Oatmeal
Hot Oat & Quinoa Cereal
April 16, 2013 | 
Author Memphis may be experiencing highs in the 80s and lows only in the 60s, but that doesn’t stop me from craving a warm breakfast. The great thing about this oatmeal/cereal is that you can prepare it the night before and then reheat it in the morning, complete with some great toppings. It even has some quinoa in it instead of just being all oats so it’s packed with extra protein. And by the way even if you are not a quinoa fan, it blends right in. Which got me to thinking, maybe I should try adding quinoa to granola bars?
One year ago: Blueberry Oatmeal Bagels
HOT OAT & QUINOA CEREAL
Serves 4
Ingredients:
CEREAL
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1/2 cup rinsed quinoa (you can buy it pre-rinsed)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamon
4 cups water
TOPPINGS
Milk
Maple syrup
Toasted pepitas
Toasted walnuts
Directions:
- In a medium saucepan, bring dried fruit, steel-cut oats, quinoa, raisins, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and water to a boil. Cover and let sit off heat overnight. (Alternatively, bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until grains are tender, 20-25 minutes.)
- Before serving, reheat cereal in saucepan, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally and adding water if needed, until warmed through, 5-8 minutes. Serve with milk, maple syrup, pepitas, and walnuts.
Source: Bon Appetit February 2013
Posted in Breakfast, Oatmeal | 
Tags: cranberry, maple syrup, oats, pepitas, quinoa, raisins, walnuts | 
4 Comments »
Steel Cut Oatmeal with Bananas & Cobbler Topping
After my trip to Trader Joe’s this past weekend, I have successfully inhaled three of their dark chocolate peanut butter filled cupcakes. The fourth I reluctantly decided to share with my labmates before I ended up finishing it off myself. But those three cupcakes are still sitting not-so-pretty in my belly so it’s time for some oatmeal! Because healthy things negate bad calories, right? Which is why I will later eat some s’mores cookie dough bites for dessert O:-).
One year ago: Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Smoked Paprika
Two years ago: Potica Nut Roll
STEEL CUT OATMEAL WITH BANANAS & COBBLER TOPPING
Serves 2
Ingredients:
OATMEAL
1 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1-1/2 cups water
Pinch salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon
TOPPING
1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp rolled oats
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
1 banana, sliced
Maple syrup (optional)
Directions:
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in steel cut oats, coat in butter and toast lightly about 2 minutes. Stir in water and salt. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer lightly for 20 minutes, covered. Stir milk into oatmeal, cover and cook another 10-15 minutes or until oats are cooked completely. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Divide between two bowls.
- For the cobbler topping, stir all ingredients together until combined and divide into two equal portions. Top each bowl with prepared topping, bananas and maple syrup. Serve warm.
Source: Barely adapted from Lauren’s Latest.
Baked Banana-Pecan Oatmeal
While at the self-check out line at Kroger over the weekend, the attendant came up to me and asked in a fascinated voice, “How did you get your hair that color?” I get this question quite often (although not so many with such amazed looks on their faces), so I proceeded to say how I have to bleach my dark brown hair first in order for the purple to show up in my bangs. Apparently this answer was insufficient to her, because she still looked very confused upon asking, “But what did you dye your hair with?” My response – “Purple hair dye”. Disbelieving me she said “They make that color?”, and I secretly rolled my eyes while thinking “obviously” but instead politely said, “Yes, you can get hair dye in any color you can think of”. This shocked her, which I found amusing but it was sufficient to fulfill her curiosity as she asked no more questions. On that note, I’m going to be really bummed when I finally dye my bangs back to brown. Over the years, I have received compliments from a wide variety of ages, ethnicities, and gender about how much they like my hair. But my favorite is when little girls point and say to their moms, “Her hair is pretty!”
Just like the bangs on top of my head, this oatmeal has a sassy top. A caramelized top, not purple. And as far as baked oatmeal goes, this one retains the most moisture compared to others I have tried. Although, it is likely due to the fact that it’s mostly prepared on the stovetop and then just broiled in the oven. But who is complaining with a bowl of creamy oatmeal and caramelization?
