Baked Oatmeal

I often times get a hankering for a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal.  Confession – I don’t like oatmeal.  Something in me thinks I do, but I definitely do not.  But then years ago a friend of mine introduced me to baked oatmeal…and I love it.  If you’ve never had it before think of it as a giant oatmeal cookie, but better for you.  My kiddos  can’t get enough of it so I will often times double the recipe because one 9×13 pan gets eaten in one sitting.

I love making this because one, it doesn’t take long to make- it’s even doable on a week day if I get up early enough to allow for baking time.  Two, it’s amazing to transport so it makes a great dish to take to an early morning meeting- leave the donuts at the donuts shop, and three you can make it ahead and store it in the fridge for later!  I also love that the recipe is forgiving and you can be creative with what you add to it.  If you want to have it plain and just add toppings, go for it!  If you want to add a bunch of ingredients to the ‘batter’ by all means experiment.

Over the years we have added slivered almonds to the batter, craisins, raisins, and a multitude of other dried fruits and nuts, mini-chocolate chips, shredded coconut, different spices and so much more.  We have made parfaits with it, packed it as a snack in lunches and transported it to my grandparents house.  It’s easy and simple and everyone seems to love it, even my mother, who gags at the thought of regular oatmeal…something about someone feeding her porridge as a child or something…