Fruit and Nut Oatmeal Crisp

Mine is a household of ugly mornings.
 
I'm not the biggest fan of waking up at 5 am (if we're being honest) and F doesn't think wakeups should happen, period. Most mornings involve tears, a lot of pleading and one gigantic rush out the door. I'm hoping we'll eventually streamline the whole morning shuffle, but I'm not totally convinced this will ever actually happen.
 
Probably the biggest obstacle for mornings at my house is breakfast. By the time I make myself a half decent breakfast and sit down to eat it, I'm looking at about 20 - 30 minutes down the drain. Since I like sleep and don't particularly care to be up a half hour early just to make something every day, I decided it was time to get creative. Oatmeal is one of my favourite breakfast dishes - with some brown sugar, frozen blueberries and a little bit of soy milk on top - but it's time consuming and messy (because I'm definitely NOT washing dishes before I go to work). I figured if I can take the time to prep lunches and dinners for my week, there's gotta be something I can do for breakfasts, too, right?

RIGHT!

 

Enter my fruit and nut oatmeal crisp with bananas and chocolate chips! Yummmmmmy.

Be warned: You will want to eat the entire dish when it comes out of the oven.

2 c. quick oats

1 c. fruit (berries or apples are best)

1/3 c. brown sugar, unpacked

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 c. crushed nuts (I used Beaver trail mix, which is crushed myself)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chocolate chips

2 cups soy milk (regular milk is fine, too, but I use Silk Light!)

1 egg

3 tbsp. melted butter

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 ripe banana, sliced

In a large bowl, together oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add half of your fruit or berries, crushed nuts and chocolate chips (you'll need the other halves later!).

Grease a baking pan of your choice (I use a 9 x 13" Pyrex baking dish), and add the dry mixture. Sprinkle the remaining nuts, fruit, crushed nuts, chocolate chips and place your sliced banana evenly along the top of the oatmeal mixture.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together your milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla. Pour over your oatmeal mixture, making sure everything is coated. Shake the pan a little to ensure it gets all the way through.

Optional: sprinkle some brown sugar on top before you bake for a slightly sweeter version!

Bake at 300* for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown. Be sure to taste test. Store in refrigerator, and pop in the microwave for a warm, delicious breakfast all week long!

Enjoy! :)