Apple-Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

Every time I go, I wonder why it's taken me so long to come back. And sometimes that's just five days. The serenity of the lake puts my soul at ease and creates spaces for quality time like none other.

So far, baked oatmeal has a similar track record.

My newest version is packed with cold-weather season flavors and textures. Apples and cranberries add sweet-tartness, pecans a nutty crunch and orange zest a refreshing citrusy flair throughout. So wondrous was the influence of the zest that I was compelled to invest in the house's very own zester. (Yes, quality kitchen tools really are quite exciting.)

Because my mother is almost as fastidious about Tuesday-Thursday nail nights as I am about baking from scratch.

 Bonus: Because winter masqueraded as spring for so long, we enjoyed our oats on the deck that boasts my favorite view.

 The next time I was lake-bound, I brought my zester and vowed to come back sooner.

More Baked Oatmeal: The Strawberry Kind
Even More Grainy Breakfast Delight: Whole Grain Strawberry Breakfast Cake

Banana Muffin Tops with Oatmeal Streusel

At some point I vowed not to buy more random baking pans that might or might not get used, ever. My collection already includes the popsicle-shaped cake pan I asked for for my birthday in high school (what a cool teenager I was!) and snowflake molds my thoughtful friends gave me for Christmas a couple years ago.

But then one day on the baking aisle a.k.a. my fantasy land at Hobby Lobby, a Whoopie Pie pan screamed: "Buy me! Make pretty treats with me, and fill them with Buttercream Icing!"

Fast forward several months: I still have not made Whoopie Pies with aforementioned impulse buy. But I did have a revelation mid-what-to-do-with-speckled-bananas-this-time brainstorming: muffin tops!

So semi-healthy breakfast treats with lots of surface area for slightly sugary but mostly oat-y treat topping were born. And that would not have been possible without that whoopie pie-turned versatile tool in my ever-growing kit(chen).

Random thought: Why do I so tend start like every sentence with a conjunction? Must be the elementary grammar rebellion I have repressed for nearly 20 years kicking in.

Overnight Oats

Now that days start with spring-really-more-like-summer sun, nothing sounds appetizing about hot oatmeal, not even my beloved baked berry oatmeal.  Fortunately, to save me from the humdrum of an all cereal, toast or yogurt weekday morning routine, my friend Lisa introduced me to a way to eat my oats chilled.

As the name suggests, you prep them at night. Which means no a.m. prep time. Which means I am slightly more likely to not have a strictly force self out of bed-shower-dress-eat-pack for day-start to-do list mantra running through my head as I start my day. Which means I might actually come before the Lord in praise in my waking moments and turn my day over to what He (gasp, not me) would have me do each moment of the day.

Simply mash up some banana and then mix in oats, your choice of milk, and a sprinkling of cinnamon and whatever other toppings sound right to you. Really, you can add whatever yogurts, liquids, spices, grains and fruits you like as long as there is liquid to soften the oats. I like to mix in blueberries or strawberries.

Voila, insta-breakfast of the scratch-made variety.

Starting with banana, cinnamon and oats.

What are your favorite weekday breakfasts?

Real Oatmeal: Two Ways

Today's subject is oats, as in real oats, as the kind that are oval-shape and have texture, as in not the ground-up mush that comes in packets or in the quick-cooking box. But the instant oats are just so conveniently instant, you say. Or maybe you say that all oatmeal is that nasty porridge that you, like poor Baby Bear, were forced to eat by Mama Bear.

I am here to argue that (1) oats do not require laboring over the stove in the time you don't have and (2) their whole-food, nutty texture is soul-warmingly delicious with a heartiness that sticks with you until lunch.

1. The Super Easy Way: Nuked Oats

News flash: you can microwave real oats. You simply put water and oats in a microwave-safe bowl; nuke it for 3 1/2 minutes; and then stir some combination of brown sugar, nuts (I like walnuts!), milk, and/or berries. See oats box for instructions for different servings.

Word of Warning: Real oats puff while in cooking this super-fast way, so unless you want an oatmeal explosion in your microwave, cook it in a bowl (or casserole dish or, my favorite make-do container, a glass bread pan) three to four times the volume of the oats.

2. The Hands-Off Way: Baked Oats

Baking oats with a few extra ingredients makes for a taste and consistency that is a cross between an oatmeal cookie and traditional oatmeal.  This recipe won me over with its fresh strawberries and garnish of warmed strawberry jam. Beat that, Strawberries and Cream Instant Oatmeal.

It takes 40 minutes to bake, but because you only stir it once,  all the magic happen while you do everything else that needs to be done in the a.m.

Mad Update 3/1/12: My new favorite way to make baked oats is with strawberries and bananas!
1. Layer banana and strawberry slices in a baking dish.
2. Mix oat mixture prescribed in recipe (sometimes I skip honey and use more brown sugar) and spread on top of fruit.
3. Bake 20 minutes uncovered then 20 minutes covered, no stirring required.
4. Serve with plain Greek yogurt and fresh strawberry slices.
*I also like to make extra and reheat it for multiple days in the microwave.

How do you eat your oats?