Happy Earth Day Granola

 2 cups Old Fashioned oats

 1/3 cup dried cranberries
 1/3 cup chopped dates or raisins (or a combination of both)
 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (or a combination of both)
 2 Tablespoons flax seed meal
 1 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Basic Granola  1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 3 cups regular rolled oats  1/4 cup honey
 1 cup shredded unpeeled apple  1/3 cup brown sugar - packed
 1/2 cup wheat germ  3 Tablespoons canola oil
 1/4 cup honey  1 teaspoon vanilla
 1/4 cup water
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
 nonstick cooking spray In a large bowl, combine the oats, chopped nuts, flax seed, flour, cinnamon
and salt. Mix well.
In a large bowl combine oats, apple, and wheat germ; mix well. In a
In a small sauce pan, combine the honey, brown sugar and oil. Cook over
small saucepan stir together honey, water, and cinnamon. Heat to
medium heat - stirring often - until well combined. Stir in vanilla.
boiling; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla or almond extract. Pour over
oat mixture; mix well. Drizzle the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is
moistened.
Spray a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with nonstick spray coating. Spread
oat mixture evenly in pan. Bake in a 325 degrees F oven about 45 Spread mixture evenly over an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees
minutes or till golden brown, stirring occasionally. Spread onto foil to for 35 minutes - stirring and flipping the granola every 10 minutes. Before the
cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. final flip, mix in the dried fruit.

Allow granola to cool completely before serving. It will crisp up as it cools.

 Maple Pecan Granola Clusters
 2 and 1/2 cups Old Fashioned or quick oats
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
 1/2 cup brown sugar - packed
 1 teaspoon salt
 3/4 cup chopped pecans
Skillet Granola  1/2 cup butter
 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
 1 cup old-fashioned oats  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
 1/4 cup sesame seeds  1/4 to 1/2 cup raisins
 2 Tablespoons honey
 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons butter Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
 1/2 cup dried fruit or raisins (optional)
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and pecans.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. As the
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the maple syrup and vanilla.
butter begins to melt, slowly stir in the honey until well combined.
Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
Add the sesame seeds and cook for 2 minutes - stirring often.
Spread mixture out over a lightly greased baking sheet.
Add the oats and cook 3 to 4 more minutes - stirring often - until the
oats are golden brown. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the granola and bake an additional 15 minutes. Add
the raisins, stir the granola and bake 3 more minutes.
If you're adding raisins or dried fruit, stir them in just as the oats start
Remove from oven. Allow granola to cool completely before serving or storing.
to brown.
Stores well for a week in an airtight container.
Spread granola evenly over a large cooking sheet to cool.
Almond Raisin Granola
 3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
 1 cup slivered almonds
 1 cup golden raisins
 3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
 1/3 cup sesame seeds
 1/4 cup vegetable oil Cherry Pistachio Granola
 6 Tablespoons pure maple syrup  3 cups old-fashioned oats
 6 Tablespoons (packed) brown sugar  1/2 cup dried cherries (or cherry juice-infused craisins)
 2 tablespoons HOT water  1/2 cup dried blueberries (or blueberry juice-infused craisins)
 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon  3/4 cup chopped pistachios
 3/4 teaspoon salt  1 1/2 tablespoons flour
 vegetable or canola cooking spray  1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  1/2 teaspoon sea salt
 1/2 cup honey
Coat a large, rimmed baking sheet lightly with with cooking spray.  1/2 cup packed brown sugar
 4 tablespoons oil
In a large bowl, toss oats with the almonds, coconut and sesame  1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
seeds.  1 tablespoon cherry juice
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a small bowl, stir the the syrup, brown sugar, oil, cinnamon and salt
together with the water until well blended. Combine oats, nuts, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Pour wet mixture over oat mixture and stir to combine.
Spread combined mixture evenly over the prepared baking sheet.
Stirring occasionally, bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until evenly
browned.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Mix in the raisins.
In a medium saucepan, stir honey, sugar, and oil over medium heat until
melted and combined. Remove from heat and add vanilla and cherry juice.
Drizzle honey mixture over dry ingredients and mix until evenly moistened.
Turn out onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring
every ten. At the 20 minute mark, add in the dried fruit. Cool and serve.
 Halloween Pumpkin Pecan Pie Granola
 3 and 1/2 cups rolled oats - quick cooking or old fashioned
 1 cup chopped pecans and/or sliced almonds
 1/3 cup brown sugar
 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice*
Lemon Poppy Seed Granola Clusters  1/2 cup honey
 2 and 1/2 cups Old Fashioned or quick oats  2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour  2 teaspoons vanilla
 1/2 cup brown sugar - packed  1 cup raisins and/or or dried cranberries
 1 teaspoon salt  1 handful orange & black M & M candies**
 2 teaspoons lemon zest - from 1 lemon Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Have two baking sheets ready - coat
 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds lightly with cooking spray.
 3/4 cup slivered almonds
 1/2 cup butter - melted In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts, sugar and pumpkin pie
 1/2 cup pure maple syrup spice. In a separate medium bowl bowl, mix together the honey,
 2 Tablespoons honey applesauce and vanilla.
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
 1/4 cup dried blueberries or currants (optional) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix with clean hands
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. until everything is moistened. Squeeze a few bits into clusters to give
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, zest of 1 lemon, poppy
seeds, salt and slivered almonds.
the granola a more interesting texture.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the maple syrup, honey and vanilla.
Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Spread the mixture out onto the two baking sheets.
Spread mixture out over a lightly greased baking sheet. Press down to make a large
"cookie" that covers most of the sheet. (It's much easier to make the layer even if you
cover it with a sheet of waxed paper and smooth out the granola mixture evenly.)
Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes - stirring the granola every 10
Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the granola and bake an additional 15 minutes. Note: When minutes - until lightly browned. It might not seem crispy when you
you flip the granola, it is easiest to break it up into large pieces to flip. In the end, it all take it out of the oven, but it will crisp as it cools.
gets crumbled-so don't worry about how many pieces it breaks up into!
In this last step, remove the granola from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees
F. Use a wooden spoon to break up the pieces into bite size clusters. Add the dried
When completely cool, fold in the rains (and/or cranberries) and the
blueberries or currants (if using) and bake 10 more minutes. M&M's.
Remove from oven. Allow granola to cool completely before serving or storing.
Stores well for at least a week in an airtight container. Enjoy as a breakfast cereal or as a snack. It's a great thing to have
around during the Halloween season.

Stores well up to a week in an airtight container.

 Toasted Ginger Muesli with Blueberries & Banana
 2 and 1/2 cups rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned)
 1/2 cups sunflower seeds
 1/2 cup chopped almonds
 1/2 cup agave nectar
 1/4 cup sultanas or Thompson raisins
 1/4 cup crystallized ginger - chopped
Chex & Cheerios Trail Mix
 1/4 cup blueberries
 1 medium banana - sliced
 2 cups Cheerios cereal
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 2 cups Chex cereal (any kind)
 2 cups Kix cereal
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, and seeds. Drizzle this mixture with
 1 cup raisins
agave nectar and stir with a spoon or spatula to coat evenly.
 1 cup candy-coated chocolate candies - if desired
 1 cup peanuts - if desired
Cook about 20 minutes - stirring every 6 or 7 minutes - until the oats are
lightly browned and toasted.
Mix all ingredients. Store in a tightly-covered container.
Remove the oats from oven and allow them to cool completely (about 20
minutes). Add the dried fruit and ginger and mix through. Garnish with
blueberries and banana slices. Serve with milk.