Secret Recipe Club: Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

.  Before I get into this delicious, Fall-ey oatmeal.  I have to ask.

Have you entered my giveaway?  If you haven't, do it now.  If you have, then keep reading ☺

And now for the even better stuff: SRC.  Yep, it's that time again!

For October, I was matched with Debbie Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie.

Uh oh...

As we know, LSM isn't exactly about cutting things out, particularly butter, sugar, you name it.  More is more in LSM terms.  Right?  Right!   But the moment I started browsing through Debbie's recipes, I knew there wouldn't be a problem.

To breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even dessert, Debbie has it covered.  I had my eye on a few things, including [Slow Cooker] Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup, Cuban Quesadillas, and Pumpkin Sloppy Joes [because that just sounds interesting!].  Too bad I don't rarely cook!  I may have to try that slow cooker recipe though, even that can't be too difficult for me.

Anywho, after much debate, I settled upon this Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal because 1) I'm obsessed with anything pumpkin, 2) it's Fall, and 3) breakfast items = my faaaaavorite.  Even though I rarely eat breakfast.  Ironic.

I whipped this recipe up in a jif one morning before Robbie left town for work.  I figured he needed a good send off to the airport and we're both pumpkin lova's, so this was a no brainer.

The dish is rather hearty, with a texture somewhat similar to bread pudding.  And the spices, pumpkin, and oatmeal all marry together in a matter of minutes to create a wonderful morning treat.  From the reviews on Debbie's blog, everyone kept saying the pecans really made the dish. And lo' and behold, they really did!  That little crunchy nuttiness really brought everything together, so don't you dare leave them out.  Unless you have to.  Get me?

Thanks Debbie for the wonderful and healthy breakfast recipe!  Until December!  .

My Notes:

• Unfortunately I couldn't find any small containers of apple cider [and I knew a big gallon of it would go to waste] so I ended up using apple juice instead.  However, as you'll notice by the ingredients list, this dish is more on the sweet side and so I think the apple juice added just a tad too much sugar.  I think the apple cider would have a much deeper note [if that makes sense], so if you can, stick with that!

From Debbie Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie

Ingredients:

1 c. pumpkin puree

1 c. apple cider

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. honey

2 tbsp. maple syrup

2 tbsp. butter, melted

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-3/4 c. old fashioned oats

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. pecan halves

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8x8-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, apple cider, eggs, milk, honey, maple syrup, butter, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract until smooth.  Stir in oats, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  
3. Pour into prepared dish and sprinkle with pecan halves.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until set.  Serve with maple syrup or honey.

Yield: 9 servings