Ugh... practically every blogger right now is writing about how much they love Fall. And though I wish I wasn't doing what everyone else is doing - I LOVE FALL!
Ok, I got that out of the way. (even though it will probably come up again in the next 15 or 16 posts)
Something I really enjoy doing for myself and my family is finding simple ways to celebrate each season. Fall is crazy easy to enjoy, right? The only way a person might conceivably NOT enjoy Fall is if they shut themselves inside their window-less home for three months and forced all pumpkin and cinnamon and apple flavored/scented/decorated things be checked at the door. And even then, I still think some Fall loveliness would seep in and they'd be stuck enjoying it, even despite their best attempts not to.
The past few years I've prepared a special breakfast for our family to celebrate the first day of Fall. This year I was out of town for the first day, but I WILL NOT let the celebration slide! It's tomorrow morning. So today, one of the things I did to get ready was make Pumpkin Pecan Granola. It's delish! And I'll tell you about it here...
Pumpkin Pecan Granola Recipe
(pst! it's healthy!)
Dry Ingredients
8 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup oat bran
1 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup slivered natural almonds
2 cups finely chopped pecans
"Wet" Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin puree (I use canned, but I'm sure fresh is fab!)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (use real maple syrup if you can!! better flavor, better for you!)
3/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 (heaping) T. pumpkin pie spice
1 T. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl or pot. Set aside.
Combine all the wet ingredients in a medium pot. Stir regularly over a medium flame, careful not to let bubbles spurt hot pumpkin stuff all over you! It won't come to a boil, but heat it through well (until the spurting bubbles become too much!)
Stir the wet mix into the dry ingredients. Stir well to coat evenly. (It helps to be a body builder to do this or to have a husband with strong biceps who's willing to wield a mixing spoon.)
Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread granola evenly on both.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. (I tend to bake it on the long side to crisp it up a bit.) Stir half way through.
Allow to cool completely before storing. I store half in a tupperware in our cereal cupboard, and the rest in a gallon ziploc bag to save for later.
This granola tastes great as is, but it's even better served with dried cranberries!
This granola tastes great as is, but it's even better served with dried cranberries!
Enjoy!
I am going to have to try this! We do not give the kids cereal, but I do make my own granola. I love new recipes.
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