And just like that it’s Monday again. They always come back around so quickly don’t they? Robert and I had a great, full weekend. We went on a dinner date Friday night, spent Saturday on the boat with friends and spent Sunday at the beach celebrating the first birthday of a friend’s darling daughter.  It doesn’t get much cuter than a baby at the beach. Except maybe a baby Renly at the beach

 

On a serious note, I realized today that summer break is half way over Four weeks down, four to go. Most of last summer was so full of wedding craziness that this one has seemed so much more laid back and relaxing. A girl could really get used to this! I am always ready and excited to start the new school year when it is time, but I will definitely miss all the sleeping in extra time in the kitchen.

 

During the school year I typically go to the gym in the morning on my way to work. This means waking up VERY early and packing my breakfast to eat at school. I relish weekend breakfasts during the school year because I actually get to take my time making something a little more laborious, and enjoy it with my husband!

 

Baked oatmeal is a great dish to enjoy slowly on the weekend, fresh out of the oven, BUT it is also perfect for the work week because it re-heats beautifully.  Mangoes can be tricky to cut, so if you are struggling (and haven’t youtube’d it yet) let me show you how I do it. The easiest way I have found to cut a mango is to basically slice it into thirds. The pit of a mango is flat and in the middle. You will want to place the mango upright on the cutting board and cut along the sides of the pit (from top to bottom)  so you are left with three pieces. The middle piece which contains the pit, and the two outside halves.

 

These halves are where you will get your fruit. I then like to score the halves, vertically and horizontally, taking care not to cut all the way through the peel.

 

You should then be able to invert your mango halves and you will be left with perfectly diced mango pieces that you can easily remove from the peel with a sharp knife. Occasionally you can trip the peeled sides of the pit piece to get a few more pieces of mango, but these can sometimes be fibrous. Voila!

  

Between the fresh mango, ripe banana and coconut, this baked oatmeal screams SUMMER or maybe TROPICAL ISLAND!

Speaking of tropical islands (don’t you just love my segues?) I am not sure if I have mentioned that Robert is turning the big 3-0 this September. 30 is a pretty big milestone in it’s own right, but it’s especially exciting because Robert and his sister are 10 years and one day apart. SO we will be celebrating both his 30th and her 40th this year. After throwing around a lot of ideas for a joint celebration, my amazing mother in law has decided that she is going to take the whole family on a 30th/40th birthday vacation! Robert’s Aunt and Uncle will also be joining us and Bermuda is the winning location! I am already so looking forward to this trip and the anticipation will be the perfect thing to combat the inevitable back to work blues.

 

Hopefully they serve tropical baked oatmeal in Bermuda

Have a great week!!

Tropical Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

2 Ripe Bananas, sliced

1 Ripe Mango, diced

1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut

1/4 Cup Sliced Almonds

1/4 Cup Honey

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

1 Cup of Skim Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Mist a square baking dish with cooking spray. Layer banana slices in bottom of baking dish. Layer half of the diced mango over the banana slices. Sprinkle half of the coconut over the mango. Drizzle the layered fruit with half of the honey. Cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes.

2. Stir together the oats, baking powder and salt.  Pour over the baked fruit, taking care to distribute evenly. Sprinkle the almonds and remaining mango over the top.

3. Whisk together the milk, egg, vanilla and remaining honey. Pour this evenly over the oatmeal, again taking care to distribute evenly. Sprinkle remaining coconut over the top.

4. Return the oatmeal to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes uncovered until the top has turned golden and the oatmeal is set. Serve warm or slice and store in a tupperware container to reheat throughout the week! Enjoy!