Really Easy Granola

Melissa Campbell, who just moved from our ward, taught me to make granola -- it is really easy and quite tasty. I modified her recipe as I only observed her make it and did not write down the proportions -- I also mixed and matched recipes I found online to come up with this one I really like. Granola-making is a good way to rotate your oats in your food storage -- while oats last a long time, they lose their taste quality after a few years. I used some 10 year old canned oats with really good results. For Christmas, we put granola in quart jars and wrapped them with ribbon. It made a nice homemade gift that is different from the usual cookies. 

 1/2 cup honey 

 1/2 cup brown sugar (light brown) 

 1/2 teaspoon salt 

 6 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

4 cups rolled oats 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

To be added during baking process: 

1/3 cup whole almonds (you can also use other nuts) 

To be added after cooled 1/3 cup raisins (or cranberry raisins) or 1/3 cup other dried fruit to your taste (optional) 

 In a a saucepan, melt the honey, brown sugar, salt, and oil. Do not bring to a boil as it will turn to candy. In a large mixing bowl, mix your oats and cinnamon together. Then, with a spatula, pour and mix the liquid mixture into the oats -- a little at a time. Make sure all the oats are well coated. Pour the granola mixture on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with baking spray -- make sure that they are in an even layer. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the almonds on top. Mix with a spatula and distribute evenly again. Bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and mix again. Bake for five more minutes (you can omit the last five minutes if you like your granola chewy and lighter). Let cool. Using a spatula, loosen the granola. When fully cooled, add your dried fruit (raisin, craisins, etc.) and mix. Put in a sealed storage container. This will store for 2 weeks on the counter -- up to a month in the refrigerator.