Easy homemade granola

This is what we made the other day:

scrumptious granola drizzled with melted chocolate!

A few different recipes combined, with a few random touches of my own thrown in. It was so easy to make! 

I don't think I will be buying boxed granola from the cereal aisle anymore unless it is a really good sale! My husband and I both love having granola in the morning (with ground flax seeds ontop) and the kids like a little granola on their yogurt, or just

to snack on plain.

I mainly decided to put the chocolate ontop for a special gourmet look since most of this batch will be given away as gifts come Christmas! (It is still good without the chocolate!)

 Once the granola cooled, I put it into heavy duty ziplock bags, then put those right into the freezer. It will stay fresh and ready for gifting when the time comes! To package this as a gift, I will be putting a cup or two into a cellophane bag with a cute label and a pretty bow as the final touch.This will then be placed in a basket along with other goodies!

Here is the recipe I used:

Granola:

4 cups oats (I used half rolled and half quick)

1 cup flaked coconut

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup honey

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup dried fruit (raisins, chopped dates, cranberries, etc.)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a large roasting pan or two baking sheets. Combine oats, spices, and salt in large bowl. Combine brown sugar, honey, oil, water, and vanilla together in a seperate bowl. Pour wet mixture into dry and stir very well until evenly coated. Use hands to mix if necessary. Pour into pans, press down firmly. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven, stir well, press down again and bake for 20 additional minutes. Stir well. When golden, granola is done baking. Remove from oven, quickly stir in dried fruit. Allow to cool. Melt chocolate chips on very low power in microwave. Stir often. When melted, drizzle overtop of granola. Put in fridge to chill. Break into chunks, place in airtight containers, or freeze for later use. Yummy!!!