Oatmeal is comfort food. What's better, it's good for you and can easily be tweaked to suit your tastes. Like chocolate? Add some Dutch process cocoa powder or some mini chocolate chips. Crave fruit? Fresh strawberries or dried cranberries will do the trick. Of course, when I'm thinking comfort food, there's a tried and true combination that always works for me: peanut butter and chunks of banana.
While you can make some instant oatmeal and add these treats to it, there's one cooking method that I favor over all others when it comes to oatmeal. I love to slow cook it overnight in a crockpot. Sure, it takes a long time, but who's going to complain about sleeping while it cooks and waking to the wonderful aroma of a hearty breakfast? So get in your pajamas and enjoy those sweet dreams of breakfast ... that is, until it's time to eat it!
As always, I encourage you to share your recipe ideas and comments. You can always post comments in the discussion board using the forms provided in the articles or email me directly at . Enjoy!
Peanut Butter-Banana Oatmeal
- 1 c. steel cut oats
- 12 oz. evaporated skim milk
- 3 c. water
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 3 T. creamy peanut butter
- 2 ripe bananas -- peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
The evening before you want to enjoy your oatmeal, combine the oats, evaporated skim milk, water, cinnamon and peanut butter in a crockpot. Cover and cook over LOW for about 8 hours. In the morning, add the banana chunks and skim milk, if desired, and enjoy!
- Yields: 4-6 servings
- Preparation Time: Over 8 hours -- but you'll sleep through most of it!