g is for granola

I went to visit my mom in March this year in Moscow. Every morning for breakfast I had a bowl of granola and yogurt. It didn't take long before I was addicted, so I began pricing it here once I got back. It's so expensive! I was sad to see how much it was because I couldn't feel good about spending that kind of money when there are so many cheaper breakfast alternatives. In May we had an enrichment meeting and one of the mini-classes was on using your food storage. I had gone on a home-made kick before and just let it fizzle, but this class inspired me to try again. I looked for some granola recipes online and found some that looked pretty good. Most of them are more complicated than I would like, especially since more ingredients means more money to be spent on it. Then I found this simple recipe in my Taste of Home cook book. I have made it several times and it's really good with yogurt and berries. Caleb likes it with milk. The only thing I had to buy for it was wheat germ, since I already had all the other ingredients. I found a 12 oz. bottle of wheat germ at Walmart for about $4, which is about how much a small box of granola costs. So instead of about 12 servings for $4, you get about 12 cups of homemade granola for the same price. And I just found a 20 oz. jar of wheat germ at HEB for $5 this week. That'll make two batches and cut the cost almost in half. It's so easy to make, although it does require a couple hours at home. Here are the specifics:

Toasted Granola

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 6 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 jar (12 ounces) toasted wheat germ
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring brown sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, flour and salt. Stir oil and vanilla into sugar mixture; pour over oat mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake at 250° for 1-3/4 to 2 hours or until dry and lightly browned, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 11-1/2 cups.