Homemade Granola

The end of the month is always a slightly challenging time to come up with new and unique recipes. With food prices continuing to rise, we have usually depleted or come close to depleting our grocery budget for the month by these last few days. However, I am nearly always up for a good challenge, and it always encourages and amazes me to see how God provides...and He ALWAYS does! Our Heavenly Father is faithful, even when we are not. Even when we fail to trust, He provides for our every need, and in doing so bring so much glory to Himself. How awesome it is to have a Father that loves His children unconditionally!

The past few days I was struggling to come up with breakfast foods. We were out of milk and bread, so no cereal or toast (although, I experimented with some flour to make some yummy cinnamon bread. I would post the recipes, but most of the work was done in a bread machine...so I kind of feel like I cheated. ;-P). But we did have a large container of oats. Granola was the first thing that came to mind. I had never made homemade granola before, but decided to give it a try. I made a small amount, because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Scott raved on and on about it, and snacked on it for quite some time yesterday - my sign that it was a success! I am definitely making it again! All in all, it I'm pretty sure it is cheaper than buying it pre-made, and it was fun and EASY to make! Here is my recipe:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. honey
1 dash of cinnamon

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients. Add butter, and stir to coat. Pour into baking pan or on to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes. Stir in the pan. Bake again for about 7 minutes or until desired doneness is achieved. Granola will be soft in the oven, but will harden as it cools. Keep in mind that, if left on the pan, it will continue to "bake for about 5-10 minutes AFTER you remove it from the oven. This may affect how early you remove it.

This would also be a great recipe for granola bars. To make the bars, I would recommend NOT stirring the granola after 7 minutes, but rather baking it for 10 minutes straight, then cutting it into bars immediately upon removing it from the oven.

It is great eaten alone as a snack, or I served it over plain yogurt with fresh strawberries. Bon appetite!