Monday, March 7, 2011

Instant Oatmeal

OK, admittedly I am not a huge oatmeal fan, but I eat it (and serve it to my kids) often because it's so cheap and so good for you! But compared to cereal or toast, it's a little time-consuming when you've got hungry kids waiting. So when I stumbled on this recipe for making your own instant oatmeal, I was really excited. I hardly ever buy the prepackaged kind because it's so much cheaper (and healthier) to make real oatmeal.

Back to the not-being-a-fan part, oatmeal is much easier for me to eat with various toppings such as chopped apples, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc. So I decided to improvise a little bit and made the first batch with Craisins, sliced almonds and dried chopped apples. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some other types of whole grains next time, too. But here is the recipe as it appeared in Woman's Day magazine.

18 oz. container quick-cooking oats.
1 envelope (3.2 oz) nonfat dry milk (which I didn't have, so I just left it out. It still turned out fine)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup raisins

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Transfer to an airtight container. To serve, scoop 1/2 cup oatmeal mix into a bowl and add 1/2 cup water. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Makes about 16 servings.

2 comments:

Georgia said...

Oatmeal is our regular bedtime snack, for the whole family. Here's how we make it delicious- for each bowl: a sprinkle of salt, a small pat of butter, a large spoonful of raisins, a big drizzle of honey, all stirred up and topped with milk. :) sometimes a sprinkle of cinnamon too. I always use regular rolled oats, they cook quick enough for me!

Megan @ SimplyThrifty said...

We make our oatmeal with a little raisins, a tiny bit of salt, cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg and vanilla. We usually add a little brown sugar and sometimes butter.