I finally got around to clearing the cabinet which was stuffed full of snacks and biscuits. I bought them when I didn’t know how to cook back then ( I only started picking up cooking around 6-8 months ago?) and now that I know how to cook I hardly ever eat any processed foods like biscuits because I would make my own and eat the ones I baked.
Back in the days when I was still living off takeaways, fast foods and processed food, I have always wondered what’s the big deal about home cooked food. Only when I have started cooking successfully and churning out dishes and dishes of delicious home cooked fares that I come to truly understand why people prefer home cooked food. It just taste….. Different! And in a good way! No weird plasticky taste, no MSG that makes everything taste more or less the same.
But I digressed, so back to the cabinet story, while cleaning out and throwing away those uneaten and probably expired snacks, I found two large bags of rolled oats, totally forgotten and I can’t even remember when I bought them. I quickly checked the expiry date and they were still good for another year. Seriously what am I going to do with two big bag of oats that nobody is going to eat?! Then I suddenly had a eureka moment, I can make them into granolas!
Granolas are super food in my opinion, they taste way better than corn flakes, and can be use as breakfast, snacks, or even as ice cream or yoghurt toppings. Store bought granolas are not cheap, so why not make your own? I estimate my cost of making these granolas to be just 1/5 of the price I would have paid for a box of granola from the supermarket. Granolas recipe are also very versatile, you can add any nuts of your choice or dried fruits such as coconut, apricot etc.
ingredients
2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup condensed milk + 1/4 cup water/milk
Raisins (change to another dried fruit or nuts of your choice if you want)
Cinnamon (optional)
instructions
Heat up the condensed milk in a pan plus the water/milk.
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together, adding more water/milk if needed to coat the oats evenly. Just ensure the oats are coated. You can also add honey if you like.
In a lined baking tray, press the mixture into the tray and make it spread evenly. Preheat oven to 130degrees and bake for 40-50 minutes.
Cool before cutting and storing. These granolas store well in air tight containers.
updated: I just made a fresh batch yesterday with addition of sliced almond and sunflower seed and it tasted even better! Also, instead of just condense milk and water in the pan I mixed maple syrup, cooking honey, condense milk, milk, a little vanilla extract. Super duper delicious!
