Super-Easy Fruit Crisp with Oatmeal Crumble Crust

A while back, The Boy went through a frozen-fruit smoothie phase. He had one almost every day after school. Sometimes he had one for breakfast, too.

Then he suddenly didn't want smoothies any more. And I was left with a freezer full of these:

The fruit wasn't getting any younger. So yesterday I took a couple packages of mixed berries out of the freezer and let them thaw in the fridge. Then I drained them.

I set aside the beautiful juice for another dessert, another day.

And I poured the berries into the bottom of a buttered shallow casserole dish. No extra sugar, no flour, no other ingredients. Just berries.

I threw together rolled oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Stirred 'em up.

I melted some butter.

When the butter was melted, I worked it into the oats mixture to make an oatmeal crumble crust. (Spoons are okay, but I prefer fingers.)

Then I poured the crumble crust over the berries.

I patted the crust down gently.

And popped the dish in the oven. It came out smelling fantastic. Looks pretty good, too!

This dessert is wonderful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a blob of whipped cream on top.

But it's so good, it really doesn't need anything dolling it up at all. And if you have a couple of bags of fruit in your freezer, you can create this dessert with what you probably have in your fridge and pantry any day, any time of the year.

Fruit Crisp with Oatmeal Crumble Crust

2 pkgs. frozen fruit, each 12 to 14 ounces (berries, cherries, peaches, or some combo), thawed and drained (reserve juices for another use)
1 C. rolled oats, either quick or old-fashioned
1/2 C. brown sugar, packed
1/3 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
5 Tbsp. butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Butter an 8"x8" casserole or any shallow casserole dish, 1.5- to 2-quart size. Place thawed, drained fruit on the bottom. In a small bowl, combine oats, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt thoroughly. Pour melted butter over the oatmeal mixture, working it in thoroughly.

3. Sprinkle the oatmeal mixture over the fruit, patting it down gently.

4. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling.

5. Serve warm or cold, plain or with ice cream or whipped cream.