Baked Oatmeal

I first discovered this dish at Covenant Point Bible Camp.  I still remember one of the counselors declaring that it would sit in your stomach for hours.  (I think in a good way!)  I can't remember if it was at a summer camp or one of their winter weekends, but it seems made for Winter.   I seem to recall a generous layer of some kind of brown sugar topping on their version.  Maybe I'll try to recreate that some day.  That would probably involve using a little less sweetener in the Baked Oatmeal itself.

This recipe serves about four hungry adults and at least two kids five or under.  :)

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease an 8x8 pyrex dish.

Mix dry ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 to 1 c. brown sugar (I use 1/2c.)*
2tsp. baking powder
1tsp. cinnamon
1tsp. salt

Mix wet ingredients:
1c. applesauce
1tsp. vanilla
2 eggs (or 2 eggs worth egg replacer)
1/2c. rice milk (or milk)
*We were out of brown sug today, so I subbed 1/2c. honey + 1/4c. maple syrup, mixed with the wet ingredients. It was a little too sweet, but the flavor was great!

Combine thoroughly and pour into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. A tester poked in the middle will not come out completely clean, but cook it until it is as solid (or as browned) as you like.  (Probably any more than 30 minutes is too much, though.)

Optional: You can also stir into the batter 1/2 to 1c. blueberries/cranberries/nuts/raisins/etc., but my kids like everything plain these days. Sigh.

Eat warm with milk poured over it and with other toppings of choice. :)
 
(With various substitutions, this can be Lenten!  I originally googled this hoping for a vegan version.  This was my favorite because it used a lot of oats and has a good flavor.  It doesn't rise as high with the egg replacer, but it is quite good that way.)

(This is my reworking of a this recipe.)