*This post is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company as part of their ‘More Taste, Less Waste’ campaign *
*All opinions are my own*
I’m partnering with Quaker Oats, who has launched ‘More Taste, Less Waste’ in partnership with the James Beard Foundation, to bring you versatile and nutritious dishes that use oats in combination with commonly wasted food items. Let me tell you what – with a family of seven for which I stock a kitchen full of food each week, more food than I am comfortable with goes to waste each week! The ‘More Taste, Less Waste’ campaign being propelled by Quaker is something that not only can I get on board with, but I’m super excited about as well. I love creating new dishes out of on-hand items.
Since autumn is well on it’s way, apples are filling up our fruit bowls and refrigerator doors at an alarming rate. Many will be eaten – and as always, many will be forgotten. With an apple tree in our back yard, we are always overflowing with apples over here. I can’t tell you how many wrinkled, mushy apples I’ve tossed out over the years. With a bit of foresight, apples are easy to use up before they go to seed. This baked oatmeal dish is the perfect vehicle for using up those apples along with another commonly wasted item in our house – milk. We are not big milk drinkers, so I usually buy it for cooking, or I’ll make a batch of coconut milk to use in dishes. Problem is, depending on how many meals I make that week that call for milk, I often times can easily end up with a half a carton that is inching its way to it’s expiration date.
This recipe uses up a good amount of milk, as well as apples. Everything else that goes into it is likely in your home already. The base of the dish? A heaping bowl full of nutritious, whole grain oats. Oats are a staple in our home, and I keep a giant bucket full of them in my food storage. They are one of the most versatile grains available and can be used in countless preparations. They are easy to jazz up and here they soak up the flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, butter, and apples, while imparting their own wholesome flavor and texture to this classic breakfast dish.
You can make these oats up the night before you want to eat them, if you like. Just assemble – but don’t bake. When you wake up, throw them in the oven and you’re looking at an autumnal breakfast in 30 minutes, that is also a good source of fiber.
I used a crisp/sweet tango apple for this dish – if you use something more tart, like a granny smith, you may want to add a bit more maple syrup to the apple mixture.
Feel free to use any kind of milk you like! I used cow’s milk, but coconut, almond, or any other nut milk would work very nicely.
- FOR THE CARAMELIZED APPLES:
- 4 Large Apples, peeled and diced
- 4 tablespoons Grass-fed Butter
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- FOR THE BAKED OATMEAL:
- 4½ cups Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 heaping teaspoon Cinnamon
- 3 Eggs
- 4 tablespoons Coconut Oil (liquefied)
- 2 cups Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
- FOR THE CARAMELIZED APPLES:
- Melt the butter over medium/high heat in a large saute pan. Cook until the butter foams - stir constantly as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma.
- As soon as the butter has browned, add in the diced apples and maple syrup. Cook apples, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, or until they have become a deep brown color and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- FOR THE BAKED OATMEAL:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add the eggs, oil. milk, vanilla, and maple syrup to the dry mixture and whisk together until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a buttered 9x13 baking dish.
- Spoon the caramelized apples evenly over the top of the oatmeal.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until lightly brown and puffed on top.
- Serve warm with milk and a little drizzle of maple syrup.
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