Baked Cranberry Oatmeal

We won!  Our table at the Women’s Christmas Dinner won for best decorating!

Tammy and I took it down before photos, but I promise to recreate the fun Christmas tree napkins and centerpiece.

Recipe:  I love my baked oatmeals!  I love pumpkin oatmeal, and blueberry oatmeal and peach oatmeal and simple oatmeal!  And now we have one for winter!  🙂  The oranges are sooooo good this time of year and cranberries are everywhere.  You can just use the ones you frozen before Thanksgiving or use fresh ones.  This would make a great make-ahead breakfast, a breakfast for Christmas morning that is healthy, a helpful freezer meal for a friend (freeze after baking), or simply enjoy for dessert with a little warm milk.

Juliana and I devoured this in just a couple of days!

**If you find the oatmeal recipes too bland, simply add some brown sugar on top.  It all depends on how sweet you want your oatmeal to be.

Baked Cranberry Oatmeal
4-6 servings

1 and 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen and CHOPPED
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 orange, zested (about 1/2 a large orange or 1 small to medium orange)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees or convection oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Spray a 9×9″ pan or a 1.5 qt. casserole dish.
3.  Sprinkle half the cranberries on the bottom of the dish.
4.  In a great big bowl, mix the dry stuff:  oats, cinnamon, orange zest, baking powder and salt.
5.  Add the wet stuff:  milk, eggs, half the brown sugar and vanilla.
6.  Stir in the rest of the cranberries and reserve a few for the top if you like.  Stir in the nuts if using those.  Now sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar on top.
7.  Put in the fridge to bake in the morning, OR put it into the oven for 35 minutes and the middle is set and not jiggly.