My life has turned into a quest to find meals that will please my entire family. Sure, in theory, this seems easy. And then you meet my husband. And my child.

Between the 3 of us, I think there are maybe 5 foods we ALL like. Which is just super when it comes time to make a meal, which happens 3 times a day. I’ve really started to lean on ‘one pot meals.’ As much as the idea of this sorta makes me cringe, it’s become a staple in our house. Although, I refuse to let the one pot wonders become creamy messes of mushroom byproduct.

Actual ingredients, real food. That’s what a meal needs to contain. A cupcake. A bowl of ice cream. That’s an entirely different topic. Those needs to contain sugar, cream, more sugar, and cream that’s been turned into butter.

This month’s challenge from Christianna at Burwell General Store was to recreate the recipe pictured below (Wild Rice). The challenge is to change at least 3 ingredients and 1 of the cooking methods, whether that’s in the preparation or cooking/baking process.

I wasn’t gonna stuff a bird. Nope, I did that at Christmas and I’m fresh outta motivation to pull giblets and neck from the cavities of a bird. Instead, I started imagining the texture of stuffing and wild rice. And from there my brain took off, into outterspace… never to return. Ok, not quite. But it went on a crazy rollercoaster ride. Where it finally landed on baked oatmeal, with a buncha other grainy goodness. And fruit too.

And my entire family likes it. Phew.

Plain yogurt on top almost made me feel like I was eating a berry crumble, a la mode, for breakfast. Which is fiiiiiine by me!

Print
Banana Berry Baked Oatmeal

Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats (instant might work too)
  • 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup oat bran
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk (I used non fat)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 bananas, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup frozen raspberries (or any fresh or frozen berry)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray non stick spray in a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, Mix together oats, quinoa, oat bran, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a separate bowl lightly beat egg, 1 banana, milk, and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir.

*I used a wooden spoon to stir.

Place remaining banana slices on the bottom of the prepared loaf pan.

Top with 1/2 cup of the berries and pour ‘batter’ mixture on top. Top with remaining berries.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until top is slightly golden and has puffed up a little.

Cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then serve.

Scoop into bowls and add your favorites toppings. I like candied pecans, raisins, and HEAPS of brown sugar. Totally negates the health value, I’m well aware.

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http://www.fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com/2012/02/banana-berry-baked-oatmeal/

Notes:
You can sub all oatmeal instead of a combination of oats, quinoa and oat bran.
Recipe an easily be doubled.
Make a large batch and scoop out portions all week for a quick and healthy breakfast.
Can be baked in muffin tins too, for a really quick grab-n-go breakfast.
I should clarify that this isn’t a super sweet oatmeal. You can add 1/2-1 cup of brown sugar before baking if you want to really sweeten it up. But since I’m giving this to my infant, I wanted to keep it refined sugar free.

Take a look at the some of the other links below to see all the neat ways other people interpreted this recipe. We are a rather creative bunch.