Tried Granola Again

Another adventure in granola - this time in the oven. The skillet variety was good, but this makes more at once, and it just sounded so good!

Mix in a big bowl:

3c rolled oats
1/2 c slivered almonds
1/2 c cashew pieces
1/2 c pumpkin seeds
1/2 c pistachios (shelled)
1/2 c flax seeds
1/4 c + 2T brown sugar

Mix in a little bowl:

1/4 c + 2T maple syrup
1/4 c olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt

Pour the second mixture onto the first and stir to combine. Spread over two baking sheets and bake in a 250 degree oven for an hour and fifteen minutes, stirring every 15-20. Let cool. Snack On!

It's not out of the oven yet - but it smells lovely!

Because I needed more fiber in my diet . . .

(Do I sound like I'm 50 yet?)

I needed something to tuck into my lunch today, to round it out. So I went looking for a recipe for granola, and I think I may have struck gold!

Here's what I did:

2T butter
2T honey

melt these together in a pan until they bubble slightly

1/4 c *stuff

add this and stir for a minute or so

1 c old fashioned rolled oats (long cooking oatmeal)

add this and stir until all the oats are coated in the honey/butter mixture, then continue to stir for another **three or four minutes.

Pour this onto a piece of foil or a cookie sheet to cool. You may want to butter this surface lightly to prevent the granola from sticking.

I think it turned out well. It made a nice little batch, and I could easily double or triple the quantities. This time I used a nonstick skillet, but I think next time I'm going to try the cast iron skillet.

I'm rather excited about today's lunch (dinner, I work second shift). I'm having fresh corn off the cob, chicken salad with celery and apple, carrot sticks and peanut butter, and now granola.

*this could be anything in the nut/seed familiy. Today I used some milled flax seed and sunflower seeds, but the next time I'm at Trader Joes I'm going to find some interesting nuts and seeds.

**all times are approximate, as I don't have a clock handy in the kitchen, and I don't like to be that exact anyway.