Well I am usually one of the first people in the country to
file, as in the day I receive my W-2 I will get everything together and file.
This year I was not nearly as organized and may have procrastinated beyond
belief. This is partially due to my complete obsession with comparing itemizing
with the standard deduction and my desk may have eaten my W-2 form…well I will
say it was my desk. If you follow me on Instagram you saw my not so organized mess
of a desk after it threw up all over the place.
Just in case you were wondering I did go the itemized route, but that is probably because after a nasty jaw bone infection, root canal, numerous trips to the doctor for said infection my daughter pushed the itemization up over the top!
Now to get onto the creation of one of my all time favorite
healthy as long as you don’t eat the entire jar snack. Yes I have been known to
eat straight from the jar and possibly the entire jar while mindlessly munching
away at my desk. This also stores really well canned…you knew I would say it,
as I hate making small batches of anything just to have to remake it a few
weeks later. The suspense is killing you I know…my favorite healthy snack food
is granola. I urge you to not overeat this like I frequently do. Seriously I
add it to yogurt, sprinkle it on top of fresh fruit especially sliced
strawberries, and even throw a little into my oatmeal for some extra crunch,
because who doesn’t like a little crunch to break up their oatmeal monotomy.
This is not my original idea, because I am from the era that
only beef stew is made in a crock, and only veggies were canned. Then I began
the journey of making and canning all sorts of things to extend the time I can
store them. I may need a pintervention as I am addicted to it, but here is the
pin that started the granola making journey. While your there feel free to follow me, I will keep the pins coming because
one of my favorite insomnia induced addictions is pinning food and watching
workout videos from the fitness boards. You would think I would be motivated to
actually exercise but nah I would much rather lay in bed and watch the workout
videos on my phone. This does count as working out!
I do love the recipe from the pin as well as the blog that
it came from that you can visit here. Please don’t get too hung up on making this recipe perfect if you choose to
tackle it because when I first started making granola I sure did feel like the
world might stop turning if it wasn’t perfect, but blah-o was what I had because
every bite I thought man I wish there were more….until I found a combination
that I loved and I perfected a way to store it really well. I tweaked but
didn’t change the recipe much as the original is pretty great in my family’s
book.
So I am going to begin with some things that I learned along
the way that will make your life easier when making granola in the crock. First
begin with the largest crock you have, I use a 7 quart oval one; you can use
the round 4 quart as well. I choose the larger because I am messy and will have
stuff everywhere; the puppies love this but I also have trouble stirring in the
round one and end up burning the edges. There is nothing worse than burnt
coconut, the smell the taste, even the look will make you want to hurl. Leaving
the lid cracked means allowing all the moisture to escape. In the oval crock I
give the lid a quarter turn, in the round one I will prop up the lid with my
wooden spoon. When cooking granola if it doesn’t smell really great, add more
moisture and spices right away or else you will have ho hum granola. Lastly do
not use the nut chips made for cookies like I did when making this for this
very write up (pretend the pics have real nuts pieces for me); this sounds like
it would be a great idea but when you eat it you will think did the kids pick
out all the nuts. This will also make the granola really dense in the jar which
is causing me settlement issues, which means large chunks of granola. Not fun
at all! I am thinking I will scrap the lot by using it as a base for granola
bars, but haven’t decided what binder will go well with this taste.
In case you have been living under a rock here is my crock. I don't promote any certain brand, but do promote getting one that will last as spending less today and then having to replace it in a short time is not my idea of being responsible with the money that I have worked hard to earn. You can see that I also am double crockin; the baby in the back is so cute but doesn't hold much if you have a family.
Homemade Cinnamon Pecan Granola
5 cups of oats (old fashioned ones, not quick or steel cut)
1 ½ cups pecans (rough chopped)
1 ½ cups coconut sometimes 2 cups if I am in the mood to
walk on the wild side
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla
¾ cup coconut oil
¾ cup honey
Measure and dump the oatmeal, pecans, and coconut in the
largest crock that you have or the one you have chosen to use. Be sure to mix
everything up really well before adding the coconut oil and honey.
Because I am all about easy, measure the coconut oil out in
a 2 cup glass measuring cup and then put the honey right on top until you get 1
½ cups combined. Then just pop this into the microwave for 10 second intervals
until the coconut oil melted and the honey is thinned. Pour this over the
granola and add the cinnamon and vanilla and mix really well.
Turn the crock on medium to low. If your crock is like mine
you have 4, 6, 8 and 10 hour options. I like to use the 10 hour setting and be
certain to stir every 30 minutes; I am prone to burning everything. This setting only requires 3 hours 30 minutes
in my crock to cook. Be sure to leave the lid ajar to allow the steam to
escape. You will know it’s done when there is no more moisture and the coconut
is crispy. The crispy coconut is my favorite part of this granola.
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If you plan on making several batches for storage, I find
that writing the date made on the lid in black marker
works really well.
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I leave the granola in the crock to cool 30 minutes and stir
every 10 minutes to ensure it all cools evenly and thoroughly. I then jar this
up into 3 sterilized quart sized jars and seal them. At this point I have to
resist the urge to push the center of the lid to seal it….ok I may have just
run over and pushed one but just one. As long as the jar is sealed this granola
will last several months in the pantry as long as you keep it hidden from your
family.
I know everyone has a preference on how to eat granola, but my favorite has to be on either yogurt or fresh strawberries.
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For printable recipe click here.
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