Gingerbread Oatmeal Casserole

-------Gingerbread Oatmeal Casserole

4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup molasses
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon each cinnamon, allspice, and ginger
6 cups oatmeal (not instant)

Combine above ingredients, mixing well. Pour into greased 13X9 inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

12-15 servings

You can serve it plain, or in a bowl with cold milk. Some like it hot.
Some like it cold. Some like more molasses for a flavor that it is bold!

This recipe has endless variations. It's incredibly adaptable.
Here are some of the variations we have used and enjoyed:
Use one can of frozen juice concentrate instead of molasses (we like apple juice)
Substitute 1 cup melted butter for the fat (any oil can be used here)
Use maple syrup instead of molasses You can use brown sugar for sweetener, up to 1 1/2 cups. This makes it taste like oatmeal cookies!
Vary the spices to suit your family's preferences- you can add vanilla or orange extract. We like a version where the only spices we use are orange extract and cinnamon.
Sweeten with applesauce or mashed apricots.
Add dried fruit

This is one of the first breakfast meals my children learn to make, because it is so easy (and so forgiving!). It's easy to mix it the night before and bake it in the morning. It is also popular with overnight guests, even guests who think they do not like oatmeal. In fact, I recently attended a woman's retreat at an area camp where the other guests kept talking about the special oatmeal dish this place was famed for, and how they hoped that was what was served- and when it was I surprised to see it was just my old friend the oatmeal casserole!

Here's a post with more information about oats and sources for groats and millet.

See here for another version, even healthier, with pineapple!