Granola

I have recently discovered that I LOVE granola!  A buddy of mine bought my family some of this trail mix and I was hooked! Since then I have thought I could make this and it would be cheaper and better for me.  Well, I finally made the time to research it and I have found a recipe that looks pretty good.  Here it is: ( from food.about.com)

To make granola, you'll need:

• 4 cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup of wheat germ
• 1 cup of wheat flakes
• 1 cup of chopped pecans
• 1/2 a cup of coconut
• 1/2 a cup of raisins
• 1/2 a cup of chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 a cup of canola oil
• 1/2 a cup of honey
• 1/2 a cup of coconut
• 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla

Mix the Dry Granola Ingredients

The first step is to measure your dry ingredients into a big bowl. So that's the oats, the wheat germ, the wheat flakes, the pecans, and the coconut. Give them a quick stir with a spoon, and you're done with step one.

Combine the Granola Wet Ingredients

Next, combine all of your wet ingredients in a medium saucepan: the oil, the honey, and the vanilla - and heat them together over low heat. You don't have to heat them long, just long enough to get them all combined.

Mix the Granola Ingredients

When the wet ingredients are warmed up, pour them into the dry ingredients and give them a good stir. At this point, your granola is ready to bake. While your oven preheats to 350, spread your granola mixture evenly onto a lightly greased cookie sheet or shallow pan.

Bake the Granola

Bake for about 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn the granola over with a spatula. Bake for another 5 minutes – until the granola is lightly toasted – then remove it from the oven. 

While it's still warm, pour the granola into a big bowl and add the raisins and the apricots, and stir. Now it just needs to cool down a bit and it's ready to serve. 

And that's it - your own homemade granola that the great Ewell Gibbons would be proud of!