Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

Don’t we all have a few shameful food secrets?

Things we hide from our culinary friends for fear they’d judge our embarrassing penchant for a somewhat disgusting food item…  Most of mine have carried over from childhood, and I’m slowly attempting to rid them from my pantry (and my brain).

I shared one of mine here, when I talked about my unhealthy obsession with frozen pizza rolls.  (By the way, I haven’t had any more of the frozen kind since my post.)

Now I’m tackling one I’ve loved as long as I can remember: Apple and Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal packets.  I use these as a perfect quick anytime meal – and I’m sure they are probably not very good for me.

So, when I saw this “make the night before” and bake in the morning version, I had to give it a try.

The Recipe:

Overnight Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal, adapted from SimpleBites

2 large eggs

1/4 c maple syrup

1 t baking powder

1 t vanilla

1 t cinnamon

1/4 c salted butter, melted

1/2 c applesauce

1 small apple, grated

1 1/4 c milk

3 c old-fashioned oats

Butter a 2 quart baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except the oats.  Fold in oats and combine well.  Transfer mixture into the buttered baking dish and spread evenly around.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly on top of the oat mixture. Refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 375°F.  Unwrap oatmeal and place in oven.  Bake for about 30 minutes until oatmeal is set and browned on top.

Serve hot with more milk or cream.

The Results:

Well, to me, it really wasn’t the best.

Maybe because I’m used to the super sweet and flavorful packets, this just seemed kind of blah.

Now, that being said, I’m sure there would be many ways to spice this up a bit.  More apple/applesauce for sure – and more cinnamon.  I think it also was desperately seeking salt.

I have to admit, too, that my toddler (who is in that annoying ‘I never eat unless it’s on my terms’ food stage) loved it and ate a ton.  So, it wasn’t a total disaster.

Plus there’s something about a pre-prepped breakfast that you can pop in the oven that’s worth a little more time and experiment.  (And there’s that whole replacing the processed, boxed food thing, too.)

Until we meet again, Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal.