Summer Baked Oatmeal (gluten & dairy free)

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We just finished a family bike ride to the lake and I am exhausted.  Hauling kids and beach supplies in a bike trailer has to be a pretty great workout.  We made it to the Lake early this morning for a quick dip.  The water was cold and the sun stayed behind clouds but we have a family motto about jumping in the lake: “It’s always worth it.”  That jump in, even once, is a quick reset for my body.  It’s one of my favorite parts about living on Lake Superior.

We were all starving when we got home.  Thankfully, I was prepared and had a new baked oatmeal recipe ready on the counter! Something I’m really focusing on with recipes these days is making them budget-friendly.  I had a revelation recently.  My kids are getting older and eating more food BUT my income is not increasing along with this.  It seems unfair. :) Thankfully, I love to be creative in the kitchen so I’ll consider this my next challenge.  My kids love oatmeal and would probably eat it for every meal.  Sadly, I don’t agree, so I wanted to make something a little more interesting. Most baked oatmeal recipes are packed with sugar. My goal was to make one with good ingredients that, selfishly, I would also enjoy eating.  This recipe totally nailed it.  The fruit in it makes it taste really fresh.  You could easily mix up the fruit you use, any kind of berry would work.  I’m loving all the summer fruit that’s on sale right now so I wanted to use that up.  We ate this plain, but you could also pour a little cream or milk over the top for something different!


Summer Baked Oatmeal

9 servings

Ingredients:

1 can coconut milk

1/4 c maple syrup plus 2 T

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1/2 t salt

2 c oats

1 T chia seeds

1 c almond flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 c blueberries

1 nectarine, chopped into 1/2” pieces

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 375 F

  2. In a large bowl, mix the coconut milk, syrup, and vanilla.

  3. Add the eggs and whisk well to combine.

  4. Stir together the dry ingredients (salt, oats, chia seeds, almond flour, baking bowder) in another bowl and pour into the wet ingredients

  5. Stir to combine

  6. Add the blueberries and nectarines and stir to combine

  7. Pour into a greased 9x9” pan

  8. Bake for 45 min, or until knife inserted comes out clean

  9. Remove from oven and drizzle 2 T maple syrup on top

  10. Let cool slightly before serving

  11. Serve as is or pour on a little milk or cream






Busy Mom's Chicken Wild Rice Soup

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Fall in Duluth is a magical time. Watching the woods slowly change from summer to winter is therapeutic. We drove along Lake Superior over the Bayfield, WI this past weekend. The drive there is one of my favorite parts of the trip. Our Bayfield routine always starts with a stop downtown for coffee. What used to be Big Water Coffee is now Kickapoo. The shop is bright, clean, and inviting. The coffee is awesome, third wave, makes you want to drink it all day kind of stuff. We brought it out to a pier and watched the ferry go by. I love looking at Lake Superior from a different angle. I feel so familiar with the Lake Superior of Duluth. Going elsewhere reminds me just how vast it really is.

We picnicked in an apple orchard, attempted to pick our own apples (they were mostly gone), and ended up buying a few bags to bring home. We also picked up some cider and hard cider from Bayfield Apple Company. Their’s is my absolute favorite hard cider. It’s so refreshing and not too sweet.

We journeyed back to Duluth in the afternoon, early enough to be home for dinner. On the way home I fantasized about how I should decorate our house for fall. I just want everything to look like the colorful forest and smell like apples now. And soup making is a must for our house to smell like fall.

I am a big fan of crockpot meals. Now that I am a full time working mama, crockpot meals help keep me sane. I made this recipe extremely easy. No sautéing anything before adding it, no additional steps or pans you need to make messy. This is a soup recipe for the busy mom (or dad) who wants a delicious, satisfying homemade meal with minimal work and very few dishes to clean up. That is a winning combo in my book.

Busy Mom’s Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Serves 6, 8 hours

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

3-4 frozen chicken breasts

1 c rinsed, uncooked wild rice

6 c chicken stock

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 T butter

1/4 c heavy cream (optional)

pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place diced onion, celery, carrots, wild rice, chicken, and chicken stock in a slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Use two forks to shred the chicken.

Add the salt, butter, and cream (optional) and stir until fully incorporated.

Add pepper, if desired.