Crunchy, Nutty Goodness From Crunchy, Nutty Me!

In the spirit of all that is good and crunchy, I want you all to have my wonderfully, rockin' granola recipe. This recipe came about as the culmination of a bunch of other recipes and most importantly, my personal taste! ha!

I think I've already posted this somewhere on my blog, but in true "me" form, I don't have anything labeled or any catergories marked. So. Good luck finding it. Isn't that swell? Even my blog is unorganized. Sheesh.

Feel free to add, subtract and substitute your little hearts out with this recipe. In my humble opinion, granola is a very personal thing. Eat what you like.

Michelle's Crunchy Granola

-12 c. uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

-1 c. shredded coconut

-1 c. whole wheat pastry flour ( I've used plain whole wheat white flour too)

-1 c. sliced almonds (or any other nut for that matter!)

-1/4 c. wheat germ (opt., but not at my house)

-1/4 c. flax seed meal (opt., but not at my house)

-1 1/2 TBS Cinnamon

-1 1/2 tsp salt

-1 c. coconut oil (I'm sure other oils will work too. Olive oil may burn- so be careful)

-1 1/3 c. honey

-1 TBS vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix first 8 ingredients (all the dry stuff) in LARGE bowl. Mix coconut oil ( I melt mine first), honey and vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and mix well. I find that after I've stirred it a little with the spoon, my hands do a better job of mixing it well.Spread in a not too thick layer on 2-3 cookie sheets.Bake @ 300 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes (watch it closely the last few minutes, it can burn quickly!). Let cool and store in airtight container.

And most importantly....enjoy!

This makes the BEST breakfast cereal and since I've been given a milk reprieve (do you hear the angels singing?) by the allergist I took Charlotte to the other day, guess what I've been eating EVERY morning???

Oh yea, you better believe it....GRANOLA!

And while I am not a big fan of the whole yogurt genre of products(it makes my gag reflex turn on me!), I can actually enjoy it and you know, swallow it when I put the granola in it. It's also just a great snack!

So go forth and be crunchy this weekend, my friends. Put on your Birks, go sling your baby, buy something organic and by all means make some granola!

And most importantly, come back and tell me what ya'll think!

Have a GREAT weekend!