Pintegration #1: Grab-and-Go Breakfast

I don't know about you, but weekday mornings in our house are pretty hectic. From the time my son wakes up until the time my husband leaves for work, we have 30-45 minutes for changing diapers and clothes, eating breakfast, and packing lunch. We've been a cereal-dependent household for quite a while, so I've wanted to try something a bit different (and a bit more nutritionally balanced).

I've organized my Pinterest recipe boards into categories (breakfast, main dishes, desserts, etc.), so I browsed my breakfast pins and came across two that I thought would work together to produce convenient, portable breakfast options. They did work well together, and it took me 15 ingredients and 1.5 hours to make a week's worth of breakfast! So, I present to you my first "Pintegration," a combination of pins that follows a theme.

Pintegration #1: Grab-and-Go Breakfast

Pin #1: Baked Oatmeal Casserole (from the Urban Nester blog): 
http://alwaysamrsforeverakidd.blogspot.com/2012/01/gluten-free-baked-oatmeal-casserole.html

Pin #2: Easy Hardboiled Eggs (from The Burlap Bag blog):
http://www.theburlapbag.com/2012/03/make-hard-boiled-eggs-in-the-oven/

Although I provide a comprehensive list of ingredients and steps below, I would highly recommend you review both links before trying it yourself.

If you want to attempt this Pintegration, here's a quick list of ingredients you'll need:

• 14-26 Eggs (Casserole: 2 Eggs; Hardboiled: 12 for regular muffin pan, 24 for mini muffin pan)
• Ice 
• Water (tap water is fine)
• 3 cups Oats (I used one-minute regular oats, but the original uses gluten-free rolled oats)
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/2 cups Nut Pieces (I used walnuts, but I think pecans would also work well)
• 1 1/2 cups Berries (I used strawberries, but the original uses raspberries and says any berry is fine)
• 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
• 3 cups Milk (I used skim to cut fat and calories)
• 4 1/2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 Bananas (peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)
• Cooking spray

Here's a quick list of kitchen dishes and tools you'll need:

• Regular or mini muffin pan (for hardboiled eggs; if you don't have one, a Pyrex should work)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Three large mixing bowls
• Slicing knife
• Mixing spoon
• 11x13 baking dish (such as a rectangular Pyrex)
• Small ramekin
• Whisk
• Tongs

And finally, just a couple of quick notes about my Baked Oatmeal Casserole modifications before we begin:

• The original uses gluten-free rolled oats. Since we are not a gluten-free household, I used regular oats and left everything else the same.
• The original ingredients are designed for a 10 1/2 x 7 pan. The above list increases those portions by 50%, which should be the appropriate amounts for an 11 x 13 pan.

Now, let's try it! (Note: These instructions are a slightly modified mash-up of the originals above)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees for the hardboiled eggs.
2. Place the desired number of eggs into the muffin pan cups.
3. Once the oven is preheated, place muffin pan on top rack and set timer for 30 minutes.
4. Start the baked oatmeal casserole while hardboiled eggs are cooking.
5. If using strawberries, rinse, hull, and cut them into ~1/2 inch slices. If using other berries, rinse and leave whole.
6. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, half the nuts (3/4 cup), half the berries (3/4 cup), and half the chocolate chips (3/8 cup).
7. Generously coat an 11x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
8. Add the oat mixture to prepared baking dish.
9. Arrange the remaining nuts, berries, and chocolate chips evenly on the top of the casserole.
10. Peel the bananas and cut them into ~1/2 inch slices.
11. Add the banana slices to the top of the casserole.
12. Melt the butter in the microwave (I do this by microwaving the butter in a small ramekin 15 seconds at a time).
13. In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract.
14. Pour the milk mixture over the oat mixture in the baking dish.
15. Gently shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.
16. Check on the eggs.
17. Once the eggs are done, fill your third large mixing bowl halfway with ice and water.
18. Remove the eggs from the oven and, using tongs, transfer them to the bowl of ice water.
19. Once eggs are cooling, turn up the oven to 375 degrees.
20. After oven reaches the appropriate temperature, place baking dish in oven and set timer for 35 minutes.
21. When timer goes off, use tongs to transfer hardboiled eggs back to carton and refrigerate.
22. After refrigerating eggs, check on the casserole.
23. If top looks golden brown and the milk mixture appears to be set (i.e., not slushy), remove casserole from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes.
24. To eat, cut out a slice and enjoy.
25. Refrigerate the remaining casserole.

(Post continues below images.)

Hardboiled eggs! I made 12, but you
 could easily make up to 24 at a time.

The finished product!
Note: This photo is of an 8x8 dish, but the
ingredients above are for an 11x13 dish.

And that's it! It took me an hour and a half to complete all of the above steps. And it fed the three of us for a full week! I cut out slices of the casserole each morning for each of us, reheated them for 20-30 seconds in the microwave, and paired them with the hardboiled eggs. My son loved the casserole (not so much the hardboiled eggs). My husband and I loved both items, but we found the casserole to be particularly yummy.

If you try this Pintegration, please feel free to leave me your comments. I hope it works for you and helps you save some time in the morning!