After another couple of subzero mornings, it was time for our favorite morning (and evening....and lunchtime) dish (yes, once it's made, we enjoy it for any meal - it is THAT delish and THAT versatile...well, at least for us. We're not picky).
I give you - JoAnn's Baked Oatmeal (now JoAnn will tell you that this is Mary Sue's Baked Oatmeal, but I got the recipe from JoAnn, so there you go). This 9" X 13" pan of awesomeness will warm you up and fill you up anytime this winter (and next fall - yes, we do start early with this one - as soon as the apples are ready, hubby and soccer girl will start asking for it).
One of the great things about this dish is that, for the most part, it is quite healthy. Yes, it does call for some brown sugar -- but, I think next time we make it, I'm going to try reducing the amount. I'm pretty sure it would be just fine with half the amount or maybe even one quarter the amount (I'll let you know when I do -- or if you beat me to it, post a comment and fill us in on your results).
The other change (healthier, I think) we tried last night was with the milk and the oil. We used unsweetened almond milk instead of regular milk (I hardly ever use regular milk anymore, but we have it on hand for hubby's cereal) :) And the oil? In the past, we have always gone with 1/2 canola and 1/2 olive. This time we did 1/2 coconut oil (melted it in the microwave) and 1/2 olive oil. I thought the whole dish would have a coconut "taste" to it (which we really didn't think we would mind) as it had a wonderful tropical aroma when everything was mixed. However, the finished dish didn't have any trace of a coconut taste to me at all. We are using the coconut oil here and there, and this seemed like a good place to substitute it - it worked!
Other tips for "Baked Oatmeal":
* Night before prep dry ingredients, wet ingredients (refrigerate), and chopped fruit/nuts except apple (wait til morning to chop apple to prevent turning brown).
* An easy way to do the applesauce is if you have snack packs - they are 1/2 c. each
* Might be interesting/healthy to try this with egg whites/egg substitutes, too.
* I've been told this can be made with Splenda instead of the brown sugar. Again, we will probably just try reducing the brown sugar first. Then we may try adding Truvia (Splenda is still a no-no for me with migraines). :/
Finally, here's "JoAnn's Baked Oatmeal"! Enjoy :)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
3 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats (real oats, not quick-cooking)
2 c. milk
1/2 c. oil (can use all olive oil, all canola, or 1/2 & 1/2)
2 eggs beaten
1/2 c. applesauce
1 t. vanilla
1 fresh apple chopped
1/4 c. dried fruit (cranberries, etc.)
1/2 c. ch. nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
Preheat oven to 375 (350 for glass pan). Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir well. Add fruit and nuts. Pour into greased 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake 25 minutes. Cool a little before eating. Cover and refrigerate the rest. Reheat portions in microwave.
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Valentine's Day gift?
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