Vanilla Baked Oatmeal

I usually don't make baked oatmeal, simply because I like regular oatmeal so much. But there was one weekend morning when I decided to try making baked oatmeal, and this recipe was my result.

It's gooey. It's creamy. It's sweet. It's delicious. It's healthy.

It tastes better to me than a lot of desserts I've had, and I am lucky enough to be able to call it a breakfast. 

Once this oatmeal came out of the oven, I asked my dad to lean over and smell it. "This is what oatmeal would smell like in heaven," he told me. "And you can quote me on that!"

Really though, this oatmeal smells and tastes like the kind of oatmeal that you wish you could eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. If you're like me, you already do.  ;-)

You'll notice that this recipe has more ingredients and steps than most of my recipes do. The little bit of extra time is totally worth it, though, once you taste the final product.

Vanilla Baked Oatmeal
(makes 4-6 huge servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 of a banana, mashed
• 1 teaspoon of flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (in powder or liquid form)
• 4 cups of water
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite vegan milk

Directions:

1. Combine the rolled oats, sugar, banana, flax seeds and cinnamon in a large pot. Stir in the water and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Over medium heat, cook this on the stove for 7 minutes, until the it is cooked a bit but still watery.
2. Transfer the oatmeal into an oven-safe bowl and bake it at 350˚F for 15-20 minutes, depending on how crispy you want it to be.
3. While the oatmeal bakes, make the icing by whipping together the powdered sugar, milk and the other 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
4. Once the oatmeal is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before drizzling on the icing. Enjoy!