Baked Oatmeal

This is my favorite way to eat oatmeal.  Since I'm not a fan of mushy textures, this has become a common breakfast for me (plus the eggs make it a little more filling). I love that I can mix this all in one 9 by 13 the night before, throw it in the oven without preheating the next morning, and have a warm, nourishing breakfast ready an hour later. The original idea came from here. 


Ingredients & Instructions:

Grease a 9 by 13 pan. Fill the pan with rolled oats an inch or so high (about 5-6 cups). Add the following (to the pan-this is a one pan recipe):

1 t baking soda
1 T salt
1 T cinnamon

Mix those dry ingredients together and then add:

1 cup milk (we use coconut or almond)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil or butter
4 eggs
Up to half a cup of sweetener (maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, etc); we have cut back on our sugar intake recently, so I usually make mine without any sweetener, and then drizzle some maple syrup on top afterwards. But if I'm entertaining (or if you like things on the sweet side) definitely add the extra sweetener now.

Stir everything together well, cover with foil, and put in the fridge overnight. The next morning, pop the covered pan in the cold oven, turn on to 350 degrees, and set a timer for an hour (yes, there is no need to preheat the oven on this). Serve with maple syrup drizzled on top, fruit, nuts, anything you  like on your oatmeal. 

Cucumber Tomato Salad

This is my recent favorite salad, and one of my favorite ways to use tomatoes and cucumbers in season. Simple and yummy.

Ingredients:

2-3 medium tomatoes, sliced thin (a pint of cherry tomatoes cut in half works well too)
1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 white onion, sliced thin and rings pulled apart
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T apple cider vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Mix everything together and serve. The flavor gets better if it sits a while, so if you can prepare it a couple of hours in advance, store it in the fridge and then pull out when ready to eat. Yum!