{Baked Oatmeal...it's so yummy}

Justin went on an field trip overnight camping trip with his fifth grade class and had a great time.  One thing he mentioned was that the camp made Baked Oatmeal.  I had never heard of it!  I was intrigued.  So, I started investigating and found some recipes.  One recipe started with "1 stick of butter, melted."  Now, I'm not totally against using butter, and the inner Paula Dean inside of me says, "Go for it!"  But, I just couldn't do it.

So, using the idea that fat typically can be replaced with applesauce in baking recipes and mixing different components from other recipes, I finally made something that I liked.

So here it is folks...Baked Oatmeal, done the lighter way!

3 1/3 cups uncooked oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cinnamon (or more, depending on your tastes, I even added a dash of pumpkin pie spice)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup low fat milk

1 tablespoon oil (canola, or 1 tbsp melted butter)

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 whole egg + 2 egg whites

1 cup of fruit (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Stir in the wet ingredients (vanilla, milk, oil or butter, applesauce, and eggs). Stir until well combined.

Spread the mixture in a 9×13 inch baking dish.

If you want to add fruit, add it to the bottom of the pan, and then spread the oatmeal mixture on top of the fruit. You could also add the fruit to the mixture and just bake it all together.

Dreamy fruit combinations include:

Bananas and Walnuts

Mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, rasberries)

Strawberries (Add cream to the bowl once it’s cooked, and you have Strawberries and Cream!)

Peaches (Add cream to the bowl once it’s cooked, and you have Peaches and Cream!)
Diced Apples
Raisins

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  I think this would serve 6-8 people.

Serve with a little milk poured over the top and a tiny sprinkle of brown sugar.

We had this for dinner tonight, with eggs cooked many ways...and we were pretty happy with our meal!  I love "Breakfast for Dinner"!  "The kid" loved it too...pretty impressive these days!

What are you having for dinner?