Toasted Granola with Dried Fruit

I normally travel for my job about once a month, but this April has been my busiest travel month ever. I have been gone every week for at least one night, and, on top of that, we have taken two trips on the weekends to visit family and friends. So, needless to say, there hasn't been a lot of cooking happening in my kitchen. A lot of sandwich-making and handful-of-chips-grabbing, but no cooking. So, when I got home on Tuesday night after being gone (again), all I wanted to do was taste something homemade.

Enter this granola. Perfect for a busy week, this is something that, even if you don't have time to make elaborate dinners, you can feel good about eating at least something that you made at home. I made this at 9:00 at night and it was done in time to go to bed by 10:30 (as in, fully cooled and in the tupperware). And all of you, "I don't like to cook for one" people, this stuff will last at least two weeks, so no excuses.

Toasted Granola with Dried Fruit

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup maple syrup (I used pure maple syrup, but I am sure the corn syrup stuff would also work)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup dried apricots

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Place pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool seeds in the pan on a wire cooling rack.

Combine maple syrup and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. Stir in toasted nuts and seeds, barley, wheat germ, and flax seed.

Spread mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring twice during baking.

Remove from oven and cool granola in the pan on a wire rack. Stir in dried, chopped fruits. Store in an airtight container and serve with plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt.