Baked Oatmeal--Several Memories and A "How To"

  Food is memory. Simple smells from the kitchen can bring back the fondest of memories. It makes food more than just food. And baked oatmeal isn't just a type of food for me. It is a dish full of both goodness and many, many memories. From the time I was 10 years old till I was 17, I spent every summer minus one with an organization known as Teen Missions International. Due to God and Teen Missions, I got to go to 6 of the 7 continents and visit 41 countries in one way or another. I will never forget any of the trips because they shaped so much of who I am and how I think about most everything. My time with Teen Missions is one of the top four events that have shaped my whole life. But this post isn't about that, really. It is about a food item that will in a very small way....change your life. Or at least that what the younger crowd is saying about everything from songs to food, so I guess for this post, I'll jump on the bandwagon.

  One of the most memorable parts about each of these trips was the food. Some of the memories are awesome: the ice cream in Germany, the one steak I had the last night in Madagascar, the rice in Bangladesh, the mussels straight from the ocean in New Zealand, etc. And some of the memories are not so great: the tomato soup during any weather, the kool-aid, the absence of food in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Madagascar. However, the food item that brings back the most memories is baked oatmeal. It was always my favorite during the two week training portion of each summer known as Boot Camp, and on the field, and at my Granny's house. See, being apart of Teen Missions and going was really a family thing for me. My uncle and aunt had led several teams overseas, my older cousins had gone several summers, my Granddad and Granny had led several teams, and my older brother had gone for several summers. And later my two younger sisters would go as well as my nephew, and last summer a cousin of mine went. It is truly a life changing event and I mean that in the most sincere and grand way. Anyway, my Granny was an awesome cook. The teams I always went on lost weight because the females were just okay at cooking and didn't have access to much food, but the teams my Granny and Granddad led gained weight because my Granny was so awesome at cooking and they were in Europe, not Southeast Asia or Africa! So...long story short, my Granny would cook my brother and I our favorite summer recipes. And baked oatmeal was always a huge favorite and she could make it like no one else.

  Well, over the last several weeks, I have really been getting into oatmeal. I started with just the quick oats from Quaker Oats and thought they were amazing and then I just bought McCann's Steel Cut Oats and feel as if I discovered a true breakfast treasure. And all this oatmeal got me thinking about baked oatmeal. I thought that my sister in law had the recipe, but sadly found out that she did not. I then remembered that my Granny had left me several of her cookbooks and I had placed them in the attic and had forgotten them, but due to the conversion of a craft/sewing room into a nursery, I have made multiple trips in the attic and rediscovered these cookbooks! Eureka!  And what made it even neater was that it had the measurements and proportions written in my granny's handwriting.

 

   So, Mel and I made a trip to our beloved, neighborhood Kroger and bought the ingredients, but not without the crisis of trying to decide which would do our baked oatmeal better justice: quick oats or old fashioned oats. And then I showed extreme caution and restraint and pulled my arm away from the steel cut oats. So, let's quit dragging our feet, dawn our aprons, and get down to making the best breakfast item involving oatmeal!

 Baked Oatmeal Ingredients and Proportions: 

This for an 11 x 13 Pyrex pan and gave me 7 servings of this delicious, breakfast item.

  3/4 Cup of Oil
  1 1/4 Cups of Sugar (White or Brown)
  3 Eggs
  3 3/4 Cups of Oatmeal
  2 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
  1 1/4 tsp of salt
  1 1/4 cup of milk

 

First combine the oil, sugar, and eggs.

After mixing the above well, add the oatmeal.

Then add the baking powder and salt. And continue mixing.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Now add the milk and maybe a little cinnamon. Mix well until all is wet.

Pour your sweet smelling concoction into the Pyrex pan and level it out.

This is what it should look like!

Then you put it in the oven for 30 minutes and go ahead and get your beverage ready!

 

Behold! Your breakfast pallet will never accept the bland again.

Happy eating and go ahead and start thinking about that second serving,

           David