best oatmeal ever: baked oatmeal with apples

Saturday morning I awoke later than usual. The skies were dark and grey and rain was pouring out of the sky. I could have easily pulled the covers up over my head and tried to forget that this was supposed to be the very last weekend of summer. But I overcame. After drinking my first cup of coffee, I set to work getting breakfast ready.

I've made baked oatmeal before a few times so I didn't expect anything so revolutionary this time around. I was wrong. I made a few tweaks to my usual recipe, deciding that this would be a vegan breakfast by adding in almond milk and apple cider and again using those delicious MacIntosh apples that lately have invaded my cooking. If you don't have vegan ingredients on hand, just use regular milk and butter. Halfway through the baking, there were some seriously delicious smells coming from my oven. Oh man, if I could bottle that scent I would be rich! So so so good. As for taste? Oh yeah, mark this one as a definite favorite. Best oatmeal ever ever.

baked oatmeal with apples
1 c large flake organic oatmeal
1 t cinnamon
pinch each of ground cloves, nutmeg, cardamom
1/4 t salt
2 T maple syrup
1 T dessicated unsweetened coconut
1 large apple, diced
1 c unsweetened almond or soy milk
2/3 c apple cider or juice
2 T chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine everything but the pecans. Using oil or a vegan margarine, grease up a casserole dish and then dump in oatmeal mixture. Sprinkle pecans over top. Bake for 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Serve with additional milk or topped with yogurt.

Looking for more oatmeal recipes? Take a look at these from my archives:
Chai-Spiced Apple Oatmeal Bread
Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal
Pan Fried Oatmeal
Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Walnut Oatmeal Burgers

oatmeal

After cursing that the OC had been replaced by a baseball game, I went on my computer to drown my sorrows in ones and zeros. I discovered a new food blog and decided that I was going to make this recipe for breakfast the next day. The idea of baked oatmeal sounded amazing and I like that it was referred to as "breakfast cake". Sorry for the blurred photos. Sometimes, I just don't want to re-take a photo.

Here is the recipe as it appeared: (my notes are below)

Baked Oatmeal
Serves 2-3

2 cups lowfat milk
1 cup water
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. almond extract
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups rolled oats
½ cup dried fruit of your choice [I used raisins and cherries]
½ cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped [or walnuts, or almonds]
1 t. cinnamon
1-2 pieces fresh fruit, peeled, pitted, and sliced [I used a nectarine, but this would work equally well with plums, apples, pears, apricots…]

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a small rectangular baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

Combine milk, water, extracts, and sugar in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine oats, dried fruit, nuts, and cinnamon. Pour in the liquid and stir, then pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with the sliced fruit and sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired [I didn’t, but I think it might look pretty]. Bake for ½ hour, or until all liquid is absorbed. Serve with additional milk.

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* Both Cornelius and I loved this recipe and no doubt we'll make it again. I don't use a nonstick spray and just lightly greased the pan with butter, which didn't alter the flavour at all. Dang! I used a granny smith apple (mmmm, tart!) which was delicious and next time I'd love to try this with raspberries. We both found this a bit too sweet. It could be that I packed down the brown sugar, but next time I make this I will just use less. I also added a bit of ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves cuz I love a bit of spiciness and it worked out well. Who knows, if the spirit moves you, mix in some canned pumpkin!