baked oatmeal

One of the first things that truly endeared me to my future mother in-law was her baked oatmeal.  I already knew her to be a good, loving woman, but when I came for a visit and she greeted me in the kitchen with a steaming bowl of baked oatmeal, I knew it was love and there was no going back.  In the first days of our marriage, I added this dish to my pile of staples and carried it with us to Cyprus.  It was one of the few recipes I could easily find all of the ingredients for in a foreign market.  I would bake a batch and our little apartment would smell like home, and it was love all over again.

This recipe is so good and so simple.  Double it, cut it into squares and freeze the individual squares in ziplock bags for easy breakfast options.  My mom uses this recipe now as well and carries bags of baked oatmeal with her throughout the day as a snack alternative!  

ingredients

DRY

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins or any dried fruit

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

WET

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

brown sugar to sprinkle on top

directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350* F and grease an 8-inch baking dish.

2.  Stir together oats, raisins, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and walnuts.

3.  Whisk together applesauce, yogurt, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

4.  Pour wet mixture into dry and stir together.  Pour into prepared dish and sprinkle with brown sugar.

5.  Bake 40 minutes, until golden brown on top.  Serve in bowl with milk and/or maple syrup.  Also good cold as a granola bar alternative.