Granola (Fish, Egg, Wheat, Milk and Soy-Free, Can Be Nut-Free)

This recipe is a modified version of one I found on Allrecipes.com submitted by Tammy Neubauer.

Granola

3 Cups Old-fashioned or Quick Cooking Oats

2 – 2 ½ Cups of any combination of the following:

Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Coconut, Sunflower Seeds, Cashews,

Any other seeds or nuts

¼ Cup Brown Sugar

¼ Cup Olive Oil

¼ Cup Honey

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Dash of Salt

1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla

Any combination of the following, to taste:

Raisins, Dried Cranberries, Dried Cherries, any other dried fruit

1. Preheat oven to 350^oF.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats and your choice of coconuts, nuts and/or seeds; set aside.
3. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, oil, honey, cinnamon and salt; bring to a boil.
4. Remove sugar mixture from the heat and stir in vanilla.
5. Pour sugar mixture over oat mixture; stir to coat.
6. Spread in a large, shallow baking pan.
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until lightly toasted. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Slightly under baking is better than over baking.
8. Cool and then add your choice of dried fruits.
9. Store in an airtight container.

This is a recipe that is very customize-able. It's very good, and I've gotten a lot of rave reviews on it. You can use it as a topping, a cereal or just a snack as is. Just make sure that you let it cool thoroughly before you store it or it loses some of its crunch. Yes, unfortunately I know that from personal experience! :(

You can make this recipe nut-free by substituting oatmeal or some other dry type of ingredient (like wheat germ or coconut) for the nuts (Note: I do not consider coconut a tree nut, though some do, so if you cannot have it, leave it out.  I also do not consider seeds as a nut, because they are not, so if you cannot have them, please leave them out.).  Also, the dried fruit is totally optional. :)

Another tip: Since they are all the same amount, add the sugar, oil and honey in the order listed and you won't have any trouble with honey sticking to your measuring cup or the need to use more than one! :) Gotta love having less dishes to clean!

Please note that this recipe is fish, egg, wheat (if you don't use any wheat-germ or other wheat ingredients), and milk-free, and that it is only soy-free if you use all soy-free ingredients.

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)