Snow Day and Breakfast

We went to sleep last night with the wind blowing sparkling bits of snow through the air. Seriously, the snow glinted like the finest flecks of glass glitter. It was beautiful and oh-so-magical. I stayed up to journal and watch the snow by the fading fire. A perfect late evening for this night-owl.

This morning, we awoke to find drifts taller than Madeleine in front of our house. It was *almost* what Hadleigh had wished for last night...she wanted snow "taller than my head or at least taller than Madeleine."

The kiddos immediately began to dig caves into the drifts. Hadleigh made the most progress...with Brent helping to make it more of a fort.

(You may notice that while we have tall drifts, the snow on our lawn was about an inch tops in some places...deep in others.)

Here's the close up...it never ceases to amaze me how long children can handle the cold temperatures. I was freezing just taking pictures...without even touching the snow!

And a perfect warm breakfast for a wintry snowy day?

Baked Oatmeal. It is so so so so so so yummy. I found the recipe here, at Becky Bakes. I tweaked it ever so slightly...added more bananas, really. I love carmelized bananas. The more the merrier, I say.

(Sorry for the slight messy picture. I may or may not have taken a few itty bitty bites before snapping the picture.) Below is what it looks like in the pan. Mmmm...

It also keeps well...for the three mornings that it lasted!

Baked Oatmeal with Pumpkin and Bananas

• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 4 cups water
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Caramelized Bananas:

• 3 medium bananas
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. butter (we used a substitute)

1. Place steel-cut oats and butter in a large bowl. Bring water to a boil and pour over the oats and butter. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together pumpkin, milk, and vanilla.

2. Melt butter in saute pan. Slice bananas and toss gently with brown sugar and cinnamon. Saute quickly and gently over medium high heat (60-90 seconds). You don’t want to have soggy bananas. Pour into a 9-inch baking dish.

3. After 20 minutes, stir in the old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and pumpkin mixture. Pour oats over bananas. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and brown sugar.

4. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes, until the center is set.

5. Serve warm with milk or cream, if desired. A dollop of whipped cream might be nice. (And I couldn't help but think of adding vanilla ice cream. But that would be dessert, wouldn't it?)

Enjoy!