Sunday 5 February 2012

Lazy Granola

One of my kids' favourite snacks remains yogurt, granola and stuff.  I love this recipe for Lazy Granola.  I've made it many times now and I love a few things about it.

I love how it smells in the house, but it's not so strong that I can't sleep (sometimes food smells do that to me, that's why I can't have a breadmachine to program so I wake up to fresh bread, the smell just rouses my senses and I can't sleep through it).  I like that it's bare naked and you make it what you want, the base of oats, honey, oil, cinnamon and vanilla are a perfect balance.  I like that it doesn't stick to the pan.  I like that it requires only 20 minutes of oven time and I can whip a batch up really close to the kids bedtime and it takes a minute to throw together.  I do wish that it stuck in little clumps just a bit more, if you can suggest how I might achieve that, please pass on your secret.  Feel free to suggest another recipe that works well for you, I like to experiment.

Lazy Granola
14 cups rolled oats
1 cup oil (I use coconut or butter)
1 cup of honey
2 teaspoons cinnamon (rounded for us)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Melt the honey and oil together, either in the microwave or on the stove. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the oats in a large, lightly greased, roaster pan, stir well, and place in the oven at 350 degrees. Cook for 20 minutes, stir, place back in the hot oven, close the door, turn off the heat and leave overnight.
Some of the things we've added so far are: coconut, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, chopped walnuts, flax meal. 

We usually buy Astro 6% fat plain and unsweetened.  I drizzle maple syrup or honey on each serving to take the edge off, but I don't think the kids need it; when I forget, they don't mention it.
This granola works on yogourt, in a bowl with milk, or dry in a small container in a kid's lunch and let them dress it up so they'll eat it.

Edit: I've baked this for 40 minutes and it was much more crispy and light. I highly recommend it.

If you're not looking for a big batch, you can scale mine back easily or try this one.  It looks good too.

4 comments:

  1. I like this idea of playing it by ear by what is in the house......I'm going to try it...

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    1. I have just added the actual recipe, sorry for the omission. I'm not sure who you are, but have fun with it! Thanks for your comment.

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  2. Ah honey is what I forgot to buy yesterday! L loves to mix things in with her oatmeal and I'm thinking honey would be yum. Oh, semi-off topic but one of my favourite food sites is 'A year of slow cooking'; she has an index and makes/tries just about anything including yogurt! http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ I think you'll like it - she is clever and amusing in her writing style!

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    1. Thanks for recommending a site to me. Though I don't own a slow cooker, I can almost always find an idea or two and I did! I have another friend who has successfully made his yogurt and I may too one day when I have more space, literally, in my house. I can't picture where I'd keep a small cooler in the warm part of my house for a whole day undisturbed by children.

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