One pot: Baked oatmeal

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't cook a lot and when I do, it's not very complex. That's because I live with an amazing cook who is also my culinary slave as well as a recipe tester-at-large for America's Test Kitchen. My one-pot dishes and "bean delight" don't stand a chance against my sweetie's creations.

About a month ago, Cream Puffs in Venice [don't click on that link or you'll never come back -- she kicks my butt] blogged about a baked oatmeal breakfast dish that caught my attention. I read it three of four times finally convincing myself that I could do this, after all it was all in one pot. 

My sweetie was out of town and, honestly, I have no idea what a rolled oat is and how it's different from other oats. I saw we had a bag of flaked oats in the cupboard and that's what I used. 

This is a great little recipe and now that I've found it I'm less likely to skip breakfast. Here's my adaptation:

1 cup whole rolled oats (I use about 1 1/3 cups flaked oats because Sweetie likes the density. What's the difference between whole & flaked?)

1 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. maple syrup (Sweetie says to try 1 1/2 tbsp of honey if you don't have maple syrup. We'll try that next time.)
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
2 medium apples, peeled and diced (I use whatever I have on hand, usually a crisp eating apple)
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (I use pecans, because we have lots of them)

1/4 cup fresh frozen blueberries (I freeze them in August and enjoy them through the winter. Once the raspberries ripen, I'll try a handful of them instead.)
1-1/4 cups milk 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch pie plate or baking dish with butter or cooking spray

Combine all the ingredients in ONE (I love this part) large bowl and mix well.

Pour into the greased pie plate.

Bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed (don’t overcook or it will dry out).

Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve warm with yogurt (I like vanilla yogurt). Add extra honey or maple syrup as desired.

YUM!