Baked Oatmeal with Some Twist

Oatmeal or Boatmeal? Depends on who’s eating it.

Maybe you don’t remember the scene out of Oliver Twist where the little boy is eating gruel (see pics below) but I do and for some reason I think that’s why I never cared for the bowl of mushy stuff. I just never saw the appeal to a bowl of lumpy cereal. Seems like steel cut oats are all the rage these days but when I did the comparison, there doesn’t seem to be that much difference so don’t feel guilty not making that bowl of oatmeal that takes about 45 minutes to cook.

While visiting in Chicago back in September on a cold wintery day (ok, it wasn’t that cold but 40’s is cold coming from Texas) my daughter-in-law, Missy, made some oatmeal for the boys one morning. This wasn’t just plain old oatmeal but it was BOATMEAL with little sails in each boat. She make one chocolate/chocolate and one with cooked cinnamon apples that we had left over from dinner the night before. She uses a basic recipe she found on Pinterest then adds in what she thinks the boys would like. The chocolate/chocolate one she sweetens with banana, syrup and chocolate chips. I’m using a chocolate ganache to sweeten mine because I had some left over ganache from making chocolate martinis one night (I rimmed the glass with it).

You can add in your favorite ingredients and make many different kinds with one batch of oatmeal. I’m doing dried cherries, almonds and chocolate chips, another one with some raspberries and of course a chocolate/chocolate. Don’t think I will be putting flags in the ones I make but I will definitely be making some of these and putting in the freezer for when the kids come at Thanksgiving.

Here’s the link Missy gave me that I used as a reference, Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal, Maybe I’ll have to make up some story about pirates and these little boats to get the other grandsons to try these OR maybe when they see their cousins eating the little boats, they will give them a try. This is a quick out of the door breakfast if you have some made in the refrigerator; just pop in the microwave to warm and your out in a flash.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: If you want a yummy treat for breakfast over Thanksgiving, try my Chocolate Cherry Scones. You can make these and have in the freezer for any morning you feel like making something special for breakfast.

“Please mam” can I have some more gruel”. This is how I thought of oatmeal as a kid. (Picture from Oliver Twist.)

Some of the ingredients you can add to your oatmeal/boatmeal.

Mix the oatmeal, salt and the milk together in large bowl.

For a couple of the boatmeals I added dried cherries, almonds and chocolate chips to the above oatmeal mix.

Another mix I used some cinnamon apples that I cooked in the microwave.

Put the bowls of oatmeal on cookie sheet and bake in oven.

A regatta of boatmeals.