Gettin’ BAKED up in here!

Oat style!

I’m talking BAKED OATMEAL

Warm, crispy yet ooey-gooey, baked goodness.

Can you believe that I haven’t made baked oatmeal all winter? What is wrong with me?!?!?!

Remember that time I had 17 pounds of apples and made this awesome cinnamon apple baked oatmeal? Well, I was going to make that same recipe but then I got a little creative.

The new and improved:

Apple Pie Oatmeal:

Serves about four

• 2 apples, diced
• 1 1/2 cup instant oats
• 2 T cinnamon (I did use this much, I love cinnamon…)
• 2 cups non dairy milk
• 1 scoop protein powder (optional)
• 1/4 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, transfer to lightly greased baking pan (I used 8×8) and bake for 45-55 minutes at 345 degrees.

It’s that easy.

So many thoughts were going through my head while I was making this, it was crazy. “Oh I should add PEANUT BUTTER…” “Maybe a little chocolate wouldn’t hurt…” & “I WISH I HAD MAPLE SYRUP!”

But I’m going to save these ideas for next time because I am diffidently going to experiment with this. I also want to learn how to make this more crunchy, that’d be cool. My baked oatmeal always turn out more like an oatmeal casserole. Is this normal?

More baking with oats…

Quick Cinnamon Granola:

• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 – 1/2 sugar (your choice, I used regular unbleached white but I’m sure Stevia or other sugar-free options would work)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (safflower works too)
• 1/4 cup agave/real maple syrup/brown rice syrup
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1-2 T cinnamon (again, loving the cinnamon…)
• 1/2 cup nuts/dried fruit of choice (I used roasted peanuts)

Preheat the oven to 350. Spread the oats on a rimmed baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Transfer the oats to a large mixing bowl, and add the sugar, wheat germ, and nuts or fruit. Stir to mix well, then add oil, syrup, and vanilla. Mix until everything is moistened. Place mixture back on tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Stir after 4 minutes to brown evenly. Let the baked granola cool on the pan, then transfer it to a bowl and stir until crumbly. Store in an airtight container cause this stuff lasts for weeks.

This granola is really good used as cereal or on a SIAB 🙂

That’s all for today, I’m pooped! A few reviews coming up this weekend plus, VegFest on Sunday! Can’t wait to share it with you guys! 😀