“The person who decides what shall be the food and drink of a family,
and the modes of its preparation, is the one who decides,
to a greater or less extent, what shall be the health of that family.”
– The American Woman’s Home, Harriet Beecher Stowe
This morning, after lighting the fire in the kitchen cookstove and preparing a pot of fresh coffee for my husband and I, it was time to put together a large batch of granola for my hungry children. Our breakfasts are usually pretty simple – a rotation of oatmeal with muffins, eggs and hash browns (which I also prepare ahead of time) and granola. We go through a lot of granola in one sitting and I have found a batch from the oven just is not enough for us. I have discovered a very easy way to make a large batch of this easy, delicious breakfast — I prepare it in my crockpot before everyone wakes up for the day.
Simply mix up your ingredients in your slow cooker and set on low or high – depending on how quickly you need to serve your granola. If I prepare it in the slow cooker and set it on high, it will be ready in about two hours. You can easily prepare everything the night before and just have the task of turning on your crockpot in the morning to save you even more time.
Here is how I prepare our granola for our slow cooker:
First off, I fill my trusty crockpot with rolled oats. I am grateful to have a large slow cooker! It helps make an even bigger batch for our family! Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, a smidge of brown sugar, honey, wheat germ and chia seeds. Add in a good clump of coconut oil and mix together thoroughly. Set the lid just a bit ajar so the steam can exit. This will help your granola to be crunchier. Stir every so often.
In a few hours, your batch of homemade granola will be finished! I find it so much more convenient than using the oven, as I can only do a small batch at a time using the baking sheets. I allow the girls to add in their extras when it is breakfast time – coconut, cranberries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, and banana slices.
Often, I will make up a big batch for a friend who may be having a hard time – such a early pregnancy, new babies or just needing something to help them in the morning with their children and the breakfast routine. It is easily packaged and can make a nice gift for someone who needs a little healthy encouragement.
Here’s my second easy recipe … you can take the banana cake recipe I posted last week and change it to something else that suits your taste!
On Friday, we were attending a church event and needed a dessert. We decided on a cake (it always amazes me how a little bit of flour, eggs and butter can make such a lovely dessert such as a cake!). As we were mixing up the cake, the girls said they would like to have a different option than banana, so we added applesauce instead.
Well, it tastes fabulous! In fact, it tasted so lovely that that my two year old little boy sneakily decided to taste-test it while we were in another room. We heard his little chair being scraped across the tile kitchen floor and looked in to find him in bliss … there he was, with his handful of cake and his mouthful of goodness! Alas, we had to bake a second cake in time for our church event. Thankfully, we had time and it gave his big sister’s great practice in their baking that day. 🙂
We took note that most people went up for seconds of this cake while at the church event. I would say that is a good sign of a delicious cake.
We reduced the sugar and swapped it out for brown sugar instead. Also, add in a flavor of cinnamon if your applesauce if not spiced.
Simple Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake
- 3 cups flour
- a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup of brown sugar - 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups milk
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.Â
Mix flour, baking soda and salt together in your mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl (cream your butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and milk. Finally, add 1/2 cup of applesauce. If you don’t have applesauce, try chopping up an apple and adding it this way. I bet it would taste lovely with the chunks of apple!
Mix with flour mixture.
Bake at a moderate heat until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
(I use this term loosely as my cookstove does not really keep a temperature –
but I would say 300 degrees)
You could serve with a light dusting of icing sugar or drizzle caramel sauce overtop.
Or better yet, serve plain with a hot cuppa tea or coffee.
I hope these little tips help in the kitchen! Have a great day!
by Gigi
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