But today, I'm thinking about granola. There are many mornings my breakfast consists of two simple, homemade, food items: granola and yogurt. The secret to making my granola is very unpredictable. Are you ready? It's not something you'd ever guess... I use my crockpot! Otherwise known as a slow-cooker. Most kitchens are equipped with one. I know I bought mine for the sole purpose of birthing my babies at home. The midwives wanted a crockpot with warm cloths and water, ready for... well... ready for all the things one needs wet, warm cloths for during a birth.
Anyhow, these days, I use my slow-cooker for making granola! Without further delay or introduction, I give you....
There's no fancy or clever name for this recipe. It's just granola, after all. First, get out a big slow-cooker (mine's a 6-quart), sans lid, and lightly oil the crock Next, dump all the dry ingredients into the crock:
Give them a healthy stir to mix them all up:
Then, get out your favorite measuring utensil for finicky liquids (I use a very old "metric wonder cup" from Pampered Chef). Okay... I confess, I got mine at a garage sale and have been using it for 10 years, now! So much so that the markings are gone and I use it upside down most of the time. That said, here is the first link that came up when I googled "Metric Wonder Cup." Obviously, I have no affiliation here, just giving you a source if you want one. Measure all of the liquid ingredients into the cup. Mine's a two-cup measure, so I can do the oil, vanilla, and rice syrup at the same time!
Now, add the liquids to the crock and give everything a very good stir. In other words, combine all these ingredients with a nice, large, wooden spoon.
It should look something like the following picture:
Cook on "High" for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. I stir about every 20 minutes. This usually isn't a problem, since I'm almost always making yogurt and some other staple at the same time. Meaning I'm in the kitchen a LOT. We seem to run out of these items all at the same time! Make sure you do NOT use a lid! It sweats and the granola would never get dry enough.
After the initial 1.5 hours on "High," switch to "Low" and cook for an additional 2 hours, still stirring occasionally. After the cooking is over, pour the granola out onto a big cookie sheet or tray and let it cool. Store for up to two weeks (it won't last that long...) in an airtight container. Here it is on my tray:
And here's a close-up of the granola, so appetizing, I'll bet you want to take a bite right now!
Enjoy! Next time..... Energy Bars! I hope you'll tune in!
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