You guys! I feel like we have so much to catch up on! Now that I'M BACK and being a real human being with you all (oh haaay!), I want to return to over-sharing like WHOA. If you follow me on snapchat (@thekitchenpaper) you may already be sick of my over-sharing my little heart out. How many pictures of my moving boxes do you need to see? Definitely not as many as I post: I admit it.
That said: I MOVED! After hiding out at my Mom's house for a month (thanks Mom and Grandmother! I miss you already!), I found an apartment on the East side of Portland (apparently this is the cool spot to be ... I'm new here after 10 years of being in the rockies and Asia!). My brother, who is 100% awesome for all of his help this last week, drove to Montana with me and spent the weekend helping me go through my storage unit (and Merrill! YOU DA BOMB!), pack up a uhaul and the back of his truck, catch up with so so many friends, and drive everything back to Portland. I moved into my new place Tuesday morning, in time to make it to teach my Tuesday afternoon yoga class! Obviously I have not completely unpacked... Yikes.
The apartment is only a few years old, so it have nice wood floors, new appliances, tall ceilings, etc. but it is NOT very big. Like, maybe 480 sq. feet? This is a huge change, coming from living in 2-bedroom homes with plenty of storage. Granted, I now have half (or less) or the stuff I did in those homes, but still: I'm downsizing. I'm being brutal with my sorting things into "donate" "sell" "garbage" piles. No room for useless knickknacks here! I'm getting creative with storage and, for the first time ever, figuring out what kind of furniture I really want. The only piece of furniture I own is a white desk I bought a few years ago, which I love, and a mattress I bought on Tuesday. So, yesterday I went to Ikea to start getting the storage situation figured out. I'm sure I'll be back, but for now I have two massive cube-y storage shelving thingees (surely there is a more concise way to say this?) which will help me finish unpacking. I'm at that awkward point where most things are unpacked, but those that aren't have no place to go! So: SHELVING! {Once I'm totally unpacked/decorated I promise to give you guys a look around the place!}
I'm sure I'll talk about Ikea more another day ... as I may or may not plan to go back there a million times and buy everything in sight ... but for today: It's not so bad assembling everything! My thumb is raw and red from pressing those darn wooden pegs in — but I eventually starting using a clog as a hammer and got my cubbies all set up! Now for the MASSIVE one. I'll do that this morning! The directions, wordless but very easy to understand, recommend having a buddy help you assemble these things ... I managed the small one on my own, with some yoga-acrobatic-sketchy maneuvers, but we'll see how the big one goes. GODSPEED! Can I say that to myself? I am. Deal with it.
Would you like to hear about this oatmeal? I'm actually REALLY REALLY REALLY excited to share it with you because it's my new favorite things. Not like "omg this recipe is amazing blah blah blah" that I could say for everything (um, too honest?) but LEGITIMATELY this is amazing. It's so easy to throw together, then you bake it up and it's kinda like eating berry cobbler/crisp for breakfast, only a bit healthier (or like, a lot healthier) and with way less guilt. It's so filling! It's so berryful! And almondy! ALMONDS! We have to talk about them: they get all crunchy and toasted and UHMAZING in the oven, so don't worry about chopping them finely. They won't hurt your teeth and be a big bad crunch — they're perfectly toasty and YUM! I AM IN LOVE WITH IT! Scratch that. I love it. It's delicious! I bet it would also be good with pecans, instead of almonds, and heaps of brown sugar (if you're so inclined). Lemme know what variations you try! xo
PrintAlmond Berry Baked Oatmeal
- Prep Time: 3 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 48 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tsp butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- pinch of salt
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅔ cups almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 ½ cups frozen mixed berries
- Topping
- ⅓ cup chopped almonds
- ¼ cup brown sugar (optional)
- half & half, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Use the butter to grease an 8x8" baking dish.
- Combine the maple syrup, salt, milk, egg, and vanilla. Use a whisk to mix until the egg is totally combined and the mixture is smooth.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the oats, cinnamon, and almonds. Once mixed, add to the wet mixture and stir to combine.
- Spread a handful of the berries along the bottom of the baking dish (I used enough to completely cover the bottom), then pour in the oat mixture, and top with the remaining berries.
- Sprinkle the topping, chopped almonds and brown sugar, over the top and bake for 45-50 minutes. The mixture should be set and beginning to turn golden on top.
- Serve with half & half.
Notes
I often make this without the brown sugar on top, and find it to be sweet enough!
Amanda says
Always looking for new baked oatmeal recipes. Definitely one to try! Beautiful pics, by the way, and the energy of your writing is contagious. Definitely pinning and coming back to your site often. 🙂 Have a great day!
Mary says
Thank you so much, Amanda! Enjoy! xo
Camillia says
Just discovered your blog and it's already in my favorites. This looks so good! Making it on Sunday for the week. 🙂
Mary says
Thanks, Camillia! So glad to have you here! xo
Lea says
This looks really tasty. I'm going to try it with a flax egg.......
Mary says
Thanks, Lea! A flax egg sounds like a great idea. Enjoy! xo
Clara says
I absolutely love this recipe! I'm always looking for new recipes to try and I can't wait to try this one; seems so easy and healthy but still looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
http://colormepurpple.wordpress.com
Mary says
Thanks, Clara! Enjoy!!
Rosa says
Have you ever made this the night before and reheated it the next day? If so how did it turn out?
Mary says
Hi Rosa,
I have not tried that — but I have had leftovers days after! I've only heated individual portions in the microwave, but it was still delicious and worked fine. If you were to do the whole pan, maybe try in the oven at 200F for 30 minutes... I'm not exactly sure! Let me know what ends up working for you! xo
Nicole Vahlkamp says
This doesn't bake in 45 minutes. I followed the recipe exactly (just added some cinnamon to the mixture for the top) and it took well over 50 minutes to bake. Not sure if that happened to anyone else, butI needed to bake this for at least 90 minutes... there was a lot of liquid in the bottom. Next time, I will reduce quantity of milk to 1 cup.
Mary says
Hi Nicole,
Sorry the timing didn't work for you! I wonder if we used different kinds of oats? Better luck next time.
xo
Homes & Weddings says
looks so darned good!
diana says
Do you thaw the frozen berries first or just use them from the freezer?
Mary says
I use them frozen! They get very runny and juicy if you thaw them first, so I'd either use fresh or still-frozen berries. Enjoy! xo