Homemade Cereal....

OK, ok, OKAY.  I will first apologize for leaving (temporarily) without so much as a warning.  I am sure all 8 readers of this blog have been devestated to the point of being disfunctional.  I hope this post gets your life sorted back out.  I am hoping it works well for me, too.  To update y'all on the "goings on" here.  Little Man turned 7 on Saturday.  Maybe I should refer to him as Middle Man since he is the middle child.  Everyone always told me that the middle child gets lost between the oldest and the baby.  I don't think he will ever experience that.  He makes my heart swell nearly every day.  He is both sensitive and gritty, like a good cowboy should be and he boasts a sense of humor, too.  At his birthday dinner, High Country Heather asked him, "So, what's the best part of being 7?"  His response, "The money...".  Seriously?  The boy got 2 dollars from his sisters!  I nearly peed my pants laughing so hard, which I am ashamed to admit that in a public restaurant, ended in a snort...this is relevant later in this post. 

April, the cow I was anxiously awaiting to calve, finally calved last Thursday with a bull calf, Peanut Brittle.  This is the cow that so kindly helped with my exercise regime....morning and evening off road hikes through the pasture, each time, sure she had the calf (this nonsense went on for nearly 2 weeks and for the last week, we were beginning to think she was carrying twins!). 

The stock show season has begun which sparks many of our 4-H competitions.  Mini-me and I will be leaving this afternoon to head towards San Antone, for a dairy judging contest, with a much needed stop at Hye Country Heathers.  It's not often I escape leave our home, so I am super excited to get to spend an evening watching our kids, who think they are actually "blood related" cousins, explore their spread while my dear friend and I share laughter that so often ends with snorting.  *NOTE* If you read that last statement or the earlier one, and were shocked, well...go on, shoo, get out of here.  Go get you a friend that you can laugh with 'til you snort...it will make you live longer if you laugh like that!

So, I thought I would share this morning a recipe that is truly all my own.  I took several recipes and blended them, then tweaked it by adding stuff or taking away.  What I came up with was something my husband and children LOVE.  It's a snack.  It's a cereal.  It's just plain yummy.  I will tell you that it is a great way to get cranberries in your kids and they are so healthy for you.  So, here we go!

HOMEMADE GRANOLA CEREAL

6 c. rolled oats (for those that don't know, and I used to be one of them, these are NOT quick oats)

1 c. butter

1/3 c. honey or sorghum syrup

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. chopped nuts

1 c. dried cranberries (and yes, I tortured my kids with these babies initially, now they all love them as a snack....perservere my friends, perservere)

1 c. coconut

1 1/2 t. vanilla

Spread the oats in an even layer on a cookie sheet and place in an oven on 250 degrees.  Cook for approximately 20 minutes.  To be honest, I am not "exact" on the cooking time. What usually happens is I put them in the oven and wash my dishes and wipe down the counters.  Whenever I get to a stopping point, I take them out.  I used to make this solely on the stove top but after my jaw complaining every time I ate it from all the work it was exerting (it even threatened to flair into TMJ...it's mean like that), I tweaked my recipe to bake the oats. 

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.  Stir in honey, brown sugar and vanilla; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly.  Add oats to the pan.  Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. 

Turn off heat and add in nuts, coconut and cranberries.  Pour back out onto a cookie sheet with a lip.  Spread to cool.  This makes a wonderful snack and is wonderful with milk!

OK, the ONLY reason I included this blurry, horrible picture at the end of this post is to make a point.  Do you see that hand in the lower left corner of the picture?  You can see it, right?   Attached to a spoon that's eating my granola BEFORE it's completely ready.  This happens almost daily at my house and I am not sure what good is going to come of it.  Isn't there a saying about insanity....doing the same thing repeatedly expecting different results?  Well, my husband and I have been playing this game for nearly 14 years.  He eats whatever I am cooking most often before it evers graces the table and I continue to spit fire as it's happening.  Neither of us budge on this matter.  I keep thinking he'll quit eating before it's ready and he keeps thinking I will quite getting bent out of shape about it.  So which one is insane? 

I hope you enjoy this.  Honestly, I made this last week and was going to post it.  It only lasted 2 days in my house so I am off to make another batch before heading west (I've always wanted to say that).  Actually, it's more like "south-west-ish" for those of us not directionally challenged and yes, that is an official directional language term that I am teaching all three of my children in school. 

Prairie Kerri