Baked Oatmeal

I absolutely love apples.  Especially in the Fall.  Mix that with oatmeal and I'm in heaven.  I've not always been a total fan of oatmeal.  There was a time when I despised it.  I don't care for the flavored instant stuff you get at the store.  Too sweet and it's really not good for you with all the additive stuff that is put in it.  So when I found a recipe for some oatmeal where I knew what was actually in it and I controlled the sugar, I was hooked.  I did a little tweaking of my own and made it even better.  At least to my liking.  I now make Baked Oatmeal at least twice a week.  Everyone around here loves it for breakfast of course.  But there are a few times when I have caught some of the crew heating it up for a snack.  No complaining here with that choice of snack.

So I decided to share this baked appley, oatmeal goodness with you.  I hope you like it.

Baked Oatmeal

by kar

3 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup melted butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup dried cranberries

3 apples, peeled and chopped small

12 oz. bag of frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except for the blueberries together well.  Make sure everything is incorporated together well.  Then fold the blueberries into the mixture while still frozen.  You don't want to mix them in because they will break up to little pieces.  They add a perfect amount of moisture to the finished product.  Spray a 9" x 13" pan with baking spray and spread the oatmeal mixture into it.

Bake for 35 mins. and remove from the oven.

You can enjoy it right out of the oven or let it cool just a bit and store it in a container with a lid and place into the fridge until you are ready to eat it.

It's not too bad with a dab of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the top either!

Let me know what you think if you try it.