Husband Chow...

Back when I was in high school we had our own pond about 15 feet from the house. In fact, I had a room with a sliding glass door that looked out over the pond and I loved to watch the red-winged blackbirds, the muskrats, turtles, frogs and the various other wild life that visited our pond. [Maybe another time I will tell about the time the neighbor's hogs enjoyed the pond and how my mom fought them off!]

My dad stocked the pond with bass and trout-and there were a ton of little bluegill everywhere. There wasn't enough natural food for all the fish, so every once in a while, Dad would buy a 50# bag of Purina Trout Chow and we would feed the fish every day.

For years I have thought how wonderful it would be to have Purina Teen Chow or Purina Family Chow. I guess pasta, rice and potatoes got us through the teen years, but they weren't quite as easy as to make as just grabbing a cup of some chow and tossing it to the teens. In the past year I have made what I lovingly call "husband chow"-- but Bob just calls it granola.

For at least a year, every single morning, Bob scoops out some husband chow for breakfast. He covers it with milk and he is good to go. And that's it. If I am not around to make him something for lunch, he eats it again for lunch. I thought you might want to know how to make this fantastic, whole grain, all natural food for your husband, kids or for yourself.

I guess we could call it Family Chow, or just plain ole granola.
Husband Chow

In a large bowl, combine the following with a wooden spoon:

6 Cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
6 Cups Rolled 7 grain [available in bulk or health-food stores, or just use more rolled oats]
1-2 Cups Coconut [if you like it]
1-2 Cups of various nuts, like slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, etc.
1-2 Cups of shelled sunflower seeds
2 T Cinnamon

Then mix together and pour over the grains, mix well.
1 C vegetable oil
1 C honey or pure maple syrup
1 T vanilla

Line a two 9 x 13 cake pans with parchment paper or grease well. Put granola in the pans, put in 300 degree oven for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool. [To boost nutritional value, you may want to add 1/2 to 1 C of ground flax seed after you remove from the oven, and stir well. If you want dried fruit in your chow, add and stir it in after you remove from the oven.]

Enjoy and Take care,
Jill