Breakfast Recipe

I'm trying to eat more heathy and always have a hard time coming up with breakfast ideas. Especially FAST ones and I get so tired of cereal or oatmeal. I posted this one on the blog a long time ago but it bears repeating and so here's a a great recipe for a very quick CRISPY BAKED OATMEAL I think you'll love. My kids love when I make my Apple Crisp with oatmeal topping and always ask me to make the crispy topping alone. This recipe is for the oatmeal part only - if you add apples it takes a little longer but if I have time I like it better. This week I added blueberries and fresh strawberries on top with a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Yum. Oats are good for your heart and supposedly help lower your cholesterol.

I make it in the microwave and then put it in the toaster oven to CRISP up.

Here are the approximate directions for one serving. Keep in mind--I'm a quilt designer, not a recipe czar:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dry oatmeal

dash of salt

1 t  brown sugar

Sprinkle of cinnamon

1 T melted butter or margarine

fruit or yogurt for topping

1.  Mix oatmeal with a dash of salt and about 3 or 4 tablespoons of water to moisten in a microwaveable bowl.

2.  Microwave on high for 1 minute. You don't have to fully cook it. It tastes better if the oats are sort of uncooked and not soggy so that they crunch up nicely.

3.  Pre-heat toaster oven to high or broil. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and brown sugar into half-cooked oatmeal; stir. Place mixture into a greased small, individual size glass baking dish. Drizzle a little melted butter over the oatmeal to get it crispy.

4.  Bake oatmeal on high or broil for 5-6 minutes until crispy. Let it cool and, if you prefer, add a little milk to enjoy your apple crisp topping without the apples. A nice change from soggy oatmeal.

I prefer the apples in mine and have sometimes made the quick version of Apple Crisp this way in the microwave but it still takes a little longer to cook the apples. First, cook the  chopped or sliced apples in a small amount of apple juice or water. You can do this in the microwave. Add the oatmeal on top of the apples and follow the rest of the directions above. You can also sprinkle a low calorie sweetener instead of sugar on top AFTER it's baked if you need to cut out some of the sugar. Or, be creative--sometimes I add raisins or dried cranberries plus walnuts to the oatmeal AFTER I microwave it. And, like I said, it's great warm with fruit or yogurt.