Ali Cooks: Baked Banana Oatmeal

Sometimes I get really excited about making something...and then I forget about it.  Take the below recipe as an example:  I discovered it AGES ago, I tagged it as 'Intend to Make' among my other recipes, and then I didn't look at it again for months.  This past week I decided it was time to make it finally!  So...oatmeal for breakfast was on the menu!

Brian and I had some pretty ripe bananas on our hands already, so all we really had to do was pick up some walnuts.  Any mix-ins will work in the oatmeal, so get adventurous!  (The original recipe asked for blueberries and raisins.  Blueberries are expensive and Brian hates raisins, so bananas were the star of our oatmeal.)

The apartment ended up smelling wonderful, and the recipe made two HUGE portions!  It could easily have been four portions, but Brian and I can have pretty big appetites when we want to.

Want a pretty low-key but homemade breakfast?  Make this fancy oatmeal.

Baked Banana Oatmeal

*adapted from DeliciouslyElla.com

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned oats

2 ripe bananas

1/4 cup almond milk

Handful of walnuts

2 Tbs cinnamon

1 Tbs maple syrup or honey (optional)

Instructions:

Start by pre-heating the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the oats in a bowl and cover them with boiling water.  Allow them to soak for ten minutes. During this time chop the banana into slices and crush the walnuts into small bite sized chunks.

Once the water has been absorbed and the oats are soft, stir in 1 banana and half of the second, the almond milk, walnuts, cinnamon, and maple syrup (if using).

Then place all of the ingredients into a greased baking dish (I used a loaf pan).  Place the remainder of the sliced banana on top of the oatmeal mixture before putting the pan in the oven.

Next, bake for 20 minutes until the top has slightly browned.

Breakfast is served!