Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

 Yum. This was so good! Perfect for a lazy, rainy morning. I love breakfast and blueberries so I'm really glad I don't have to share this with very many people;) The blueberries were on sale at Fareway for $1.88. I should buy more and freeze them. Blueberries are probably my favorite fruit and definitely my favorite berry! We used to have a blueberry bush at home and picking them was the best chore you could get. Apples took more work and you had to avoid the rotting apples at your feet and hungry bugs everywhere. Anyway, this is easy to make and super tasty!

I've read a few more chapters in John this week and there are the many accounts of Jesus healing people to show that He is who He says He is. In the case of the blind man in chapter 9 and Lazarus in chapter 11, Jesus says that the blindness and death happened so that God's work might be displayed. I believe that is always God's overall purpose in everything. He wants us to see His faithfulness when life stinks and when it's great. I haven't had severe suffering but I've watched others deal with it. Cancer, stroke, death, unemployment, difficult relationships...etc. I'm encouraged when I see others plow through their trial and come out with joy by God's grace. God is my hope and I'm so glad He is faithful!

These guys are so flavorful! I was sad to discover that my last blueberry purchase from Trader Joe's was flavorless. The berries were big but just tasted like water:(

This can be made vegan but I'm not so I used an egg and butter. I'll include the original recipe though. I also think it calls for too much milk because I had about a 1/4 cup left that would not fit in the dish. Might be just right for a 9x9 rather than an 8x8. As you can see below, we were bulging out of the dish!

Recipe:

-Vegan recipe in black, my simpler version in green-

• 2 cups vanilla almond milk (or any non-dairy milk) - 1 3/4 cup almond milk or regular milk

• 2½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats - same

• 1 tsp. baking powder - same

• ½ tsp. kosher salt - just salt, the one with the umbrella girl

• 1 tsp. cinnamon - I didn't measure, but I'm sure it was more than 1 tsp!

• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or butter for non-Vegan) - I used butter

• 1 flax egg * (or 1 egg for non-Vegan) - 1 large egg

• 1/3 cup Vegan cane sugar - 1/3 cup coconut sugar

• 2 cups fresh blueberries - almost the full pint, left some for snacking:)

• juice of one lemon - yep, but couldn't taste it much

• *1 flax egg = 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons warm water (stir and set aside 5 min. until gel-like)

Mix oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. In a different bowl, combine milk, egg, butter (oil), sugar, and lemon juice. Oven should be preheated to 375° F and an 8x8 dish greased. Pour half of the oat mixture into the dish and then add half of the blueberries. Pour on the rest of the oat mixture and top with the rest of the blueberries. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the whole dish. Bake for 40 minutes. 

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