Homemade granola

Over the holidays, my sister and her family made breakfast for us. Parfaits were on the menu. It consisted of greek yogurt, sprinkled with homemade granola, and topped with berries. It was a huge hit!

I was in the process of making a care package for my brother-in-law who is in grad. school and has very little time to do anything, let alone eat healthy. So it made sense to add this along! I've never made homemade granola before, but if my nieces, ages six and nine, could help make it, how hard could it be right!? It was fun, easy, and made the whole house smell like I had been baking all day!

So here's how I made it happen!

Yields roughly 4 cups

The Players:

• 2 cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup dried orange infused cranberries*
• 1/4 cup of honey overflowing*
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract*

The Game Plan: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Spray or lightly spread olive oil around it and set aside. Then start with a mixing bowl big enough to hold all the ingredients. Add oats and sliced almonds.

Use a food processor to chop pecans into smaller pieces. Add that into the bowl along with the cranberries, cinnamon, and sea salt. Give it a quick toss with a spatula.

Now for the binders! Add the honey and olive oil. Give it a good mix. And then lastly add the vanilla extract and give it a final mix. Taste to make sure all seasonings are to your liking.

Evenly spread the granola on the baking pan. Then place in oven for 20-25 minutes. Half way in between give it a toss. Once it is done you will know because your kitchen will smell AMAZING! Use the foil to help you lift the granola mixture out and onto a cooling pan. Let cool for about 20-30 minutes. The granola will be nice and crunchy!

Store in an airtight container and it will keep for months!

* Any type of cranberries are perfect, so don't worry about finding a specific type :). I highly recommend using high quality vanilla extract because it will make a tasty difference. I also used local honey from the farmer's market and it was delish!