Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

I am obsessed with oatmeal. I feel like people either enjoy eating oatmeal or they really dislike it. My husband just can't get over the texture of oatmeal, so he never eats it. He doesn't complain that I make it for myself 5 or 6 days a week for breakfast, which is sweet of him. Whenever he is traveling, I find myself eating oatmeal for dinner as well. :)

Oatmeal is such a healthy breakfast option because it is whole grain goodness and there are so many different ways you can incorporate oats into your meals, whether it be for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I came across a baked oatmeal recipe and knew it was the perfect dish for me to make on a Monday and enjoy all week for breakfast. A great thing about this dish is that it really fills you up, so all you might need is a few pieces of turkey sausage or some scrambled eggs, and you are good to go. Another wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is made from all natural ingredients, which is something I am striving to do as much as possible this new year.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Serves: 4 to 6 smaller pieces or 2 to 4 larger pieces
Adapted by: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2011/11/baked-apple-cinnamon-oatmeal.html

Ingredients:
1 apple, cored and diced into small chunks - I used a honeycrisp apple
1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats - not instant or quick cooking
1/4 cup golden raisins - regular raisins would work just fine as well
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon light melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon lite salt
2 cups of milk OR heavy cream - I use skim milk (*note that heavy cream will drastically increase the amount of calories and fat in this dish and I don't recommend doing that; add a pinch of heavy cream after it is done baking if you want it creamier)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a bowl, combine the apples, oats, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix all ingredients until combined. Add the melted butter and stir together.
-In a greased oven safe dish, add the oat mixture and top the entire baking dish with the 2 cups of milk.
-I used a 9x9 baking glass dish
-Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until most of the milk is absorbed.
-You will want to eat this warm, so remove it from the oven and put some in a bowl. Sprinkle additional toppings if you wish, such as more cinnamon, a little more milk or cream, chopped nuts, etc...
-I eat it just like it is with a little maple syrup drizzled on top.
-Cover the leftovers and refrigerate for up to 4 days. When you want to heat some up, spoon some in a bowl and microwave just until warmed. You may find it is a little dry so you will have to add more cream or milk to make it creamy again after microwaving it.

Enjoy! :)

*Feel free to get creative with this baked oatmeal recipe and come up with different fruits and toppings to go into the recipe. I've tried this with fresh peaches and diced strawberries instead of the apples. I also like the combination of fresh cut bananas and berries instead of the apples. The options are limitless.