It's a granola day!

For breakfast, my family had some leftover blueberry pancakes that my husband made recently. I couldn't handle anything as heavy as that at 7 a.m. so I nursed my coffee. When my husband left for work, my daughter and I started making granola.

Why granola?

Because I opened a fresh canister of oats yesterday and my daughter asked for plain old Cheerios at the grocery store and, in preschooler fashion, decided she hated them. Plus, we're low on trail mix so granola would make a nice substitute.

The base for my granola is a recipe from The Imus Ranch cookbook. My stepmother is a huge Imus fan so she bought it, but she doesn't cook. Plus it's primarily vegan so she's certainly not going to do that. Deirdre Imus, while calling herself vegan, does use honey and eggs. She uses eggs because she has her own chickens. So technically, she's ovo-vegetarian.

Basically, I take the Imus recipe for Rio Grande Granola and adapt it for my family's needs. Deirdre Imus combines about 3 cups of oats and dried fruit with spices and about 1/4 cup safflower oil. She flattens it on a sheet and bakes it at 300 degrees for about a half hour, flipping it once at the midpoint.

Now, I double that and in addition to oil I use about 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses for the iron content... Today I had no dried fruit other than raisins and no nuts other than chopped walnut topping so that's what I used. The small nuts are easier for my daughter to chew anyway. Lots of nuts. 1/4 cup in the original recipe. I double that for extra protein... but you'll see.

My plain granola

In a bowl combine: 

2 cups rolled oats;

2 cups Cheerios or other cereal that's been hanging around the house too long;

1/4 cup sugar (I use brown);

1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit (craisins, dehydrated fruit, etc.);

1/2 cup nuts;

1 tablespoon cinnamon;

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger;

Separately (I use my glass measuring cup) combine: 

1/4 cup oil;

@ 4 tablespoons honey;

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses;

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I only use pure, no imitation in this house)

Pour liquid over dry ingredients and stir until dry ingredients are moist. Spread on large jelly roll pan (Is that what you call the cookie sheets with the lip?) as flat as possible. Bake about 15 minutes at 300. Remove from oven and "flip." I do this by stirring all the granola into the center and flattening it out again. Cook another 15 minutes. Remove from oven. If you want some extra sweetness, sprinkle a couple tablespoons of chocolate sprinkles across the top and let cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Good for a snack. Add to yogurt for a yummy breakfast.