School is right around the corner (sigh).  With a long commute to work, most of the time I eat breakfast in the car.  I wanted to make something that was healthy and portable.  I saw baked oatmeal over at Macheesmo and was intrigued.  Unfortunately, his recipe called for letting the oatmeal sit in the refrigerator overnight.  Cary and I had a bit of bad timing when we started this blog.  We are building a house and are currently living in the smallest apartment I’ve ever been in.  The kitchen is tiny and there is no room in the fridge for a 9×13 pan.  So after a bit more searching I found this recipe. 

Here are the ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 and 1/3 teaspoons Bakewell cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dried cherries

The instructions are incredibly easy. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Melt the butter on a low setting in the microwave.  Beat the eggs.  Mix everything together.

Grease a 9×13 pan.  Pour the mixture into the pan.  Bake it for 40 minutes.

This makes a great breakfast bar, but it also makes a very nice dessert with cool whip.  This made 10 servings and according to my calculations, there is approximately 260 calories in each bar.  A great way to start the morning!

*Note:  We also made this with dates and it was excellent!