Using up applesauce and an easy baked oatmeal recipe

This past autumn we were gifted a lot of apples. I think it was more than 20 KG. Of course we shared with family  and neighbours, like most people here do when they have an abundance of whatever is in season. But still, there was quite a lot apples left over and as a small family we couldn't just finish the apples as is. So making applesauce turned out to be a good solution. I don't like the traditional Dutch way of eating applesauce- which is like a condiment with boiled potatoes and vegetables, probably to make all the blandness a little bit more edible. Instead, I just use it as an ingredient for baking. Applesauce is very versatile, it can be used as an egg replacement but also instead of other liquid ingredients. And of course, it gives all your baked good such a nice apple flavour. On top of that, whether you prefer homemade applesauce or store bought- they don't sell applesauce here in Tunisia so if we want to have applesauce you'd have to make your own anyway. I must admit that growing up I didn't like my mum's homemade applesauce and preferred store bought instead. Which is a bit weird if I think about it now. Oh well... My taste buds defenitely have improved a lot. 

The next issue was: how am I going to peel ALL that apples without my carpal tunnel syndrome not instantly coming back? After all, I don't have a fancy apple peeler. Well, after a bit of googling it turned out to be as easy as to cook the apples with their peels on! At times like these, I'm so grateful for having access to the internet and to be able to save time, food and energy. So the only thing I did was coring the apples- which obviously was way less work than peeling. Still it was quite a chore to accomplish. The applesauce turned out a bit browner than "normal" applesauce would have, but it did have a lot of taste! 

So then I just froze all the applesauce. Fortunately I have a big freezer, but still it took up a lot of space. Hopefully next time I'll have enough glass jars to be able to can applesauce and to save precious freezer space. I love making applesauce cake and muffins, or just using some applesauce as a spread on pancakes. But a few weeks ago, I decided to try something new and above all, something a bit more healthy, so I made applesauce baked oatmeal. It turned out to be so delicious. I'm not new to baked oatmeal, but my original recipe wasn't quite a healthy one, so I tried to make a healthier one this time. Here's how I made it: 

 2 cups of applesauce                                             1 cup of milk                                                           2 cups of oatmeal 

That's it, super basic. Just mix this in a bowl and then add whatever flavourings you like. I usually keep it quite basic and only add some cinnamon (for flavour) and desiccated coconut (for healthy fats). But if I think of other add-ins that would be nice: raisins, date chunks, nuts. Then I add it to lightly greased baking dishes- I like to use small individual baking dishes, but you can also use one large one and cut it into smaller portions after baking.                           

I like this baked oatmeal for breakfast, whereas my family members prefer it as a snack. I have tried out multiple ways to eat it, and as for now my favourite way is with some peanut butter and honey in top of it. When you don't eat this right away, I recommend heating it up- which I do in my air fryer, as I don't have a microwave (which might be interesting to do a whole different post about).