuming than opening a box of cereal, BUT:
- The cost of cereal in a box costs more per pound than hamburger
- Cereal in a box always talks about all of the nutrition they add....that's because the cereal by itself has very little nutrition (it won't fill you or or keep you healthy)
- It has all sorts of stuff in it that makes it last for years on your shelf....stuff you probably don't want to be eating.
So,
- save a lot of money,
- enjoy a filling AND nutritious breakfast,
- modify the recipe to suit YOUR personal tastes
- Have the granola on hand to use as a topping on fruit cobbler, add some crunch to a bowl of ice cream or just keep in a bowl to munch on while you study. (Keep some in your pocket and your horse will follow you ANYwhere!)
Granola
Modified from a wonderful cookbook, More with Less.
Single Recipe & (Double recipe)
In a large bowl mix:
- 4 cups rolled oats (8 cups)
- 1/2 cup shredded or flaked coconut (1 cup)
- 1 cup chopped nuts, you choose which nut or nuts (2 cups)
- 1/2 cup seeds- sesame or pumpkin or sunflower(might be a good idea to get the kind without the shell!) (1 cup)
- 1/2 tsp. salt (1 tsp.)
- 2 tsp. cinnamon (4 tsp.)
Combine in a separate bowl:
- 1/4 cup honey (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup light flavored oil (2/3 cups)
- 1 tsp. vanilla (1 Tbs.)
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly with the liquid ingredients:
Spread on a large greased cookie sheet with edges.
If you’re doubling the recipe…which we recommend, and you only have 1 cookie sheet simply divide the mixture in half and cook it in two separate batches. USE YOUR TIMER or you’ll burn it.
When you’re done you’ll have several weeks of breakfast options that will fit in 2 gal. ziplock bags quite comfortably.
(2 cookie sheets for doubled recipe)
Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove granola and stir.
Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes.
Keep an eye on the granola so it doesn’t burn.
Remove from the oven and stir in 1-1/2 cups craisins (3 cups) or other dried fruit.
Cool, then store in a tightly sealed container.
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