Granola

I very rarely buy cold breakfast cereal for two reasons. 1) You guessed it, it's just too darn expensive per ounce; 2) It doesn't fill me up, leaving me starving a half hour after eating it. As a result, I have come up with some breakfast alternatives that I consider superior in cost and quality.

One of those alternatives is granola. In this post I would like to share my recipe, which I collected from the book Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy. I usually make a double batch and it lasts a long time.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. concentrated apple juice from frozen concentrate (I just use apple sauce, which is a more versatile ingredient, and it tastes fine).

1/2 c. nonfat dry milk

1/3 c. honey

5 c. quick-cooking oats (the regular kind work fine, too)

2 T. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. dried fruit (I have tried raisins and cranberries)

1/2 c. nuts (I have tried peanuts, pecans, and almonds)

*The last 2 ingredients definitely up the price of this cereal. I find peanuts and raisins to be the most affordable, but sometimes I leave the fruit and nuts out altogether if I don't have any on hand. It still tastes good without, especially over yogurt.

Process:

"Mix sugar, juice, dry milk, and honey in saucepan and heat over medium heat only until sugar dissolves. Combine dry ingredients and fruit in mixing bowl. Pour sugar mixture slowly over dry mixture and blend well. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10 to 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes." (My oven runs hot, so I turn the oven down a little and stir every 5-7 minutes.)

"Options: Be creative by adding peanuts, sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, peanut butter, or whatever else your family enjoys."

"Cost analysis (1 pound):

Homemade = $1.50

Store-bought = $3.29"

Here it is fresh out of the oven. Yum!!!