Pumpkin spice and twinkling lights...

At the suggestion of a dear friend of mine, I am starting a blog to chronicle my life...but mostly, to chronicle my food life. You see, I am a food lover. A passionate, slightly obsessed food lover. And therefore, I needed an outlet to share that obsession with all of you- and voila! This blog was born.

My latest obsession is all things kitchen.  Since our wedding, and subsequently using gift cards from the wedding, I now have a completely stocked, AH-mazing, kitchen.  Pair that with my long-time romance with healthy food and you end up with a a food-crazy woman baking and cooking "clean" all the time. I'm just lucky my husband enjoys eating healthy, clean foods too!

    

This morning, I'm in a Christmas-y, pumpkin spice kind of mood...I think it might be because I made Christmas cookies last night, we decorated our Christmas tree, and this morning I enjoyed a bowl of Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Goodness (I changed the name...sounds much better than "Pumpkin Oatmeal Casserole" doesn't it?).  Because this breakfast was oh-so-amazing and so very suited to the holidays, I thought I would share it with you all.

   

Merry Christmas!!!

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Goodness

Ingredients:

4 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 cup prepared pumpkin

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1 cup fresh cranberries

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, no sugar added

1/4 cup raw honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups steel cut oats

1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions:

Step 1- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2- In a 9x13 casserole dish, blend together the almond milk, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, honey, and vanilla. Stir gently until completely combined.

Step 3- Add the oats, pecans, cranberries, and raisins. Stir briefly to combine.

Step 4- Bake for 45 minutes or until the casserole is soft and cooked through. (It may be slightly runny if you don't mix the liquid ingredients into the oats completely. If that happens, just stir before serving!)

    

I prepared the dish last night and just re-combined and baked it this morning for an easy, delicious breakfast.  You can also leave out certain ingredients if you don't have them on hand or if you just don't like them- the cranberries, pecans, or raisins.  I don't recommend leaving out all three though because they add so much to the texture!  And for those of you who have never eaten steel cut oats- they are so much better than rolled oats (the 'old fashioned' oatmeal we grew up with)!!  They have a nuttier, chewier texture.  I hated oatmeal until I started eating steel cut oats.  And you can find them at Publix if you aren't a Whole Foods shopper. Enjoy! :)

<3 K.E.