Awesome & Easy Homemade Granola

I stumbled upon a review of The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making (by Alana Chernila) at Baking Bites. I immediately grabbed a copy from my local library, hoping to conquer the never-ending "great granola search". Many months and multi recipes have failed to replace store-bought granola. BINGO! JACKPOT!

Alana's granola recipe was a snap to make and everyone in the family LOVES it! I split the batch in half since some members of my family enjoy raisins in just about everything. I also did not include the sesame seeds ... allergy issues of close friends.

The book has tons of recipes, from homemade butter to toaster pastries (think pop-tarts). The book itself is beautiful, with tons of gorgeous photos, and tips on food storage. Alana's writing style inspired me to step out of my comfort zone, back away from packaged food and discover some easy, delicious homemade alternatives. Pick up a copy and see for yourself.

Featured recipe from Amazon:

Featured Recipe: Chai

Makes 6 cups

• 5 cups water
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped unpeeled fresh ginger
• Three 4-inch cinnamon sticks
• 3 whole cloves
• 4 cardamom pods
• 3 black peppercorns
• One 1-inch circular slice unpeeled orange
• 4 black tea bags, regular or decaffeinated
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup honey, to taste
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups milk (low-fat or whole), to taste

Combine the water, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, and orange slice in a medium pot. Partially cover the pot, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
chai in the refrigerator or freezer without milk, do so now. Otherwise, return the tea to the pot, add the milk, and reheat.
Chai will keep in a covered container for five days with milk and for two weeks without milk. To freeze, omit milk and freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to six months. Thaw in refrigerator and heat with milk on the stove.