Peanut Butter, Honey and Banana Granola

When we were kids, we used to eat peanut butter, honey and banana sandwiches on wheat toast. I loved them! I'm kind of sad I haven't raised my girls on them.

But I did make them homemade granola!

This is a great recipe to make with kids. Watch out for banana nabbers!

Making homemade granola is remarkably easy- basically just mix and bake -and as you can imagine there are a billion and ten variations you can play with! You'll see below, I threw in some raisins I wanted to use up. You can do this with pretty much any fruit or nut you can imagine. Just be sure to add dried fruit at the end so it doesn't burn!

Peanut Butter, Honey and Banana Granola

Melt together in a pot on the stove:

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used creamy natural)
1/2 cup oil (I used peanut oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla
**if you want a pronounced banana flavor, add a teaspoon or so banana extract, adjusting to taste. The dried banana included in this recipe has a good crunch but not a strong flavor. I haven't tried this yet, but I will.

Mix in a big bowl:
5 cups old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
2 cups ground almonds (I used almond "flour")

Add the melted ingredients to the bowl and stir well. Pour it out onto a big sheet pan covered in parchment paper. Press gently with your palms to help it clump.

Bake at 300F for 20 minutes and stir. Bake another 20 minutes then stir again, adding 2 cups chopped dried banana chips. Drizzle all over with honey and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Careful not to burn it! If you skip the stirring, the edges will burn.

When you stir and when you remove the pan at the end, the granola will be soft. Let it cool completely on the pan and it will harden. Break up big chunks a bit and pour it into a container for storage. Serve with cold milk and add some sliced fresh bananas for a special treat.

Easy as that! Enjoy!