Baked Oatmeal

Recipe is one of the hundreds of recipes, medicine, and crafts to be found in "Through the Seasons"

Baked Oatmeal
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp coconut oil or butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup fruit (dried)
1/2 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 cooking pan.
Mix the wet ingredients together well, and then combine dry ingredients into that mixture.
Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, until top is firm and a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Serve with milk if desired.
So many different additions can go into this breakfast mixture. All kinds of fruits, nuts, spices, things like shredded carrots, chocolate, seeds - only your imagination holds you back.

Homemade Granola Bars

I must be on a healthy granola kick!! Here's another great recipe I found on the web. Oh so yum!

    

I wanted to make a hearty and healthy snack that was easy to make.  I decided on granola bars because they are healthy and portable.  I read tons of recipes but couldn’t find one that had ingredients that I liked until I stumbled upon Ina Garten‘s recipe.  I substituted and cut out a few ingredients but overall, all the ingredients were natural.  I liked that Ina’s recipe calls for honey instead of molasses.  These granola bars were so addictive!  I ate one for breakfast everyday for a week and had to start giving them away to some friends because I was in danger of eating the entire pan by myself.  They were perfectly chewy.  They didn’t have a distinct flavor like cranberry or apricot but I was ok with that.  On a side note, you really have to let the granola bars sit for 2 – 3 hours after they bake for the granola bars to come together.  If you don’t, they will fall a part.  Now that I found this recipe, there’s really no going back to the store bought granola bars.
Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup toasted ground flax seed
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.
2. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the ground flax seed. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
3. Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oat mixture.
4. Add the apricots and cranberries.
5. Stir well.
6. Pour the mixture into a prepared pan. Lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.
7. Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares.