Crunchy Granola and.......the Winner is........

Before we announce the winner of the free pattern from Prairie Cottage Corner, I want to share my Crunchy Granola recipe with you. I used to make this all the time....but then we were having lots of eggs and meat for breakfast......until that became a burdensome process, when I added some extra client work and more pattern challenges. So, thinks me, I should go back to a quickie meal in order to jump-start the day. 

So here it is: Crunchy Granola. I love this recipe because it makes a tender, crunchy granola that stands up to the milk or yogurt extrememly well. The recipe is below, right above the ....shhhhhhhhh....winner of the free pattern.

Put your oats and Rice Krispies in a huge bowl and mix well.  Add the liquid ingredients and mix very well.

Chop some dried apricots and combine with raisin and craisins.

Add a teaspoon of while flour to them so they don't stick together. Some of the raisins are rather stubborn about that.

Set the fruit aside until later.

Spread the oats out into a 1/2" to 1" layer in as many containers as needed. Bake them for 10 minutes, stir, and bake another 10 minutes and stir. Bake a final 10 minutes and stir well. Turn off oven and let granola stand 10 minutes. Remove and return to the mixing bowl. 

See how golden brown it all is and how each kernel is coated with sweetness?

Add the fruit all at once....

and mix well, again.

You can add pre-roasted nuts now, if you like. I do. I avoid roasting them with the oats because they get too brown.....often, they burn. Keep the granola in the freezer or fridge to keep if fresh. Granola goes bad (rancid) very quickly at room temperature.

I serve 1/2 c. granola with added cinnamon and 3 Tablespoons of Yogurt. That's breakfast (with something hot like cocoa, or Pero Mocha Hot Drink (recipe below).

Recipe for Crunchy Granola 

(you can halve these amounts for a smaller batch)

Fills two 1-gallon ziplock bags

2/3 c. Stevia + 1 T. Molasses or 2/3 c. brown sugar

2/3 c. Vegetable Oil (NOT Olive Oil)

1 c. Honey

4 t. Vanilla

6 c. Rice Krispies Cereal or puffed rice

8 c. Old-fashioned Rolled Oats

2 t. Ground Cinnamon

3 c. cut dried apricots, raisin and craisins, tossed in 1 t. AP Flour

3 c. roasted, chopped nuts of choice (salted nuts are okay)

Mix Oats, Cinnamon and Rice Krispies together well. Place Oil, Honey and Brown Sugar in a 1 quart bowl and microwave until hot, at 1 minute itervals, mixing each time. DO NOT BOIL! When hot and well combined, pour over the Oats mixture and combine well.  Spread 1" deep in pans and bake 30 Minutes at 350 degrees F; stirring every 10 minutes and rotating pans, once. Stir the third time and let stand 10 minutes in the oven with the heat OFF. Remove from oven and pour back into the mixing bowl. Let cool until barely warm and add Fruit and Nuts. Combine well. Place in 2 1-gallon Ziplock bags and freeze until ready to use. Serve with milk or yogurt.

And on another note.......

Cats on the Shelf. 

What is there about a basket they cannot resist? This is how I TRY to keep them off my lap and out of my hair in the office. They are separated by a stack of scratch paper....so appropriate!

And, now, the winner of one of these patterns IS........

  

  

!!!!!Gran Chris!!!!!!

You can write to me at prairiestitcher at centurytel dot net and tell me which pattern you would like to have. Congratulations!

Pero Mocha Hot Drink

(Use a 16oz. Cup)

2 t. Pero (coffee substitute) or Instant Coffee

1 t. unsweetened powdered cocoa

2 or more t. Sugar or Stevia

1/4 t. Cinnamon

2 drops Rum Flavoring

1/4 t. Vanilla

Fill 1/2 full with very hot water.

Fill to within 1/2" of the top with milk, cream or egg nog

Microwave about 1 minute on high. Froth with a frother, small whisk, or stir well with a spoon. Dust with a smidgeon of ground Nutmeg.

Yum! Makes a great hot party drink, too.