Baked Peaches and Oatmeal

Today will be our last day of freedom ... the last day of vacation before we all head back to work and school.  Seems like breakfast should be something special, shouldn't it?

Speaking of special ... my great-aunt Marguerite was quite the cook and entertainer.  Many years ago, she self-published a cookbook of her recipes called Bon Appetit by Marguerite...long before Amazon made self-publishing so easy :-).    One of my favorites from that volume is a recipe for baked peaches.

Peaches + nutmeg + brown sugar ... how can you go wrong?  Using Marguerite's recipe for inspiration, I decided to make a baked peach oatmeal.  Follow your favorite method for making oatmeal and top with one baked peach half.  When combined, the baked peach will drip its sugary goodness all over the oatmeal ... resulting in one spicy, warm, delicious combination.

BAKED PEACH OATMEAL 
Printable version of this recipe

INGREDIENTS
1 large can of peach halves, drained
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. oatmeal (Quick-cooking works best, but you can get a similar effect from regular oats if you give 'em a whirl in the food processor)
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. melted butter

Oatmeal, prepared according to directions on the box and your preferences. 

DIRECTIONS
Drain peaches on paper towels.  Blend remaining ingredients and heap into the cavity where the pit would be on the peach.  Place in a baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

While the peaches are baking, prepare the oatmeal.  Directions for this can be found on the oatmeal box and either quick-cooking or regular oats will do.  I like to add raisins and a dollop of vanilla but let the remaining flavor come from the peach.

To prepare the dish, remove the peaches from the oven.  The brown sugar-oatmeal topping should be warm and runny.  Scoop oatmeal into a bowl and top with a peach.  Best eaten if you slice the peach into small pieces to allow the spicy, buttery brown sugar to flow all over the oatmeal.  Delicious!