Baked oatmeal is a great way to start your morning.

I just ate this beautiful breakfast and the day is already off to a great start. Growing up in Central PA, baked oatmeal was always one of my favorite treats to have when we went out for breakfast. Every little diner and family restaurant has their own version, usually rotating with different types of fruit each day. I’ve been thinking about baked oatmeal a lot lately during these cooler months in Georgia and finally got around to making it for my MOPS group yesterday. I was glad to have made a giant batch so there was a piece or two left to photograph and share with you.

If you’ve never had baked oatmeal, you might describe this as oatmeal breakfast casserole or something similar. Not only is baked oatmeal delicious, relatively healthy and easy to customize, this recipe gets extra points for being flexible. You can make right away if you’re having a craving or you can put it together the night before for company or to have a weeks’ worth of easy family breakfasts on hand.

Back home, baked oatmeal is usually served hot with milk or cream, brown sugar and some type of fruit (usually sliced bananas or raisins at my favorite spots). I like to serve mine with milk, berries and the occasional drizzle of maple syrup. It’s also tasty in cold squares cut from the fridge.

This recipe is a basic starting point- get as creative as you want with it! I am already dreaming up seasonal variations with different fruit purees and chopped fruits. I think you’ll enjoy starting your days of with full, happy tummies.

*Note- I do think this recipe would freeze well fully baked, but I haven’t tested it personally. I will report back when I do.

Can you believe I got off my pregnant behind (well, I guess I’m still on it) to write you a post today?  Things have been nuts/bananas around here lately- pregnancy drama-rama, busy schedules, all of that. I have sort of lost my cooking mojo lately, to be honest. I joined a little freezer co-op a few months ago and we get so much freezer food that I hardly ever cook anymore.  I’m starting to really miss the kitchen.. I think I’m going to quit the ol’ freezer co-op soon so I can get back to my roots and start sharing with you again.

I’d like to say I made this recently, but it’s been waiting for you in the archives for quite some time. I love these flavors and I’m really getting in the mood for autumn (though that season is still weeks/months away here in GA).  There’s no real skill to making this- all you have to do is compile the ingredients at your leisure. There’s lots of flexibility here- I’d encourage you to use whatever’s in season and make it your own. Maybe you prefer a different type of squash or you want to sub pears for apples.. in which case you might want to use goat cheese or Gorgonzola. See how easy it is to switch it up?

And PS- if you’re reading this, I think you’re awesome for hanging in there with me and checking in on Oven Love, even when I’m inconsistent. Thanks for respecting me and my priorities (family and real life before blog land).  Now go, my loved ones- be healthy and eat salad!

Hi muffins! I was making another batch of applesauce this afternoon and I realized that it’s something I’ve never shared with you.  I started making this applesauce when my little guy was six months old and ready to start solid food.  As you can probably guess, I wasn’t into buying pre-made baby food and instead, made his food myself (more on my baby food philosophy another day if anyone’s interested).  I have never been a big fan of chunky applesauce, sweetened applesauce or watery applesauce.  My perfect applesauce is smooth, thick and naturally sweet.

My first instinct in figuring out how to make my perfect applesauce was just to cook down some apples, puree them up and see how it tasted.  Maybe it was my new mother’s intuition, but I got it right on the first try!  All you have to do for this recipe is cook your apples with a little water and puree them.  It’s a perfect baby food, since it’s smooth enough for the tiny ones, but has enough body for older kids and adults, too.  I will definitely admit to sneaking lots of bites while baby wasn’t looking.

I call this “small batch” because I think people usually don’t make applesauce unless they’re making a huge amount because it seems like a lot of work. In my opinion, the peeling is what takes the longest. I usually just peel the skin off with a paring knife these days instead of fooling with my dull vegetable peeler to save time.  If you don’t think it’s worth it to make applesauce at home, I totally get it. But for me, it’s become a soothing, routine activity. I’m always on the lookout at Kroger for the dollar bags of “bad” apples which sometimes don’t even have bruises (love you Krog!). Then when I have enough apples in the fridge, I make up a little batch.

Maybe this isn’t for you, or maybe you can stick it in your mental file (or pin it) for when you have a baby or a giant bushel of apples this fall. The natural sweetness of the apples is delicious- I think you’ll find that food made with loving hands tastes much better than store bought.