Baked Oatmeal

Do you wake up starving in the morning like I do? Here's a hearty and scrumptious way to start the day. This is basically MY favorite way of making this. There are several versions "out there," but this specific method is what truly works for me. (I'd give credit where it is due, but I can't for the life of me remember where I got this exact recipe.) This particular recipe serves 10-12, but it can easily be halved. Though I don't know why anyone would want only HALF of this oatmeal goodness, especially since it stores well in the fridge and can be reheated.

The night before you plan to have "Baked Oatmeal" for breakfast, mix 6 cups rolled oats with 2 cups buttermilk. Cover loosely with a dish towel and soak overnight.

The next morning, the first thing I do is crack 4 eggs into a bowl and set aside. This gives the eggs a chance to come to room temperature (or close).

Now preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Then, using a wooden spoon, break apart the soaked oats a bit. They will be pretty clumpy and hard to stir. You just want to break them up enough that when you add your dry ingredients, they will be evenly distributed.

Now add 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon to the oats and mix well.

Melt 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of coconut oil. (If you don't have coconut oil, use 2 sticks of butter. But know this: virgin coconut oil is SO good for you!! You can get some here.)  I melt them separately, but you CAN melt them together. You'll just need to start the butter to melting first, because coconut oil melts FAST, and you don't want it to get too hot. Then set them aside to cool a bit.

Next, take two of these beauties. (Pears are good, too, or any other fruit you'd like. I have a friend who even makes it with chocolate chips from time to time!)

Then peel and chop or grate them. (I grate mine so I don't have to worry about babies choking on large clumps, but I also think the oatmeal is moister and more apple-y throughout, which is just yummier!) Add the fruit and all its juice to the oat mixture.

Now butter a 9 x 13-inch pan or, as in my case, a casserole that holds a comparable amount. (You can also smear coconut oil in the pan. Both ways work fine. If  I'm using a metal pan, I like to line it with parchment paper first and then butter THAT so the metal doesn't touch the food.)

Lightly beat eggs with a whisk. Then beat in 3/4 c. honey (or Sucanat). I personally like the rich taste the honey gives it, but it can get expensive using that much raw honey at once. In fact, I tend to hoard our honey, so sometimes I use half honey and half Sucanat. But recently I got all crazy and tried 3/4 c. Sucanat with no honey, and it was a success! (Whew!) Still totally delicious. 

Now, to the eggs and sweetener, slowly add the melted butter...

and oil, while whisking quickly.

Now you can add the liquid ingredients to the oat mixture.

Looking good...

Spread the mixture into your buttered pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Once baked and dished into individual bowls, I like to sprinkle with raisins (for those who can eat raisins) and then pour a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream on top. (The raisins can also be baked into it. I prefer to leave them out of the baking process, so I don't have to pick them out later.) Stir and eat!  

Of course, this little guy eats his like THIS--. No raisins and no cream usually ('cause he's already drinking lots of rich, whole raw milk).

I've found I can really save time in the morning if I'll go ahead and do some of the steps the night before, like wash and dry the apples (I could probably go ahead and grate them and stick 'em in the fridge, too), measure out the honey (or other sweetener), set out the dry ingredients and measuring spoons (or even go ahead and measure them out), etc.

There are even more recipes for similar dishes on sites like Allrecipes.com, but THIS recipe is truly healthy, as it includes the all-important grain-soaking step. Soaking grains like oats before cooking makes them as healthy as they are supposed to be. (You might have read that I try to do this in some of my other recipes.) Why soak?? Well, whole grains like oats (or whole wheat flour, brown rice, etc.) contain SO many good things for you--things that we genuinely NEED! But they also contain enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid that make it difficult for YOU to digest them properly and make it next to impossible for you to absorb the actual minerals/nutrients they contain. So, it's sort of pointless to bother with oats unless you're going to soak them. Aren't you glad to know that?

Okay! So. I hope you enjoy breakfast tomorrow...You will if you try Baked Oatmeal. It's like having dessert for breakfast!!

This post is linked with Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family and Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.