BAKED BANANA-PECAN OATMEAL
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups steel-cut oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp whole milk (I used almond milk instead)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 firm-ripe bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick on disgonal
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped and toasted
Directions:
- In a medium pot, bring 4-1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in oats and salt and cook 1 minute. Let cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- Bring oatmeal to a simmer over medium-high. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in milk and vanilla. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate.
- Heat broiler, with rack 4 inches from heat. Top oatmeal with bananas and brown sugar and broil until bananas are caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans and serve.
Source: Everyday Food, December 2012
Meyer Lemon Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
Okay, after a week full of sweets being thrown at you, it’s time to enjoy a nice fresh and healthy breakfast (and maybe you can make this for your overnight Valentine ::wink wink::). It was especially necessary for me to get a good bite this morning because it’s going to be another long day in the lab. Fridays are supposed to be nice and easy days but no, I am determined to get stuff done. Having had this for breakfast hopefully the day won’t seem so bad, although I wish I still had some Meyer lemon curd to put on top.
Anywho that’s all I’ve got today. If you need me, I’ll be at my bench developing carpal tunnel from excessive pipetting .
One year ago: Caramelized Chicken with Jalapeno Cream
Two years ago: Chocolate Covered Cherries
MEYER LEMON BLUEBERRY BAKED OATMEAL
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced
2 cups nonfat milk
2-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Zest lemon; set zest aside. In a bowl, combine milk and juice from the zested lemon to make “buttermilk”.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, salt, spices, and lemon zest. In a small bowl, whisk together the “buttermilk”, butter, egg, and sugar.
- Spoon half of the oat mixture into the baking dish, and then half of the blueberries. Add the remaining oat mixture and scatter the remaining blueberries on to the top, pressing them in slightly. Pour in the milk mixture and place in oven.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the mixture is a light golden brown along the edges, and the center has set up.
Source: Prevention RD
Overnight, Slow Cooker Eggnog Cranberry Steel-Cut Oatmeal
I know I left you hanging on Friday by saying I specifically whipped up homemade eggnog to use in a recipe, so today I am telling you why I went through all that trouble. I used it in slow cook oatmeal! Why? Because there’s nothing better than breakfast ready and waiting for you in the morning. And when you live by yourself that notion is pretty much impossible (without a slow cooker).
The eggnog added the perfect amount of sweetness to the oatmeal, which is why you don’t see any sugar in the ingredient list. So yes, homemade eggnog was worth the extra time in order to make this oatmeal. Eggnog may actually become a year round thing so I can continue to have a supply of this oatmeal. All to myself.
Also, I would like to point out that you can cook this oatmeal two different ways in your slow cooker. The first method cooks on low continuously, and leaves you with crispy edges along the walls of the slow cooker. But if you would prefer not to have those edges, cook it on high for a short time and then it stays in the slow cooker while it cools overnight. It’s as if you blast it with heat and then let it gradually go down to low and then off, which means you will have to heat up the finished oatmeal in the morning. The latter method is the one I used. As you can see in my picture, I still had a little bit of the crispy edge phenomenon but I thought it added great texture.
Two years ago: Stuffed Green Peppers
OVERNIGHT, SLOW COOKER EGGNOG CRANBERRY STEEL-CUT OATMEAL
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 cups eggnog
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp chia seeds or ground flax seeds
Optional toppings: chopped nuts, additional dried cranberries, additional eggnog, sprinkled with nutmeg or cinnamon
- Method #1 for crispy edges: Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger*) slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients (except optional toppings) to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for approximately 5 hours, or until oats are cooked & softened, and edges have browned. (Slow cooker times may vary.) Spoon oatmeal into bowls; add optional toppings, if desired.
- Method #2 without crispy edges: Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger*) slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients (except optional toppings) to slow cooker. Stir, cover and set on high for 1.5 hours. Stir, cover and turn off heat. Let them sit in crock pot for 8 hours with it turned off. The heat will continue to cook them as the crock pot cools down. In the morning the oats will be cooked. Warm up and serve with additional toppings, if desired
- Store leftovers in refrigerator. Freezes well.
*I used a 6 quart slow cooker since that’s all I have.
Source: Adapted from The Yummy Life and Mother Thyme.
