Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Baked Oatmeal

This recipe is all over blogland and that is for several reasons.  The first reason is that it is DELICIOUS!  The second probably is that it's extremely frugal, and the third is that this is a very versatile recipe.  You can substitute all kinds of fruit and make this with whatever you have on hand, either seasonally, or from your pantry.  We love this Baked Oatmeal recipe!  We eat it hot or cold, fresh out of the oven or leftover!  If you have any friends or family who claim not to like oatmeal (the cooked kind) but do like apple crisp or oatmeal cookies, try this!  Its similar to a coffee cake.  I would say this is also gluten free since it doesn't use any flour, but I'm not a specialist in that area.  I think you have to check your oats to make sure they are gluten free.  This is how I make my favorite recipe for BAKED OATMEAL - At Home My Way!


BAKED OATMEAL

  • 3 cups old fashioned oats - not quick oats
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs (slightly beaten) (just whites works fine or egg beaters)
  • ½ cup melted margarine/butter (1 stick)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • Fruit (optional): 2 cups frozen (fresh is fine but not thawed) blueberries; peeled/sliced apples; or 1 can crushed pineapple, partially drained (our favorite is pineapple) ; raisins, craisins, or whatever fruit you want to use).  Sometimes I slice a few apples, add a little sugar and put them in the bottom of a baking dish, topping them with the oatmeal mixture, then baking and serving like a thick apple crisp.  That works wonderfully and serving it that way is a special treat for breakfast on the first crisp cool autumn day here in Missouri!
Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In separate dish, mix together milk, egg(s), melted butter/margarine and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Stir in any fruit. Spread into a 9 x 13 dish (sprayed or lightly oiled). Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.


We eat this like coffee cake without milk, but my mother-in-law tops hers with milk like regular oatmeal!


I half this recipe and bake it in an 8x8 pan or med pyrex baking casserole dish (without the lid).


I cannot describe to you how wonderful this is. Like a warm oatmeal cookie but not quite as sweet. Even people who don’t like a bowl of oatmeal will like this one! And its even good leftover!

Hint:  You can mix this up, cover, and place it in your fridge for baking the next morning.  My mornings used to be pretty hectic but I could still pop this in the oven cold without preheating my oven (since the mixture was cold, not using glass, however) and it would be ready after my shower.