homemade crunchy granola

I have been looking for a homemade granola recipe for quite some time now. I recently purchased How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. One of my best vegetarian purchases to date. Most of the recipes are simple and all look pretty delicious. In the book he has a super granola section, among others, that has maybe the best granola recipe ever. I have been looking for a recipe that doesn't use oil or butter. This is not an easy feat as most recipes I have found use one or both. So last night after dinner I decided to make some granola. Man was that a good decision. This granola does not compare to any store bought kind at. all. Here are some of the adjectives Kevin and I have been using to describe it: salty, crunchy, sweet, buttery (so strange since it has not butter), salty, roasted, and delicious among other things. It's so fresh and the flavor has so much depth. I was so amazed at how it tasted that I was eating dry last night by the spoonful, standing up at the stove. As it cooled it became crunchier and the flavors mixed together. Since last night's stand at the oven and scoop in your mouth moment, we have had it with vanilla soy milk. I look forward to having it with our greek yogurt and in pancakes. Oh the options! Here's the breakdown. Enjoy!

First, I added 3 cups of rolled oats to a cake pan. It called for a 9 x 13 roasting pan with 6 cups of oats. I cut it in half. I put my pan directly on top of my stove top. I roasted (?) the oats on medium heat until they were fragrant (kinda smelled like pop corn) and started turning dark. I then added slivered almonds and roasted for about 2 minutes more. Then I added coconut and continue cooking, about 2 minutes. Side note: I really do not like coconut but in this recipe it is delicious. When roasted the oils release, flavoring the granola nicely.  After the coconut I added cinnamon, salt, and honey for my sweetener. Stir throughout the process. 

After all is combined I baked it for 20 minutes. 

When I removed it from the oven I place it on a wire rack and stirred in raisins and cranberries. 

I let it cool to room temperature- while I ate spoonfuls- and then bagged it up. Sooooo easy and soooo worth it. There's no comparison!! 

From our kitchen to yours :)

Crunchy Granola (Full recipe)

I halved mine. 

6 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking or instant)

2 cups mixed nuts and seeds like sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, etc.

1 cup shredded coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste

dash salt

1/2 to 1 cup of honey or maple syrup, to taste

1 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300. Put a 9x 13 roasting pan over medium-low heat. Add the oats, stirring occasionally, until they become fragrant and start changing colors. Add the nuts/seeds and continue to stir/cook for about 2 mins. Add the coconut and continue to cook for 2 more mins. Add the cinnamon, salt, and sweetener. Stir and bake for 20 mins, stirring once or twice. Add the dried fruit and cool on a wire rack continuing to stir while the granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to airtight container and store in refrigerator. Will keep indefinitely! 

In the cookbook, Mark has some amazing variations on the above recipe. I'll share a few with you. 

- peanut butter granola with chocolate chips

- tropical with macadamia nuts, coconut milk, chopped dried papaya, mango, pineapple, banana chips

- real vanilla granola with vanilla bean

- spiced granola with ginger, ground anise, more cinnamon cardamom, grated nutmeg, ground cloves, and vanilla extract

- ginger-molasses granola with crumbled gingersnaps (yum!!) 

- almond-orange granola with orange zest, almond extract

Also, is a no bake granola bar using the above granola. The original recipe was so good I can't imagine what adding any of these additions will do! I might eat the whole thing before it makes it out of the pan. 

sweet potato and leek casserole

This is also a really easy recipe that would be good served as a side dish around holiday time. We had ours as our main dish with a side salad. It is super healthy as I omitted all the oil the original recipe called for. Because it didn't have any oil or butter in it I could really taste the naturalness of the veggies and fresh rosemary. The sweet potatoes were sweet and tender but balanced out by an mild onion taste given by the leeks. All around a very delicious dish. 


I had never cooked with leeks before so naturally I googled how to chop a leek and found a wonderful video. It said to cut the leafy green part off and use only the white stem part.

Then to cut it long ways, turn and cut again, making sure to not cut off the root part or the vegetable will fall apart. When the leek is cut this way it makes it much easier to clean.

Next, I sautéed my chopped leeks, fresh rosemary(from my garden), garlic, and cooking spray with a little vegetable stock to keep it moist.

I then layered my sprayed casserole dish with peeled, cut sweet potatoes and my leek mixture. 

Topping it all off with Panko bread crumbs and a little vegetable stock poured over it. I baked it at 400 for about 20 minutes covered and then uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. It came out crispy on top and moist inside. 

From our kitchen to yours :)

Adapted from Ultimate Everyday Cookbook by Kim Barnouin (also known as the Skinny B*&^% but I just don't like that word :))

Sweet Potato and Leek Casserole 

3 medium leeks

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

salt and pepper

2 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 400. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray (or rub with olive oil).

Sauté the chopped leeks with the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper until soft. Arrange one-third of the sweet potatoes across the bottom of the dish. Spread one-half leek mixture on top and alternate ending with potatoes on top. Sprinkle bread crumbs and pour vegetable stock on top. Cover and bake 30 minutes.