Crunchy, Granola Heads. (Healthy!)

This recipe was inspired by my little sister Casey (she's 12). She took an after-school cooking class in elementary school (she wanted to compete with the big dogs). In this class she learned a bunch of microwave recipes -- most of them were surprisingly good. One of them was a recipe for granola.

Since I have a severe nut allergy, Casey has been put on the task of keeping the house supplied with nut-free granola. This basically went on for the year and a half that I was living at home. Well, now I have to fend for myself. After watching Casey, and completely butchering two huge batches of the cereal - i was fortunately able to clear the smoke before Jim got home - I think I've finally got it right.

Granola for Two

2 Cups Oats (plain ol' Quaker oats will do)
1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
3 Tblsp. Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tblsp. Honey
2 Tsp. Vegetable Oil

If you want to make the granola in the oven:

1) Mix the oats, sugar, honey, and veggie oil.
2) Spread it on a baking sheet and cook in the oven at 275 degrees, mixing every 15 minutes.
3) Then put it in a bowl and add the coconut and cranberries.
4) Let it chill out in the fridge until it sets.

If you want to make the granola in the microwave:

1) Just mix it all in a microwave-safe bowl.
2) Microwave it for 2 minutes, stopping every 15 seconds to stir and make sure it isn't burning.

You really can have fun with this recipe. You can add different types of dried fruits, nuts, use syrup instead of honey for a more nutty flavor, add some chocolate chips to make it fun and kid-friendly... it's really an "everything but the kitchen sink" kind of thing. The best part is that you can munch on it plain, throw some milk in and call it cereal, use it as a topper for ice cream, or stick it in a bowl of yogurt with some fresh bananas to make it a well balanced (and really tasty) breakfast!

I was going to put mine on ice-cream, so I mixed it up with chocolate chips while it was still warm. The chocolate got a little melty and it tasted like a giant, crunchy, chocolate chip cookie. Yum!