Oatmeal is one of the healthiest and most energy-packed breakfast foods around. To give our loved ones a great start to their day while keeping a lazy weekend morning—well—lazy, we created this casserole. The three kinds of dried fruit and touch of vanilla dress it up just enough so that it still feels like a treat.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 to 8 servings

　　Cooking spray

　　1 3/4 cups whole milk

　　2 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

　　1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

　　1/3 cup dried tart cherries

　　1/3 cup golden raisins

　　5 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

　　1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　1/4 teaspoon salt

　　1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

　　

Step 2

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk and butter to a boil. Slowly stir in the oats, apricots, cherries, golden raisins, 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar, the vanilla, and salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

　　

Step 3

Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and the walnuts. Bake for 5 more minutes, or until bubbly. Cool slightly before serving.

　　From The Casserole Queens Cookbook by Crystal Cook & Sandy Pollock. Copyright © 2011 by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock; Food photographs copyright © 2011 by Ben Fink. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers.Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock, the Casserole Queens, have been delivering casseroles in Austin, Texas, since 2006; they also teach cooking classes at Whole Foods stores in the area. They have been featured on Food Network's Throwdown! with Bobby Flay and Bobby Flay Radio on Sirius XM, as well as on television news and radio talk shows.