Toasted Quinoa Granola and Blog Favs

She likes to eat leaves….

And dig in the mud…

If only life was that easy, eh?

This is what Sasha was doing while I was taking pictures of my granola! Yes, these photos are from this weekend…You see, I realized that I need to maximize on my time spent at home in Milwaukee because I have all the resources I could ever need/want, a beautiful kitchen with spectacular natural lighting, and lots of people to cook for! Which is why creating a wginormous batch of quinoa granola is a good idea.

While searching for instructions on how to actually toast quinoa to make it crunchy, I thought it would be a cool idea to share a list of my favorite “go-to bloggers.” I am obviously a blog readin’ kind of girl, and my blog roll page is definitely past due (operation, winter break?). Because of Pinterest, I have expanded my horizons and now I not only read food blogs, but fashion blogs, baking blogs, DIY blogs, fitness blogs, craft blogs, etc.

Before we get into this…a recipe.

Note: this granola is not extremely sweet, but that is my personal preference. (I like to eat my cereal/granola with sweetened almond milk.) If you are a sweet-tooth kind of person, you may want to consider adding in some brown sugar or more honey!

Toasted Quinoa Granola
Ingredients
-1C uncooked quinoa
-1C quick cooking oatmeal
-1C whole almonds
-1/2C chopped walnuts
-1C dried cranberries/raisins
-1T cinnamon
-1t salt
-1/2 C + 3T agave nectar/honey/maple syrup

Method
1. Begin buy cooking the quinoa. In a large sauce pan, bring 2C water and 1C quinoa to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for ~15 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the rest of the dry ingredients. Then toss in the cooled quinoa. (This is where you would want to add the brown sugar)
3. Next, cover a large baking sheet with wax paper and evenly on spread mixture on mixture. Drizzle on agave nectar and toss.
4. Bake at 325F for 40-50 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. You know it is done with it starts to brown and hardens. *note: the thinner the layer of granola, the quicker it will toast!

Nummy nummy. This batch was gobbled up in less than a day. My family didn’t even mind that it wasn’t your typical “granola sweet.” Next time I want to add flax seed, chia seeds, and sun flower seeds! Love me some seeds!

On a different note, here are my top 5 favorites from a few different blogging categories…Enjoy

Top 5’s

Healthy Living Blogs

Baking/Food Blogs

Professional Websites/Blogs

3. Perez Hilton (yes, I keep up with celebrity gossip)

Fitness/Health Blogs

Fashion Blogs

What are your favorite blogs to read? Link a sista up!