Easy Oatmeal

Matthew and I love easy but yummy breakfasts. We generally leave the house within 30 minutes of waking so it has to be quick. Matt eats his breakfast at work because he doesn't like eating just after waking up. He used to skip breakfast altogether but I would always lecture him about it so we found an alternative. He really liked those packet oatmeals with apple cinnamon. Well those packets can get pretty expensive (especially when your husband eats 2 at a time!) and, those of you that know me, know I love living on a budget. I came up with a mixture of my own. We use:

2/3 cup quick oats

a little less than 1 tbls brown sugar

a dash of cinnamon

a few frozen chunks of frozen apples (added just before cooking)

I used to give Matthew the job of scooping the mixture into the same ziplocks each week but he tired of that job quickly. Instead, we bought air-tight containers and added cheap measuring spoons from Walmart so it's quick to scoop up in the morning. While this makes a great breakfast, we also really liked the apple, cranberry, almond that Quaker Oats makes. Because of our abundance of frozen strawberries we came up with this recipe instead of cranberries. I had walnuts on hand so we used those too. This verison is more filling since it has nuts too, plus I like the texture of the old fashioned oats vs. the quick oats.

Amazing Baked Oatmeal

4 cups old-fashion oatmeal

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup walnuts chopped

2 cups strawberries sliced

1/2 cup chocolate chips

4 cups whole or 2% milk

2 eggs

1/2 stick melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix 4 cups oatmeal, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Split walnuts and strawberries in half. Add half to the mixture, save the other half to arrange on the top. Spray a 9 X 13 glass pan and lay mixture evenly. Mix 4 cups milk, 2 eggs, 1/2 stick of melted butter and 2 tsp vanilla. The butter doesn't mix very well especially if the milk is cold but it still works out. Arrange the chocolate chips and remaining walnuts and strawberries over the top. Pour liquid mixture over the oatmeal slowly. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy! We usually make this at night since it takes a while to bake. We eat it all week long by scooping it into a bowl, heating and adding a little milk.  Use other fruits if you'd like! I've seen many other ideas on pinterest with cranberries, blueberries, bananas, etc.