Most recently I learned the joy and ease of homemade granola. To be honest, I faintly remember my parents making granola a handful of times when I was younger but now that I'm grown (and broke) the genius of it all has finally sunk in. I love anything that is personalized so custom-made granola is like a thrifty gift and triumph all in one. And it's hard to mess it up (unless you burn it in the oven), which is great for me because I'm a rebel and hate having to figure out exact measurements.
Here's the very simple recipe:
Ingredients
2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
½ cup nuts of your choosing
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon salt
Optional ingredients
1⁄8 cup flax seeds
1⁄8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup dried fruit
Directions
Heat oven to 325. Place oats, nuts, flax seed and coconut in the baking pan. Melt coconut oil in saucepan; mix in the honey, vanilla, almond extract and salt. Pour mixture over oats and nuts and mix well. Bake for 15 minutes and stir; 15 minutes and stir. Repeat until at desired browness. Take out and add dried fruit.
December 2013 update
Here's a very snazzy pic of my granola Craft-mas project. As I like to say, "Martha who?":
