Sunday, August 16, 2009

Lip Smackin' Trail Mix

I make this as a granola w/o the dried fruit. I serve it with flavored yogurt for breakfast. When I need a trail mix for my hikking buddies, I add the dried fruit.

Everytime I make anything with sunflower seeds, I think of my mom. One day she was making a slaw recipe that my sister-in-law gave her. Yes, you guessed it, she added the whole sunflower in the shell. She sent it with my grandmother for one of her Eastern Star occasions. Grandma reported that almost no one took any and those that did were pushing the sunflower seeds out. She tasted it and knew why, but she still didn't know what she did wrong. We never left her forget to only use the meat. I still like that story. It makes me remember that my mom didn't mind laughing at herself. She told the story as often as we did.
Ingredients
2 cups granola
3/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 (3 1/2 ounce) can flaked coconut (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (meat only)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 (14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup canola or veg. oil

If as a trail mix
1 cup banana chips
1/2 cup dark or golden raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the banana chips, raisins, cherries, and apricots. Mix well. Spread evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake 40-45 minutes stirring every 15 min. Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit if making trail mix. Cool and store.

Orange Yogurt
Ingredients
4 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 good honey
1 orange, zested
1/2 to 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Directions
Place yogurt in a medium bowl and stir in vanilla, honey, and orange zest. Thin with orange juice until it is the desired consistency. Serve over granola for breakfast.

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