To start with put half your quick oats (8 oz.) in a food processor and grind into oat flour.

Combine in a large bowl the oat flour, quick oats, nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir.

In a small pan combine sugar, butter, and water and heat over a medium heat until it boils, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and vanilla.

Pour the melted butter wet ingredients mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir to fully combine. Let it sit 10 min.

Pour granola mixture onto a large cookie sheet in an even layer, and cook in a 300 degree oven for 25-30 min. Stir the mixture and keep cooking for a total of 1 ½ hours, until crunchy and dry, making sure to stir every 15 min. so the edges don't burn. Be careful not to over stir, you want to have some chucky clusters of granola.

When it's finished cooking, let it cool completely, and then add in the dried fruit, and/or chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container, like a glass jar.