Baked Oatmeal - the weekend is here!

When I first heard about this dish, I was skeptical.  It simply sounded a little strange.  I finally asked a friend for her recipe, made small changes, and we have been enjoying it ever since.   Since it is now a staple to signify "the weekend is here", I figured it was time to share it.  Give it a try - you know you want to.

This recipe was influenced by http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3375.asp

Baked Oatmeal
* = see cook's notes below


2 cups Oats *
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans - chopped and toasted
1 1/2 cups rice milk or milk of your choice *
1 tbsp applebutter or you could use maple syrup *
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp canola oil
Fresh fruit to add before eating

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Combine the wet ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until the eggs are evenly mixed into the other ingredients.  Then add the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and nutsand stir.  Pour the batter into a large pie plate (10" or more) or a 9x9 cake pan or serving dish and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.  Allow it to sit for 10 minutes if you can wait.   Then slice and serve in a bowl with milk of your choice and fresh fruit.


 Cook's Notes:
Oats: I only use Old Fashioned Rolled Oats but you could use large flake.  Quick Oats would likely still work but may be a different texture.  Definitely do not use Minute Oats.

Milk: I like to use Rice Milk because it is naturally sweet (no added sugar) so it makes the dish sweeter without adding more sugars.  If you use regular milk, you may find you need to add more sweetness.

Applebutter options: if you do not have applebutter that is naturally quite sweet ( I only use Wellesley brand), you could use maple syrup in equal amounts.

Options to consider: I think this would be delicious with fruit added in before baking, like blueberries or raspberries or even sauted apples. 
I also found it worthwhile to mix up the recipe the night before and leave the it in the fridge.  I even set my oven to turn on automatically the following morning so I could be as lazy as possible - hey, it is the weekend!  So in the morning, all I have to do put the mixture in a room-temp baking dish and add it to the hot oven to bake.  During that time, why not get a little more sleep.  That sweet, warm cinnamon oat smell is a great thing to get your day going!!