Recipe first, blather second. (I don't know how to do those fancy schmancy recipe layouts so bear with me.)

Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal Cups

2 tablespoons melted butter (I used salted butter)

1 egg

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup of packed brown sugar (plus a little more, I made mine a heaping 1/3)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 muffin pan

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan  and set aside (or use a silicon muffin pan). 
2. Mix together all ingredients - except oats - until well combined.
3. Add oats to wet mixture. Then spoon into muffin pans, keeping an even amount of liquid to oats in each cup.  
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes until set.
5. Let cool completely if you want portable oatmeal cups, or eat warm. 
6. Store leftovers in the fridge. 
7. Makes 11-12 muffin cups

First of all, this is NOT turning into a cooking blog because come on. If you've read me at all you know me and cooking have a tumultuous relationship. Second! I can't stand when I go to look for a recipe and there is a long post before the recipe talking about memories with their grandmother, and the wonderful smell in the kitchen, and blah blah blah, cooking with my family, blah blah. I just want the fricking recipe! So I put all of my long, unimportant-to-your-life drivel at the end of the recipe. Because I'm real, people. I know your pain.

OK. So a local coffee shop has these oatmeal cup things that aren't oatcakes and aren't oatmeal muffins and aren't oatmeal breakfast bars, and they basically taste like flavored oatmeal-to-go. Like little condensed oatmeal blocks you can hold in your hand. Obviously, I'm obsessed. And I can't find a recipe. *sad face*

But baked oatmeal is the closest so far! The recipe above is my own take, cobbled together from a bunch of different sources. You could basically flavor these oatmeal cups anyway you want by substituting the orange juice with milk or another liquid. I'm still working on a denser texture, so I may update this recipe, but these are really good for a basic grab-and-go oatmeal breakfast. I have them in a bag in the fridge and I microwave them 20-30 seconds before eating. They are also super tasty fresh out of the oven, but put them in a bowl because they won't hold their shape until cooled completely.

To serve family style instead of cups, just throw the ingredients in a baking dish and cook 30 minutes or until set. 

I actually love this idea as a make ahead and serve to guests sort of thing, too. I haven't tried freezing them yet, but I suspect they'll be fine. Since I'm not big on cooking, when I actually get around to cooking, I like being able to make enough that I can just grab the finished product later. It's called "conservation of laziness resources".  :)

              - wg

P.S. Must love oatmeal.

Phone shoulder is real, yo! You know that aching stiffness in your non-dominant shoulder? The one that holds the phone as you swipe at it like a cat batting a fly? I've got to stop playing games on my phone. Especially Redecor. I got sucked into that one because I really do like decorating a room and, between you and me, my house looks great! But that game is fixed for a very particular aesthetic AND they don't give you enough color options without you paying out a ton of cash! Not that the extra colors really matter because everyone only votes on the BORING designs (beige beige grey beige), to the point that I just make all my designs blah so I get the votes, and that is a sad, sad social media way to live so why am I even playing?!

Oh yeah, pandemic.

Also, I'm a bit addicted to all the research options at the tips of my swipy paws. I now have the freedom to look up every passing fancy that flits through my brain. And trust you me, some of them are pretty stupid. Who was in that movie? Do only birds have wishbones? Are there documented incidences of granny on granny violence? Between the research and the games I'm really jacking my shoulder. I looked it up (shocker) and it's akin to having SWIMMERS SHOULDER! But without the benefit of being bikini ready.  

But wait, you say, didn't you have the freedom to look up stupid crap any time you wanted before? Yes, but now I have the TIME. Before I was busy running errands, and grocery shopping, and driving my kid around, and and... and doing other stuff that I can't remember but surely miss! (Maybe). Now I have pandemic time... and phone shoulder. 

Support groups coming soon to a zoom near you.