Pumpkin Banana Oatmeal Bake

Since I’m so in love with my first oatmeal bake, I decided to try a different version of it: Pumpkin banana!

Let me start off by saying I adore any and all baked goods containing pumpkin. It smells like Christmas and Thanksgiving all wrapped up in one. It just reminds me of being warm, cozy and surrounded by family, friends and laughter. What more could you want?

So you can imagine my DELIGHT when I found that the farmers market here was still selling pumpkins!!! This may be the one and only up side of Winter lasting forever here. I walked towards it with such glee and cradled it in my arms so tenderly that for a second the man selling them was not entirely sure if I was a prospective customer or one of the mentally unstable hobos that frequent the market square. The fact that I had just come from the gym all gross and sweaty did not help. I composed myself, paid for the good and hightailed it home to put that baby in the oven.

Before the night was out I had a scrumptious, hearty and hearth-healthy dessert on my hands.

Recipe

2 cups pumpkin puree
2.5 cups uncooked oats
3 bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
3 T. honey
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. baking
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sliced almonds (pecans or walnuts would have been better though!)

Preheat oven to 375 F (190C). In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, bananas, honey, eggs, vanillas, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking powder until smooth. Add milk, whisk until smooth. Mix in dry oats. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with nonstick spray, then pour in the mixture. Cover in foil bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with seeds and nuts. Continue to bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until center is solid.