Individual Baked Berry Oatmeal

Back in the saddle again. Hey all- I'm home, school has started and I am ready to start the new year with some routine! I came across this recipe for baked individual oatmeal's and thought it was such a clever idea for us busy mom's gearing up for making breakfast on a daily basis again. Um, no, I don't usually make breakfast during the summer. My husband does that. Okay, so my husband usually makes breakfast anyway, even during the school year, but I do it sometimes. For those days I love doing stuff like this. This goes beyond breakfast before school. If your a working gal, this is the sweetest little breakfast to grab on the go, or even to store in the fridge for later in the week in it's own little package all ready whenever you are. Sweet and healthy!

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen in your life? Put anything in a jelly jar and I'm immediately smitten. I love oatmeal but who wants to sit at the stove and stir the pot all morning? Certainly not me. I love the idea of being able to custom make your little jar of oatmeal. You are only limited by your own imagination when it comes to the endless combinations that can be had here...Raspberries and macadamia nuts with coconut milk, blueberries and almonds with almond milk, strawberries with half and half as the base (shhh, I won't tell) peaches and whole milk with a bit of cream added in, and extra cinnamon. Holy toledo, have I gotten your taste buds going yet?!

This is a perfect make ahead item because the jars are very hot, as you could probably imagine, right out of the oven, but if you pop the lid on and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you go and get ready for the day, you have a perfectly warm cup of oatmeal waiting when you are done (they stay really warm with the lid on for up to a hour after you take them out). Can't wait that long? You can pick them up after about 5 minutes wrapped in a paper towel and 10 minutes with your hand. You could also bake these the night before and stash them in your refrigerator for the next day. Like I mentioned above, such a convenient little package to grab on the go. You can always microwave them (although I don't like to because it takes out many of the nutrients in the food) or re-heat in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes or so, or eat them cold. I happen to really enjoy cold oatmeal, especially if it's really flavored like this one.

I'm going to write the recipe as I used it, but once you make these, you'll realize this is just a blueprint. Like I mentioned above, swap out and try different milks and liquid as the base, use different berries, top with the toppings of your choice, add more milk after it's baked, add some honey...yadda, yadda, yadda.

Enjoy! Back to school never looked this good!

Individual Baked Berry Oatmeal

adapted from Super Natural Everyday, by Heidi Swanson

serves 6

2 cups berry or fruit of your choice, plus extra for garnish

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1 1/2 teaspoons melted butter (I used melted coconut oil)

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chopped almonds, for garnish

3 teaspoons brown sugar, for garnish (optional...I didn't use this)

6 8-oz. mason jelly jars for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Divide the berries between six small mason jars. Mix the oats, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Divide the dry mix between jars, layering on top of the berries, about 1/3 cup each.

Mix the milk, butter, maple and vanilla together. Pour a scant 1/2 cup on top of the oats, letting it seep through to the bottom. Place all the jars in a baking dish, sprinkle a few berries on top, and bake on the middle rack for about 25-30 minutes until liquid is absorbed, tops are just browned but the oats are still moist. Sprinkle the tops with the toasted almonds and brown sugar, if using, and serve warm.

Jars will be cool enough to hold with your hands in 10 minutes. I recommend putting the lids on the jars as they come out of the oven to keep them really warm while the outside cools.

Try to use fresh berries whenever possible. Frozen often turns the oatmeal a gray-ish color. With these measurements, the oatmeal will be slightly sweet, just the way I like it. If you know you like yours sweeter you can always top off the baked oatmeal's with more maple syrup (or honey or brown sugar) or you can add more into the base milk mixture before adding it to the cups. We liked adding fresh milk to our jars. So good.