Granola: Not just for hippies anymore!

Ingredients

This isn't so much a recipe as a guide to making granola. Granola is super expensive to buy in the store! And even though it is supposed to be "healthy" it is often packed with fillers and who knows what else. It is actually quite easy to whip up a batch!

Ingredient Options

• 2 cups Oats (the quick kind, not the old fashioned)
• 2 cups Rice cereal (like the kind to make rice crispy's)
• 1/2 cup peanuts (or any other kind of nuts)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, butter scotch, white, any will do) You can also use M&M's
• 1/2 cup dried fruit
• 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup raisins
• Anything else you can come up with

All but the top two are optional. It's your choice! Mix all of your choice of ingredients together (holding back the chocolate chips, raisins and dried fruit till after cooking). Once mixed well, pour it out onto a cookie sheet. You may need two, just make sure it is no thicker than 1/2 inch.

Granola before toasting.

Place the granola in an oven heated to 250 degrees. Toast it for 15 minutes, stir, toast again for 15 minutes, stir, toast, stir... Well, you get the point. Do this pattern till you have toasted the mix for 45 minutes to an hour. 45 minutes usually does it for me. Allow to completely cool before mixing in the dried fruit, chocolate, and/or raisins. Store in a sealed container. I keep mine in an old oats container.

The finished product!

Serve on yogurt, as cereal with milk, or just as is. It will keep on the counter for 2 to 4 weeks, but ours never seems to stay around that long. :o)