Oatmeal Soufflé

Weekends are meant for something other than the quick weekday cold cereal or plain 'ole oatmeal.  With the extra hours we have before Liv heads off to dance rehearsals I try to put together something hot, fairly healthy and tasty to boot.

Borrowing Marrion Cunningham's, The Breakfast Book, to post our recent Custard-Filled Corbread, I thumbed through the pages and the Oatmeal Souflé caught my eye.  Our experiences last year with Ellie Krieger's Vanilla Spice Oatmeal along with a couple of Pumpkin Oatmeal versions have us eager for alternative oatmeal recipes!

Ms. Cunningham's version, however, was a bit too rich for our tastes with a 1/2 cup of sugar, 3 eggs and butter, but by simply reducing the sugar and butter and replacing an egg with egg whites we produced a healthier yet tasty soufflé, perfect for our weekend morning!

Oatmeal Soufflé
adapted from The Breakfast Book

1 cup skim milk
2 tsp butter
3/4 cup oatmeal, uncooked
1/3 cup low-fat cream cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs separated
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 325º.  Butter a 1 1/2 cup soufflé dish or casserole.

Place the milk and butter in a saucepan and heat until barely boiling.  Add the oatmeal, reducing heat and stirring often until oatmeal is thick.  Remove from heat and add the cream cheese, salt, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Whisk until mixture is smooth.  Beat 2 egg yolks slightly and slowly add them to the oatmeal, stirring constantly.  Stir in the raisins and walnuts.

Beat 3 egg whites until they are stiff, but still moist.  Gently stir and fold the fluffy egg whites into the oat meal mixture, being careful not to deflate whites.  Fold only until no large lumps of whites remain.  Spoon the mixture into the soufflé dish.  Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the soufflé is set but the center still trembles.  Serve immediately with milk.

Top with additional brown sugar, maple syrup, bananas or any of your favorite toppings!

Note:  We didn't finish the soufflé on the first serving and very much enjoyed it rewarmed in the microwave at a later time.

Note 2:  Dried apples or any fruit would be a lovely addition to this soufflé.