Breakfast Oatmeal
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Easy and delicious, this oatmeal recipe can be modified from standard to exciting. Modifications are below.
Author:
Cuisine: Breakfast
Serves: 5
Ingredients
  • For five servings (one week's worth), you will need:
  • 5 cups of water
  • 2½ cups of rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)
  • Fruit to top
  • Sweetener if the fruit is not sweet enough
  • A splash of milk or cream if you like
Instructions
  1. Boil the water. You can add a dash of salt, but I don’t.
  2. Once the water is boiling, add in the oats and give the pot a good stir. That helps prevent the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  3. Turn the heat to medium, and stir the oats every few minutes.
  4. It takes about 10-20 minutes to fully cook the rolled oats.
  5. To determine if the rolled oats have cooked enough, spoon one or two oats out and chew on them. Are they still hard? Cook them a few minutes more. They are nice and chewy? They are done.
  6. Once the oats are done, turn the heat off and cover the pot. Let them sit for a few minutes to steam in the moisture.
  7. Then serve them with raw honey, your favorite sliced fruit, and some milk or cream if you like. (Just a touch, right?)
  8. Suggested toppings and modifications are listed down below.
  9. Storage. To portion and save the oats, you have options. If you are just making enough for today and tomorrow, I let it cool first, then go ahead and put tomorrow’s portion into a microwave safe bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it right into the fridge. If you are making a whole week’s worth, then you may want to put the leftovers into one large container and just scoop out of it each day.
  10. If you are squeamish about 5-day oatmeal, make it in smaller batches, or just make it the night before. Once you get the hang of this, you can easily do it while doing other kitchen jobs.
  11. Reheating. When you heat it up, add a splash of water to the oats. They will be thirsty, and need it to heat up correctly. Microwave them for about 1 to 1½ minutes and stir gently to make sure they are heated through. If they are sticky and not creamy, you can add a splash of water or milk or cream (and remember to add a bit more water before you microwave them tomorrow). Top them as you like.
  12. Toppings. I like something for sweetness, and something for texture. If the fruit is sweet enough, I will forego adding a sweetener. If the fruit is not sweet, I like honey or agave syrup. Just a bit. For texture, sometimes the fruit or berries are enough. If not, I’ll add flax seeds or chopped nuts (I keep chopped nuts in my freezer, ready to go.)
  13. What about Chia Seeds? If you like Chia seeds (they are terrific in this), you should add them to the water with the oats. They need that cook time to soften. Chia seeds tend to gel up a bit, so you may need to add a tablespoon more of water.
  14. Modifications and Options. I like to play with my food. Well, at least the cooking part of it. So, I like to try other liquids in place of the water. You can just cut the water in half (or further if the liquid is particularly strongly flavored, costly, or caloric), and replace that half with a tastier liquid. In the fall, I like to replace half the water with apple cider. If you also add cinnamon to the cider as it boils, the oats will be amazingly fall-rific in the end. I also like to use coconut milk or almond milk. They flavor the oats wonderfully, too. If you use coconut milk, watch how much you use. It is very calorie dense. (But amazing.)
Recipe by WooPigFoodie at https://www.woopigfoodie.com/oatmeal/