"No-Nonsense" Granola...

I've been making granola for years, since our first year of marriage. I had a recipe from my mom and I followed it exactly. It was great and tasty and Steve showered me with kisses every time I made it for him.

After we moved to Arizona and we were homeless, my granola making days came to a halt. However, upon moving into our home seven months ago we had a kind neighbor drop off a container of freshly made granola and a gallon of milk. I'm done with casseroles and fresh bread for new neighbors/moms. Granola is genius and who wouldn't love a gallon of milk on their doorstep!

Steve devoured the whole container in a very short amount of time. I decided it was time to bust out the oats - once again my husband showered me with kisses. We make it about every three weeks - longer if we're on vacation.

I call it my "No-Nonsense" Granola.

After several years of making granola and swapping recipes with friends, I realized most people put some sort of nuts/seeds in their granola; almonds, pecans, walnuts and even some sunflower seeds. I am the farthest thing from a nut fan so the thought of adding any of those to granola makes me cringe, but people do it and evidently they really enjoy it. No nuts, "no-nonsense".


"No-Nonsense" Granola
8 Cups rolled oats, old fashioned
2 cups of rice krispies
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup ground flax meal
1 cup oat bran
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup sugar or molasses
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp cinnamon

Throw all dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine honey, sugar, applesauce, vanilla and cook over low heat. Pour over dry ingredients and stir well to incorporate all dry ingredients.

Cook at 250. Depending on your crispines-likeness your time will vary, as little as 40 minutes to 2.5 hours, stirring once or twice during baking. My husband likes it break-your-teeth-hard. Many like it nice and soft. Play around with it and see what you like.

As much as I would hate to ruin a perfectly good recipe, you can always add "nonsense"; nuts, seeds, dried fruit - what ever strikes your fancy.
But if you move into my neighborhood, this will be dropped off on your doorstep with a gallon of milk. Supply your own nonsense.