Baked Breakfast: Quinoa Oatmeal

My new favorite breakfast. And, it’s packed with lots of great stuff.

Three kinds of fruit—blueberries, peaches and pears—quinoa, oats, coconut yogurt or applesauce, almond flour and almond milk. Mix them all together and you’ve got a great hot breakfast boasting a complete protein and lots of fiber, magnesium, and iron.

Plus it’s a cinch to pull together on a busy morning and makes enough for a few day’s worth of warm yummy breakfasts for a couple or a complete breakfast for a growing family.

Imagine this yumminess warm from the oven and topped with a great big dollop of coconut yogurt. Yep, that’s exactly how I like it.

Baked Quinoa Oatmeal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix in a large bowl:

1 cup quinoa flakes
1 cup almond flour
½ cup gluten-free rolled oats*
½ cup flaked coconut (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of allspice
½ teaspoon salt

Mix in a separate bowl or measuring cup:

¾ cup almond milk
¼ cup coconut yogurt or applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Set aside.

In a deep dish pie plate or 8” square glass baking dish sprinkle:

1 cup blueberries
1 pear, diced into about 1/2 inch cubes
1 peach, diced into about 1/2 inch cubes

Spoon the quinoa mixture over the fruit.  Sprinkle top with about a tablespoon or two of each: quinoa flakes, oatmeal and flaked coconut.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The top should be golden brown and fruit bubbly. Serve warm topped with coconut yogurt.

Makes about 6-8 servings.

*If you prefer not to use gluten-free oats you can substitute with an equal amount of quinoa flakes.

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Blueberry Chili Hot Sauce

Remember those blueberries my husband and I picked this summer? Well, he had this brainstorm that they’d make a kickin’ hot sauce.

Ya know what? He was right!

I have to hand it to him…I never would have put blueberries and hot peppers together. It totally impressed me.

This recipe came together very quickly—the color is magnificent and the sauce is hot! And my husband uses it on everything. It’s amazing what a hot sauce lover will put the spicy stuff on—sandwiches, potatoes, veggies, you name it.

Me, I’m a lightweight when it comes to the hot stuff.  I’ve tried this one and it’s good. I just don’t think I’ll be putting in on my veggies.

Isn’t the color magnificent?

Blueberry Hot Sauce

Combine in a small pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer:

1 cup hot chili peppers*, stem and seeds removed and coarsely chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup onions, diced
1 plum tomato, skin removed and diced
8 whole cloves
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt.
4 teaspoons sugar

Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low, cover and continue to simmer until peppers are tender—about 10 minutes.

Take the sauce off the heat and let it cool until it’s at a safe temperature for handling. Pour into a blender and purée.

Pour the sauce into a 2-cup size glass or ceramic bowl and let it sit (with loose paper towel on top) until cool.

The sauce may be used as a thick puree OR strain through a fine sieve or food mill if you prefer it more of a liquid hot sauce.

Keep refrigerated in a sealed jar. Will last up to three months. Makes about 1 ½ cups.

*The heat depends on the heat of the chilies you use. You can always replace some of the chilies with sweet red peppers if you’d like to tone down the heat.

To learn more about the variety and heat of chili peppers visit The Cook’s Thesaurus: Fresh Chile Peppers.

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