Holidays afford us more time at home and a great opportunity to try the third winner of our oat trifecta. It’s a wonderfully warm breakfast, perfect for these cooler mornings.    Here it is:

3 cups oats (I use Quaker’s Old Fashioned oats- for all three of the trifecta recipes- but Quick oats will work as well.)

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk (fat-free works for everything I make)

2 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine (I LOVE Earth Balance…high in monounsaturated fats, contains no trans fats and spreads, cooks, melts, and tastes like butter.)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup dried fruit (I use apricots- quartered & cherries- halved)

(optional) 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients; whisking to blend.  Pour wet into dry and stir until moistened.  Add the dried fruit and seeds.  Stir to mix.  Pour into a greased 9×13 pyrex baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.   Serve warm (or at room temperature) with vanilla yogurt and chopped nuts, if desired.

When I make this on school days, I’ll mix the dry ingredients together the night before.  Then, while the oven is preheating in the morning, I’ll mix the wet ingredients and complete the recipe.  This little extra effort is well worth it for this delicious breakfast treat!