Back to the Basics
Perfect Oatmeal
Don’t look on the oatmeal box for directions. They may be wrong…
- Cook Time5 min
- Serves3
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 3 Cups Water
- 2 Pinches Salt
Method
Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on high for 5-7 minutes.
Serve hot with favorite toppings.
It's important to know the basics
It’s come to my attention that some people don’t know the basics. If you’re one of those people, don’t worry! You’ve got to start somewhere right? Oatmeal is a great place to start. I actually felt like I needed to make this after one morning where my wonderful husband was trying to make me and my boys breakfast. The gesture was the sweetest, but the execution was less than great, bless his heart. The problem though was that he was looking at the directions on the oatmeal box. Go figure those wouldn’t work! His oats wouldn’t cook down. It didn’t require the use of enough water. When you’re making oatmeal, especially with old fashioned oats, then it’s important to have enough water to cook the oats properly. Most of us have probably been there, right? Our oats didn’t cook well and we can see each oat still in it’s circular form, not really wanting to cook into gooey cohesive oatmeal. We frantically keep trying to stir and cook it, hoping it will change, but having very little success. We then think, “I can’t even make oatmeal??!” Don’t fret, you totally can and I’ll show you how. Then I’ll show you how to make it interesting and hearty, sure to impress anyone who eats it.
The right ratios
I make a lot of oatmeal. We have it for breakfast at least once a week, if not more and we never use quick oats or those packets of pre-flavored oats. I like to be able to add and control what is on my oatmeal and that’s why we chose to do it this way. The only trick you need to know is the right ratio of oats to water. It’s 1 to 3. So if I have 1 cup of oats I need to use 3 cups of water. If I have 1 1/2 cups of oats, I need 4 1/2 cups of water. I also always add a few pinches of salt to help enhance the flavor of the oats. I usually add 2 pinches of salt for 1 cup of oats. Just be careful not to over salt.
Afterwards I cook it on high stirring constantly while it’s boiling. It only need a few minutes to boil because it actually has the right amount of water in it. You’ll be surprised at how much faster it will come together. When there isn’t enough water, the oats seem to take forever, and it doesn’t help that you’re in a sweat storm of worry and frantication while trying to revive your oats so you don’t have to throw them to the chickens.
After that you’re done! Hurray! You’ve successfully made oats and the best part is is that you don’t need a recipe anymore. Toss your phone to the side and rely on your brilliance and new found knowledge in cooking that will empower you to make good food for you body. Knowing is part of the battle.
Toppings!
This is where oatmeal gets fun. You can have your traditional brown sugar and half and half, which is delicious and easy and always a crowd pleaser. But, if you’ve got some fruit laying around add it to the top and sprinkle some sugar on that. Pour some sugar on me! The great thing about using fruit is that you don’t need as much sugar as you usually use. I love adding chia seeds or nuts to my oatmeal. One of my new favorites is toasted buckwheat groats. They are nutty and crunchy and add a bit of texture to my oatmeal that I very much love. My recent favorite combination is pitted fresh cherries, groats, raisins a sprinkle of brown sugar and some half and half. I love it! It’s filling and fresh and has great texture with the fresh cherries and raisins.
Apples are a classic to add to any oatmeal too, and usually everyone has apples on hand. I love to have them fresh, but you can throw them in the oatmeal while they’re cooking to have them warm. Add in some cinnamon and top it with half and half and call it good. Get creative and see what you have on hand. My husband served a mission in the Philippines and in the mornings for breakfast he would take those fruit cups and pour it over the top of his oatmeal. Since it was packed in juice he didn’t need to sprinkle with any sugar.
