Whole Grain Wednesdays- Nutty Granola

Good morning everyone.  I hope that you are enjoying the snow! 

Today I have a recipe for granola that I would like to share for Whole Grain Wednesday.  I will have to admit that when I first saw this recipe I was skeptical that it would be good because it calls for steel cut oatmeal.  Steel cut oats are so chewy that I expected that baking them in the oven would not be a good idea.  However, this granola turned out to be quite tasty!  The oats, coconut, nuts, seeds and dried fruit are a perfect mixture of crunchy and chewy.   My kids and I love it sprinkled on yogurt,  but I am sure that you could also eat it as a breakfast cereal.  You can adapt this recipe to include whatever type of dried fruit you have on hand, or even throw in your leftover pumpkin seeds from Halloween! 

Nutty Granola- adapted from Potpourri magazine

1 cup steel cut oats

3/4 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds 

1/4 cup almonds* or walnuts*, chopped

1/8 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon canola oil

1/2 cup coconut

1 cup raisins* and/or dried cranberries

Toss the oats, seeds, chopped nuts, brown sugar and oil together in a large bowl.  Coat a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray and spread the mixture out on the pan.  Bake at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the oats are lightly browned (check often to prevent burning).  Turn the oven off and stir in the coconut and dried fruit.  Return the pan to the oven until the oven has cooled.  Store in a sealed container. 

*This food can be a choking hazard for children under the age of 4.