Snelling Sessions

I'm sitting in Snelling (one of our dining halls) right now with a few precious friends from my small group. I'm on my computer because I'm supposed to be getting some homework done before my next class, but instead, I'm scrolling through Pinterest and my Google Reader blog list. And, obviously, writing a blog post.

I just added a recipe to my word document recipe list. The list is now 105 pages long. 105 pages. One. Hundered. And. Five. One. Zero. Five. That's a lot of recipes. I just wish I could bake all day every day. That's the only way I'll ever get through these recipes. But that's not exactly possible, so I suppose I'll just do what I can!

Anyway, I have a seriously good recipe for you today. I made this last Saturday morning. I expected it to be good, but it was even better than I expected. Though I sometimes find baked oatmeal to be dry and unappetizing, this one was anything but. It was moist, flavorful, and super filling. So here ya go!

Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Bananas, and Chocolate

Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Bananas, and Chocolate

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup walnut pieces, chopped

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups milk

1 large egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ripe banana, peeled, 1/2-inch slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F and generously spray the inside of a 10-1/2 by 7 inch baking dish with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, Chinese five spice, salt, half the walnuts, half the strawberries and half the chocolate. (Save the other half of strawberries, walnuts and chocolate for the top of the oatmeal).

In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter and vanilla extract.

Add the oat mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining strawberries, walnuts and chocolate on top. Add the banana slices to the top then pour the milk mixture over everything. Gently shimmy/shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. For an extra      tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of extra brown sugar on top then place back in the oven under the broiler and broil for 20-30 seconds. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup.