We love oatmeal in our house. Every morning we waffle (no pun intended) between oatmeal, smoothies, eggs, or toast. And oatmeal always makes the day seem to go better! So when I ran across a recipe for baked oatmeal I thought, “hey, those are two of my favorite things!” so of course, I had to try it.

I didn’t immediately set out to make this oatmeal. Rather, it simmered for a good long while in the ideas-chamber in the back of my head. I wanted to pull out all the stops one morning to surprise Andrew and myself with something new and delicious, but still not too far off of one of our favorite choices. We’ve been trying to eat a bit better around here–when you look in our fridge, you will see lots of vegetables, whole things, lots of tupperware from left overs we’ve cooked. However, this has proven to be quite challenging. We both get into working grooves, so when lunch or dinner time rolls around, we are both so hungry that we don’t even want to think about cooking–but we do it anyway.

(let your steel cut oats soak over night with a dollop of yogurt. The acid from the yogurt helps soften the grains)

Once we get into making our meal, the tension tends to ease from the initial shock of “I’M HUNGRY! WHERE’S THE FOOOOOD!?!?” It makes me think of a particular Saturday night live skit with Chris Farley as a Gap Girl, ha. We’re not quite that bad, but we DO get hungry quickly. This is something I’ve been trying to problem solve–I love to cook, I LOVE to eat, and I really love feeding people, namely Andrew –so how can I make things just a little easier in this realm? Especially when we both tend to crave foods from opposite ends of the spectrum? I’ll get back to you on that one and let you know what we come up with. I think it’ll take a few brainstorming sessions together.

Meanwhile, enjoy this hearty, warm, dense, and spicy (cinnamon-y) baked oatmeal. The entire house smelled like Grandma had just finished baking Christmas cookies, the cinnamon wafting through the air made me delirious with anticipation. As for toppings, the sky is the limit. I really enjoy a dollop of real maple syrup, a grated apple, and minced flax seeds, maybe a scoop of coconut yogurt. Andrew likes his with brown sugar only, but today he did splash a little milk on top too. I’ve been grounding pumpkin seeds up into a powder and mixing it into his breakfasts which he wasn’t too excited about at first. The benefits of pumpkin seeds for men, and women (but flax is better for women) are immense–they lower the risk of prostate cancer, they protect mens bones, they are anti-inflammatory, they’re a rich source of minerals, protein and monounsaturated fat, and they lower bad cholesterol levels. He’s a good sport!

Cheers!

Baked Oatmeal via Nourished Kitchen

*feel free to experiment with different dried fruits, frozen fruits, and nuts! The first time, I made this just plain without any fruits or nuts and it was still fantastic.

1 pound steel cut oats 1 cup walnuts, or other nuts 2 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, whey or buttermilk (see sources), for soaking dash unrefined sea salt 6 pastured eggs 2 cups whole, fresh milk (see sources) up to ¼ cup maples syrup (optional) ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries ½ cup dried unsulfured apricots, diced 2 tablespoons cinnamon ¼ cup coconut oil, plus extra for greasing baking dish

Pour the steel cut oats and nuts into a ceramic container or mixing bowl.

Add enough filtered water to completely submerge your oats and nuts. Add a dash of salt and a two tablespoons of fresh yogurt, whey, kefir or buttermilk.

Allow the oats and nuts to soak, covered, overnight in a warm place in your kitchen – about eight to twelve hours.

After the mixture of oats and nuts has soaked overnight, dump them into a colander to drain and place the mixture back into the ceramic container or mixing bowl.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 13 x 9-inch rectangular baking pan with coconut oil or another wholesome fat of your choosing.

Meanwhile beat together eggs, milk, maple syrup (if you’re using it), until well-combined and frothy.

Pour the mixture of eggs, milk and maple syrup over the soaked oats and nuts, stirring well to combine into a porridge-like mixture.

Gently fold dried fruit, cinnamon and coconut oil into the porridge-like mixture.

Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and smooth it out with a rubber spatula to ensure even baking and a good appearance.

Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for forty to forty-five minutes or until the oatmeal achieves a pleasing golden-brown color on top, a knife inserted into its center comes out clean and free from liquid and the fragrance of baked oats, dried fruit and cinnamon perfumes your kitchen. If you can bear the wait, allow the baked oatmeal to cool for five to ten minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

YIELD: 12 to 16 servings

TIME: 10 minutes (preparation), 8 to 12 hours (soaking), 40 to 45 minutes (baking)