Delicious Breakfast Meal!

Okay, if you're like me, you prefer a nice hearty breakfast. Bring on the bad food and load up on calories. However, while I love those types of breakfasts, I very very very rarely allow myself to have one. Because afterwards, I feel SO guilty.
I found this recipe recently that is SO delicious but still on the healthy side. You can adapt it to your own sweet palate. It is from the website, Annie Eats. Here ya go:

Baked Oatmeal with Fruit

Posted in Breakfast

I feel like I’ve been holding out on you guys. It hasn’t been intentional, but I’ve been making this baked oatmeal over and over for the past few months and I can’t believe I haven’t shared it with you yet. My feelings regarding oatmeal have made a complete about face in the past year or so. Before, I thought it was bland and pretty much only liked it if it was mixed into a cookie. Then I learned to use mix-ins or toppings to jazz it up a bit. Not long after, I was introduced to steel cut oats and I started eating oatmeal almost weekly. Previously I had tried a few recipes for baked oatmeal but none of them were much to write home about. That is until I tried this version.

Three reasons why I love this recipe and you will too: 1. It is quick and easy to prep, 2. It’s healthy, 3. It is very easily adapted to suit whatever fruits are in season and what you have on hand. I have made it so far with the original combination of bananas and blueberries as well as peaches with raspberries, nectarines with blackberries, and most recently with apples and cranberries. The natural sweetness of the fruit as well as a bit of maple syrup is all this really needs to be a tasty and satisfying breakfast, and it reheats well as leftovers on subsequent days. I do add an extra sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to the apple and cranberry version to offset the tartness of the berries. You can also use different types of nuts depending on what you have around or what you prefer. I’m thinking a summer version with cherries, apricots and almonds could be pretty great. This has become a staple in our breakfast menu and as you can see here, it is a hit with the boy as well

Baked Oatmeal with Fruit
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Ingredients:
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted, divided
½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir with a fork to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla. Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the berries. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.