Delicious Granola Recipe-

I LOVE granola- but when it comes to grocery shopping my wallet doesn't like it much- it's always too expensive. I've seen recipes for granola before- and tried a few- but most of them aren't quite what I'm looking for- either they call for lots of honey, (too expensive, and I don't usually have it on hand) have wierd ingredients (wheat germ anyone?!) or just seem time consuming. But I've found the BEST granola recipe.

Granola Recipe


1 cup Jam (any flavor- I've done apricot freezer jam, peach jam and runny strawberry jam that didn't set up- and all have been delicious)

1/2 cup margarine or butter (I've been meaning to try it with less fat, but haven't yet- so if you try it- let me know how it turns out)

5 cups oats (I think the original recipe called for quick oats- but all I have are regular- and it works fine)

1 cup nuts or seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, walnuts, almonds whatever- I've used sunflower seeds before, and walnuts, and even left the nuts out once. I'm going to try almonds next time I think)

1-2 cups dried fruit (I usually just use raisins and dried apples- we have a few cans of dried apples, and this is a great use for them- though I tried craisins once- and it was yummy)



Preheat oven to 325. Mix jam and margarine in a saucepan and cook on medium heat until it boils. While it's heating, measure out the oats, nuts, fruit etc. into a large baking dish. (I love my old pampered chef casserole dish- it's larger than a 9x13, but nice and deep) When jam mixture comes to a boil, pour over the top of the oat mixture. Mix together well- so that all of the oats are coated. Bake 325 for about 30 minutes- stirring every 10 minutes or so. Let cool. I like to smash the granola down flat in the pan when it comes out of the oven, and when it cools, I have "chunks" to break apart.