Apple Spice Baked Oatmeal

I know, I know...MORE breakfast?! I'm sorry.

But then again, I'm not. And you will cease to judge me. Because I have created something beautiful.

Looks like the dish has big ears. The better to hear you say "MmmMMM!"....Wow, that was lame.

Behold my creation . . . Apple Spice Baked Oatmeal!

Take note of the homemade almond milk.
A must for serving!

   This was a real crap shoot. I know people bake oatmeal. It can be done. But I have never tried it, and decided on my first go I wasn't going to follow a recipe.
 
    I usually don't follow recipes, maybe because I like the sense of adventure. It could go horribly wrong...or incredibly right. If it's the latter, it makes me feel like I'm a natural.
 

 I did, however, decide to follow the liquid to oatmeal ratio that is called for on the box.
Let's be real. I didn't wanna get toooo crazy with experimentation. If I mess up the flavor, that's an acceptable loss. If I mess up the basic cooking of oatmeal...that is embarrassing.

Basic principals of photography went out the window for this post, folks. I am consistently disappointing you. I gott step it up.

Let me run through the process with you (Remember, I improvised...and also used a baking pan that isn't a typical size. It's probably about half the size of your typical 9x13. So if you do try to make this, keep that in mind.):

1.) Preheat oven to 350º.

2.) Grease your pan with an oil or fat of your choice. I used coconut oil.

Apples! So you can feel like you're eating healthy.

3.) Peel, core, and dice up an apple. I used Granny Smith. I might use another apple next time, and cut the chunks a bit smaller. But I liked the large cubes as well. It provides some needed texture to what will end up being a gooey dish.

3.) Mix 3/4 cup dry steel cut oatmeal with a generous amount of cinnamon (1 T?...probably more.), a sprinkle of ground cloves (1 t?), a sprinkle of nutmeg (1 t?), and however much brown sugar you want to sweeten it up a bit (I didn't use very much because there's sugar in the liquid mixture, as you will see).

4.) In a separate bowl, mix your liquids. My steel cut oatmeal calls for 3/4 cup water for each 1/4 cup of oatmeal. So, since I tripled the amount of oatmeal, I used 3/4 cup of homemade almond milk, 3/4 cup water, and poured about an ounce of maple syrup into my last measuring cup (probably a little less than 1/4 cup). Then, I added a generous spoonful of raw honey, a bit of vanilla extract (1 t?), and filled to the 3/4 cup mark with water.

5.) Pour the dry mixture into the wet, and mix well.

6.) Pour that mixture into the baking dish, and throw it in the oven. Well, don't actually throw it. Place it gently. Duh.

7.) I think when all was said and done, I cooked this lovely creation for about 45-50 minutes. Once it starts bubbling and you can see that the oatmeal has soaked up all the liquid, it's done.

8.) Be sure to let it rest a little bit before serving! And DEFINITELY serve with homemade almond milk. It adds this amazing creamy and nutty flavor. If you don't have fresh almond milk on hand (which most people don't), regular ol' milk or cream will certainly do!

It almost looks like the terrain of some alien planet. A very, very delicious terrain.

This made way too much for one person. Le sigh. But I bet once I get my baby Le Creuset casserole dishes in, I can whip up the perfect individual servings!