crunchy, chunky, [a little bit of everything], EXTRA yummy granola!

today we wanted granola.
so i set out, as usual, on a hunt for around....three or four recipes from my favorite stand-by cook books, or epicurious.com, among other things, and set them all before me.
and, as usual, i used none of them.
entirely.
i took the basics from all four, after careful evaluation and comparison, of course.
most of the recipes before me called for around the same amount of oats, around the same process to get the  sugars/honey into the mix, and all called for some sort of nut or dried fruit...a few of them anyway.

so i began.
my little ones and i sat in the floor (why not?) and i went on a journey through our kitchen (cabinets, cupboards, fridge, freezer, etc.)
in search of any and everything that could fit into our comPLETEly original, homemade granola.
what we came up with was this:

4 cups quick oats
1/2 cup or so of dates
7-8 pieces of dried apples, cut small
a handful (or two) of crumbled bits of my mom's (mamaw's) homemade peanut butter cup filling
    which is basically peanut butter mixed with powdered sugar--yum!
7 or 8 good hearty shakes of cinnamon -left completely up to L's discretion
a handful or so of chopped walnuts
about 1/8 tsp. of salt
the small bit of cheerios that were left in the bottom of the box after breakfast this morning,
and a small, one serving [probably halloween] package of m&m's

now, while the 'babes were mixing and stirring all of these lovely ingredients in a large bowl, i was simmering (at a medium heat) on the stove top the following:

1/2 cup brown sugar
about 1/4 cup honey (give or take)
1 tsp. vanilla
a dollop [or three] of plain yogurt
and a good sized handful of mini marshmallows

while that is simmering, take the big mixing bowl of dry ingredients and pour into a cake pan or, as i used, a large roasting pan, and place in a 325 degree oven for just a bit.

when the marshmallows have melted and the simmering saucepan is about at a boil, take the pan OUT of the oven and pour the melted goodness over the oat mixture.

stir with a wooden spoon really well until everything is completely covered and then place BACK into the oven and cook for a total of 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10.

when granola is complete [and perfect] take out and set aside to cool.
then, stir, crunch, place in a closed container to enjoy over the next week, or two days, however it goes around your lovely lovely home.

we ate ours with milk and a spoon, like cereal, and it was DE-lightful....

like i said, this was compiled, as i always cook/bake, by looking at several different recipes and then not fully using any of them, but using them as basic/loose guidelines...so feel free to take ownership of this version and use what you have!


enjoy!

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