I think every plan that I have made in the last week has been thwarted. Plans to go into work early to get things done were interrupted by a broken water main. Efforts to actually make it to work on time were waylaid by 6 escaped chickens and a dog that thinks they are delicious. And all of the good intentions for spending my day off prepping meals for the week were replaced by an unexpected day at the office hunting down a repairman for our ancient air-conditioner. The result has been that I have routinely found myself scrambling to do the things that must be done. Housecleaning, paying bills and doing the weekly shopping has suffered at the hands of these time drains and I have been frantically trying to catch up.
Breakfast has suffered the most this week. The kids have been subsisting on nothing but bagels and peanut butter sandwiches in the mornings and even though they probably don’t mind too much, I feel like making a healthy breakfast should be put back on the priority list. Now that I basically expect something to go wrong before I even wake up, I decided I should prepare for the inevitable. This baked oatmeal is a life-saver in the make-ahead breakfast department. I like to whip it up the night before while I have the oven on. It’s not complicated and the fruits can be swapped out for whatever you have on hand. It keeps well in the fridge and heats up beautifully in the microwave making this perfect for busy school mornings and give you enough energy to chase down Houdini the Hen before Daisy the Dog gets to her first.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ pint blackberries
- 1 medium banana chopped
- 2 Tablespoons sliced almonds
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the butter. Spread the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 25 minutes or until the oatmeal is cooked through. Cut the butter into 4 pieces and place on top of the oatmeal and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before eating.
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