baked oatmeal and the shore

We are recently returned from a shore weekend with my family in New Jersey. Aside from one older brother, one sister-in-law and one cuddly nephew (who were all dearly missed), the whole family was in attendance.

This was my first chance to experience the shore in the fall and I sincerely hope it becomes a family tradition. The entire beach was ours, save for a few fishermen. The boardwalk wasn't too crowded and all the shops were running off-season sales (on fudge!!). Score. Score. Score.

Overall it was a relaxing time with good jokes, some time in the sand, shopping in Cape May, a victorious NFL experience, and obviously some delicious food. In the interest of cost my parents assigned each nuclear family a meal to prepare during the weekend. So Luke and I decided to prepare Sunday brunch with an autumnal pumpkin take on baked oatmeal. Happy baking!

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
(adapted from My Kitchen Addiction who adapted it from Two Peas and Their Pod).

• 4 cups old fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
  
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups apple sauce
• 1 peeled, cored, chopped apple
  

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Combine the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well. Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake 30-40 minutes, until browned on top. Best served with dried cranberries, brown sugar and milk!

ps- The "cuddly nephew" embedded link will take you to a picture that I copied into my photo album. However, I'd like to give credit where it is due. That photo is taken by a good friend from my youth, Megan, who is an incredibly gifted photographer. You can attest that that yourself by visiting her site: http://momentsremembered.shutterfly.com