Baked Oatmeal

I have a love-hate relationship with oatmeal. Actually, it's mostly a "hate" situation, to be honest. My main consumption of oatmeal comes from hiding it in baked goods like bread so that its gluey, gloppy nature does not have a chance to manifest itself.

Yet oatmeal still beckons to me on several fronts. It's dirt cheap when you buy it in huge boxes of the plain stuff at Costco. It's also better for you than most other things you can eat for breakfast because it has a low glycemic index and good amounts of fiber and protein. If it just didn't feel like gruel or prison food, I'd try to choke it down more often.

To that end, I've tried various baked oatmeal recipes on occasion and found that they were lacking. I finally came across one that works (for me at least), but I don't remember exactly where it came from so I can't credit the creator. Of course, all of the recipes you see scattered around the internet are hardly unique. Most people are just taking other people's work and passing it off as if they just whipped it up off the top of their heads, so I don't feel too guilty about not linking to the recipe.


Don't get me wrong about the desirability of this dish. It's still oatmeal. It's in no way going to compete with a doughnut or a danish, but it is less disgusting than conventional oatmeal. It has a somewhat "cakey" texture to it and the oatmeal isn't gluey. It's nice enough, mind you, but mainly it's a delivery method which is far less objectionable than usual.

Baked Oatmeal:

• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp. melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 packets heat stable artificial sweetener (optional - I used Splenda)
• 1 tbsp. honey or syrup (for serving)
  

Mix everything together and pour into a lightly greased baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. (180 degrees C.) until firm and set in the middle. Serve with about a tablespoon of honey or syrup drizzled over the top. Makes 3 modest or 2 large servings.

I didn't actually use a greased dish. I just tossed everything into a glass baking dish, stirred, and baked. I wouldn't do that with a metal baking dish though, and I did have a bit of a hard time getting the residue off of the top part (though it didn't stick to the glass at all on the bottom). You can make this ahead and just keep it in the refrigerator for a day or so. I just warmed mine up a bit in the microwave for about 30 seconds before eating and it was quite good.

by Shari (Orchid64)