We had a great breakfast today! I don’t make this too often because it takes about an hour (most of it for baking), but it’s just the thing for a lazy winter Sunday.
I first saw this recipe for Michigan Baked Oatmeal in a newspaper. I cut it out and tried it, and then lost the clipping, so I searched online for it. The same recipe appears on many recipe sites – probably because it’s so good! With oats, apple, nuts and dried cherries and lots of milk, it’s very healthy and may be a good way to get picky kids to eat a healthy breakfast!
Since there are only two of us at home most of the time, I usually halve the recipe; the only tricky part is finding a small apple or using only half of a large apple. If you don’t have dried cherries handy, you can easily substitute Craisins or any other dried cranberries. And you can vary the recipe by using vanilla or cinnamon instead of almond flavoring and use different dried fruits or nuts.
This recipe is quite sweet, so you can cut back on the brown sugar if you like it less sweet. Michigan Baked Oatmeal keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave with a little additional milk.
Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ tsp. almond flavoring
½ cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 large apple, unpeeled and grated
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup dried cherries
Pinch of salt
4 cups milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 3-quart baking dish or casserole with cooking spray. Combine all the ingredients in the baking dish (add the milk last) and stir well. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes and serve hot.
Serves 6 – 8
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Does it have to be baked? It seems as if it can be cooked on the stove top similarly to regular oatmeal, with the yummy Michigan additions and milk instead of oatmeal. Have you tried it that way?
I think baking gives it a different texture. It comes out drier, a little cake-y. When you scoop out the first portion, there’s some milk at the bottom of the dish, but it quickly gets absorbed by the remaining oatmeal.