Individual Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Before we put the sole purpose of a chair to the test at dinner, let’s eat breakfast! This baked oatmeal is the perfect treat for Thanksgiving morning before diving into the days cooking. If you are not the one cooking, be super nice and make this for the cook and then they will be thankful for you today 
. Ulterior motives, anyone?
This oatmeal is for one serving, but can easily be doubled or quadrupled for a larger group. And feel free to get a little crazy with your toppings. I used peanut butter, vanilla Greek yogurt, and maple syrup. Yummy!
One year ago: Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup
Two years ago: Veggie Lasagna
INDIVIDUAL BAKED PUMPKIN OATMEAL
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp brown sugar
Dash of ginger and nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 Tbsp dried cranberries
Favorite oatmeal toppings
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an oven proof dish mix all ingredients (except for the toppings) together and spread out in to an even layer. Bake oatmeal for 25-30 minutes until oatmeal is set. Remove from oven and top with your favorite toppings. Serve.
Source: Adapted slightly from Steph’s Bite by Bite.
Posted in Breakfast, Holidays, Oatmeal, Thanksgiving | Tags: almond milk, cranberry, oats, pumpkin | 6 Comments »
Apple-Cranberry Oatmeal
About mid-summer I became disconnected from the internet at home and I have yet to turn it back on. You see as a graduate student, spending $60 a month on internet when I am only home for a couple hours before sleeping wasn’t really worth it. The first half of this year I shared internet with a neighbor but she has moved, and I have not made friends with the new neighbor yet. As a result, I save recipes from browsing online at lab (shh don’t tell) on a USB drive to take home and open on my computer. But sometimes I fail to do so. While panicking one evening I realized I have an entire shelving unit full of under-loved cookbooks just begging to be used. As a result this whole no internet at home business is actually forcing me to use my cookbooks more often – nothing wrong with that!
I love homemade oatmeal. So much that I cannot even look at the packaged stuff found at the grocery store. It is just too good and easy to make yourself to bother with them. And when I saw this recipe for two servings of autumn in a bowl I knew what I was having for breakfast. The sweetness of the apples is great along side of the tart cranberries, but also added walnuts because I like a little crunch in my oatmeal.
APPLE-CRANBERRY OATMEAL
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 apple, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup whole rolled oats
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
- Heat a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and apples and sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Add the oats, 1 cup water, cider, cranberries, sugar and cinnamon and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to low and loosely cover. Cook without stirring for about 10 minutes, or until the oatmeal thickens to your desired consistency. Stir in walnuts if using.
- Serve with milk and your choice of sweetener, if desired.
Source: Cakelove in the Morning (which I won through a giveaway from Pass the Sushi)
Posted in Breakfast, Oatmeal | Tags: apple cider, apples, cinnamon, cranberry, oats, walnuts | 8 Comments »
Baked Oatmeal with Blackberries and Bananas
The OXO Salad Dressing Shaker Giveaway has come to an end, are you the winner? Check out the original post, or your e-mail to see if it’s your lucky day!
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Overnight oatmeal folks. It’s when you mix all the ingredients together, but instead of popping in the oven or on the stove top, you cover it up and let it sleep in the refrigerator overnight. Just like you – except you will be in a cozy warm bed. After you wake up and pre-heat the oven, place it in to bake and proceed with your usual getting-ready-in-the-am-routine. Thirty minutes later you will be enjoying a nice warm bowl of goodness!
For some strange reason, blueberries were absent from Kroger when I went grocery shopping for this recipe so I snatched up the blackberries instead. I obviously don’t know what it would’ve been like with blueberries, but I do know that with blackberries this was outstanding (notice the modesty). Even the leftovers were awesome! I just added a little extra milk after reheating and it was like new again.
One year ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
BAKED OATMEAL WITH BLACKBERRIES AND BANANAS
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 very ripe medium bananas, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
1 1/2 cup blackberries
1/4 cup honey (or agave), divided
1 cup uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
Pinch of salt
1 cup 2% milk (or any milk you desire)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a 8 x 8″ or 9 x 9″ ceramic or glass baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on the bottom of the ceramic dish. Sprinkle half of the blackberries over the bananas, 1/4 tsp of the cinnamon, 1 Tbsp of the honey and cover with foil. Bake 15 minutes, until the bananas get soft.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the oats, half of nuts, baking powder, remaining cinnamon, and salt; stir together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining honey, milk, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool. Then pour the oat mixture over the bananas and blackberries.
