Super Easy Healthy Granola

The first time I made granola, I found myself researching for an easy cooking method and just what ingredients should be included in the granola. Well I searched recipes and took what I liked from the dozens of recipes I read, merged cooking methods and wrote a recipe that I believed would work well. With that recipe I  created my very "first homemade granola".   

Since that first granola, I've made this about once a month and I do experiment with ingredients based on what's on hand at the time.  After I made my first batch of granola I realized that I had greatly over spent for years on boxed granola.  You can't beat the fresher flavor of homemade granola!  You are the boss when it comes to cooking!  Experiment!! I love creating in the kitchen which is playtime for me!  

The best part of making your own is it's exactly to your taste with the fruits and nuts you love best! And did I mention that the house smells amazing too?  Play with this recipe too as far as what you love best in your granola.  If you love more fruit or nuts....add more to taste.

Ciao for now!

JPKC

Rolled Oats

Super Easy Healthy Granola

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Total baking time 60 - 65 minutes

In a large bowl mix together the following:

·      5 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)

·      1 cup shelled Sunflower seeds or shelled pumpkin seeds

·      ½ cup wheat germ

·      ½ cup flax seeds

·      1 cup brown sugar

·      3/4 cup honey or maple syrup

·      ¼ cup coconut oil

·      1 Tablespoon vanilla

·      1 Tablespoon cinnamon

·      1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

Spread on 2 cookie sheets either lightly oil sheets or use parchment paper.

Bake 20 minutes 

Stir in 2 cups of almond slivers.

Bake another 20 minutes.

Stir again.

Raise oven to 300 degrees for the final 20-25 minutes.

In a large bowl mix together:

·      1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

·      1 cup flaked coconut

·     3/4 cup dried mango, apricot, pineapple or papaya into bite sized pieces

After baking oat mixture, scoop the granola off the sheet pans into a large bowl with the dried fruits.  

Mix well and cool thoroughly.  

Store in airtight containers up to 3 weeks.  Serve with milk, over ice cream, with yogurt or however you love to eat your granola.

Finished granola ready to eat and store

The Secret Apple Oatmeal Muffin Recipe from the Corse Family Farm

There is a lot to be said for passing recipes down to the family and friends.   So much of the pleasure in our lives can come from childhood memories sitting around the table and the traditions we have developed with our families.   There may be other recipes similar in idea to what we remember growing up but, they are never quite right to our taste buds memories.

One of the reasons I started blogging recipes, is to make sure mine are passed on to my children, future grandchildren and friends.  My grandmother taught me to make some of her specialties and if she didn't pass the recipes on to me,  they would have been lost for eternity.  I would compare recipes to hearing that song that always brings back memories. The recipes we've indulged in growing up are a part of our history.

Ciao for now!

JPKC

Watch Abbie Corse make her dad's favorite muffins:



Apple Oatmeal Muffins from the Corse Family Farm
(originally posted by the Organic Valley Farm Co Op)

"This recipe came from my dad’s Aunt Florence, a woman whose love shined through her cooking. She would bring out a woven basket with a lovely tea cloth and my dad would practically clap with delight. Years later, I started making them on Christmas Eve after everyone went to sleep, to leave under the tree: a piece of the magic from the Christmas elves. – Abbie Corse, Organic Valley Farmer-Owner"

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup quick cooking oats, uncooked (organic preferred)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Large Organic Valley Egg
• 3⁄4 cup Organic Valley Whole Milk or Organic Valley Lactose Free Whole Milk
• 1⁄2 cup Organic Valley Cultured Unsalted Butter, melted, cooled
• 1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup chopped peeled apple (organic preferred)
• 1 cup golden or dark seedless raisins

1.) Heat oven to 400°F. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl; mix well. In a small bowl, beat egg lightly. Stir in milk, butter and syrup. Add to oat mixture, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apple and raisins.

2.) Spoon batter into 12 medium paper-lined or greased muffin cups (cups will be nearly full). Bake 16 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pan; transfer to wire cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with additional butter if desired.