breakfast of champions- cheap and easy!

i love to use my crock pot, and have collected several favorite recipes that i use over and over. especially with the busy gardening season coming on, i foresee using my crock pot even more frequently. i make crock pot granola several times a week, as we seem to consume fantastically large amounts of sweetened oats.

the cast of characters:

REAL butter
flax seed
currants
raw sunflower seeds
maple syrup
banana chips

and of course, rolled oats. now of course, for your average family, it's not necessary to buy such a huge quantity of oats at one time. however, i will tell you that it is much cheaper. and plus, we will go through this bag in about 3 months or less. i kid you not!



add the oats to your crock pot, and then sprinkle on the ground flax seed. then dump in the melted butter and the maple syrup. toss in the sunflower seeds and mix it all around, making sure to evenly coat all the oats. vent the lid- i just use the spatula that i will be stirring the granola with.

turn your crock pot on high, and stir the oats when you start to smell them. do this several times, and then turn the crock pot down to low. your granola will start to smell really good, and get a little bit toasty looking, too.

and an extra piece of advice- make your granola late in the afternoon, or in the morning when you'll be in the kitchen working anyway. because if you're tired, and forget all about the granola you promised to make for your son, and don't stir it...

let's just say that the chickens ate extra healthy last week.

this is how the granola will look when it's done- toasty, but still slightly moist.

then i dump it into the bowl, and add the currants and chopped banana chips.

G loves to have a bowl for breakfast, or lunch, or for a snack... A and I enjoy it as well, but Dave won't touch the stuff. i think that he might be afraid that it's too healthy!

Crock pot Granola

10 cups rolled oats

1 stick butter

12 oz (1 ½ cups) maple syrup (or honey)

3 T ground flax seed

½ lb. raw sunflower seeds

½ lb. currants ( i like to use these because they are smaller than raisins)

½ lb. sweetened banana chips

sometimes i also use: mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips

dump oats into crock pot. melt butter, combine with maple syrup and mix with oats. add sunflower seeds, and cook on high for 2 hours. vent crock pot, and stir occasionally. turn down to low, and continue cooking for (maybe?) another 2 hours. add currants and chopped banana chips. serve and enjoy!