- Pour the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the mixture as evenly as possible over the oats. Sprinkle the remaining blackberries and walnuts over the the top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the oatmeal for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the oatmeal has set. Serve warm from the oven. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Source: Adapted slightly from Gina’s Skinny Taste.
Carrot Cake Oatmeal
It felt so wonderful to get out of town for a couple days and visit family this weekend, even though I didn’t stay the full 3-day weekend (cell cultures won’t start themselves!). Of course many delicious things were eaten, but before I share those details I want to talk about this oatmeal, which was made this morning. It’s a holiday, so guess who had time to cook herself a warm delicious breakfast? I’ll give you a hint, I cannot get away from this person… yup it’s me.
Without using a lot of sweetener, this oatmeal is a sweet oatmeal delight thanks to the carrots and little bit of maple syrup. And it really does taste like carrot cake, but in creamy form. You will even feel like you are indulging but it is packed with carrots and other goodies that are sneakily nutritious.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my virtual interview with Fastrecipes.com HERE!
CARROT CAKE OATMEAL
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 heaping cup finely grated carrot (about 1 large)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbsp full-fat coconut milk cream or use more almond milk (I used regular heavy cream)
1 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup regular oats
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts, divided
2 Tbsp chopped dried cranberries, divided
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp sweetened shredded coconut, for garnish
1 Tbsp coconut milk cream + 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup, to garnish (optional)
Directions:
- Finely grate 1 heaping cup of grated carrots. You want to use the fine grate and not the large one so the carrot shreds are very small. This helps the carrot blend in more.
- In a medium sized pot over medium heat, whisk together the almond milk, optional coconut milk cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of salt.
- Stir in the grated carrots and oats. Adjust heat if necessary or bring heat to low if it starts to boil. Cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring frequently. When the mixture has thickened up, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp walnuts, 1 tbsp raisins, and 2 tbsp of maple syrup. Remove from heat and portion into bowls.
- Top the oatmeal with the remaining walnuts, raisins, and shredded coconut. If you are using coconut cream, you can mix a bit of the cream with maple syrup and drizzle on top of the oatmeal. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish is desired.
Source: Adapted slightly from Oh She Glows, discovered on Steph’s Bite By Bite.
Posted in Breakfast, Oatmeal | Tags: carrots, coconut, cranberry, maple syrup, oats, walnuts | 23 Comments »
Almond Berry Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal
Yellow fruit is currently my obsession. And the yellow fruits I am referring to are ones that you normally wouldn’t think of as being yellow – cherries, plums, and raspberries. They might look under-ripe and unappetizing to you, but I have to buy extra whenever I plan to make something with them. I inevitably eat some a lot of it on my 5 minute drive home from the grocery and/or before I even cook them. I cannot help it. To me fresh fruit is almost as good as a soft just-out-of-the-oven cookie. The cherries and raspberries were the only ones the survived long enough to make it into this oatmeal. I maybe should have added the raspberries in the morning, after it had cooked because they pretty much disintegrated (note their invisibility in the picture). But the flavor definitely did not disappear and the texture is great. If you are one of those people that like to come up with excuses for not eating Breakfast, throw them out the window and make this oatmeal. That is if you can even come up with any to deny such a thing as this.
ALMOND BERRY OVERNIGHT SLOW COOKER OATMEAL
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 cups Rainier cherries, pitted and cut in half
1 cup raspberries
1-1/2 cups almond milk milk
1-1/2 cups water 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp butter, cut into 5-6 pieces
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground flax seed
1/4 tsp salt
Sliced almonds, for garnish
Directions:
- Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger) slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients from cherries to salt to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours.
- Spoon oatmeal into bowls; add sliced almonds, if desired.
- Refrigerate or freeze leftovers. To reheat single servings: Put 1-cup cooked oatmeal in microwave proof bowl. Add 1/3 cup fat-free milk. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Continue cooking for another minute, or until hot. Recipe can be doubled in 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Increase cooking time 1 hour.
Source: Adapted slightly from Pass the Sushi
Posted in Breakfast, Oatmeal, Slow Cooker | Tags: almonds, cherries, oats, raspberries | 8 Comments »
