Cooking 21 meals a week for four adults and baby has its challenges. To avoid “the rotation,” we are constantly trying to look online and bookmark recipes that seem new and exciting to make throughout the week. This happened a few weeks ago, when one of the bloggers we follow, Rachel Kuhn, posted about making baked oatmeal for her husband and two boys to have throughout the week. A genius way to have breakfast ready in the fridge and just a quick microwave away from being on the table and ready to eat. We created our version as a carrot cake inspired oatmeal, with lots of fresh grated carrots, walnuts, raisins, and warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Please note that this recipe is meant to be healthy and a Monday-Friday sort of dish. If we were to serve it for brunch on a weekend we would double the maple syrup to give it a richer flavor. On days we are looking for a little more protein we plop some Greek yogurt on top, and if we are trying to make it baby approved we serve it with a few fresh raspberries.

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

Makes: 8-10 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk of choice (we used almond)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbs melted butter
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2/3 cup walnuts
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 2 cups oats
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8×12 or a 9×9 square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter with a whisk. Fold in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts with a spatula.
3. Add the remaining ingredients (oats – salt) and fold until well combined. The mixture will seem wet and that is fine- the oats and raisins will soak up all the liquid while it bakes.
4. Bake the oatmeal for 40-45 minutes, or until the liquid has completely absorbed and the top of the oatmeal is golden brown.
5. Serve warm with yogurt and berries, if desired. Refrigerate and reheat sections in the microwave for up to 5 days after baking.