Oatmeal Obsession

Both Aaron and I enjoy a good breakfast.  For proof  you need go no further than our wedding rehearsal dinner - eggs, bacon, pancakes, and biscuits from Flying Biscuit.  We are breakfast people.  However, weekday breakfasts suffer from a shortage on time.  For awhile I made a smoothie every morning, but with the weather attempting to turn colder, a warmer breakfast was called for.  Enter the oatmeal!  I'd make a serving of oatmeal in the evening - 1/2 cup oats, dash of salt, handful of dried cranberries, and a bit of brown sugar - and add a little water at work to to cook it the following morning.  Unsurprisingly, my taste buds grew rather dull of the same thing day in and day out.  And then I found my oatmeal nirvana - baked oatmeal.

As a general rule in my kitchen, the first time I make a recipe I try to make it by the book.  Unless, of course, I am missing an ingredient or five, then I improvise.  However, I had to change this recipe from the outset - no bananas or pecans for me, thank you very much.  (Sorry Aaron.  But at least you will never have to share your banana nut bread with me.)  The first time I made this oatmeal, I used thawed peaches and blackberries with sliced almonds for crunch.  Very tasty, very purple.  Second go 'round I stayed with the peaches and blackberries, and threw a few blueberries in.  Sadly, this batch contained a small "oopsie" on my part when I did not let the butter cool enough and it scrambled the eggs a little.  

But this last time, oh this last time, baked oatmeal bliss!  I maintained my base of peaches, but upped the amount to about half a bag of thawed peach pieces and remembered to let the butter cool a little before it was introduced to the eggs. And, I used cherries.  They are bursts of tart, flavorful joy in my mouth.  The oatmeal baked perfectly, so it is a little crunchy and a little creamy depending on what area and strata of the oatmeal I got.  (I am still not sold on the almonds, but cannot think of anything else to substitute.  Any ideas?  Pecans and walnuts are not welcomed guests in my mouth.)

I usually bake this up Sunday afternoons and it probably makes 4-6 servings, depending on who is doing the serving.  Boys eat a lot.  This recipe has the potential to be permanently affixed to the fridge through these winter months.  And oh the possibilities.  Apples and cranberries, berries galore, maybe even banana nut for Aaron one of these times.