This is for you Dad!!
I've been telling my Dad how easy it is to make his own granola, not to mention how much cheaper it is than buying it. It literally only takes me 5 minutes to make it and then about 30-45 minutes to bake, depending on if I have anything else in the oven and what temperature I bake it at. I just throw it together and don't measure anything, so I have tried to think about it and put measurements to it here. It is hard to mess up granola, so just go with it! I use organic ingredients for most everything, but using REAL maple syrup is the most important part, local is even better! A lot of granola recipes use honey in them, but I have found that my granola burns easily if I do that, so I stick with just maple syrup.
Katie's Granola Recipe
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Stir all dry ingredients together in large bowl:
4 cups of rolled oats
1 cup of chopped nuts (I use walnuts because they are the cheapest, but feel free to mix with pecans or almonds)
1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup of ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon ginger
Then add wet ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Enough maple syrup to entirely coat everything. The more you add, the more your granola will stick into clumps. I'd say about 1 1/2 cups.
Mix everything together well than spread onto a large cookie sheet. You can use parchment paper if you want, but I typically don't need to. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until it is golden and looks dry and smells delicious! You will be able to smell if it is burning. When it is just about done, I normally turn off the oven and leave the granola in to cool. When it is totally cool you can mix in cranberries and store it in a pretty glass container where you can admire your homemade granola and get excited for breakfast tomorrow!