A recipe to share

I have been having a major craving lately for St. Louis Bread Co's (er...Panera Bread for anyone outside of St. Louis) steel cut oatmeal, which is just plain deliciousness in a bowl.  I went last week for breakfast and satisfied my craving, but I wanted more.  However, I did not want to continually spend the money to satisfy my craving, so I did a little online searching to find good recipes for steel cut oatmeal.

I actually learned quite a bit about steel cut oatmeal, so I thought I would share.  Steel cut oats, sometimes called pinhead oats or Irish oats, are whole oat groats (the inner part of the oat kernel) that are cut into smaller pieces.  What I also learned in the process is that steel cut oatmeal usually takes awhile to cook due to their minimal processing.  I am not a morning person to begin with, so the idea of having to do a lot of work for my breakfast was really unappealing.  However, I also discovered quite a few overnight steel cut oatmeal recipes and the result is life-changing (or at least it was for me).

Jacquelyn from MarinMamaCooks has a fantastic recipe on her blog for overnight oats that I highly recommend!  The recipe is super easy and it yields a week's worth of oatmeal that can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.  Essentially, you boil 4 cups of water and then add a touch of salt and a cup of oats.  Let the oats boil for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the burner, cover with a lid and let it sit out overnight.  Brilliant!  When you wake up the next morning, the oats are cooked and, once reheated, ready to eat.  Voila!  (Jacquelyn has so many other great recipes, too, so be sure to check out her blog for other great finds.)

My toppings of choice this week are strawberries, walnuts, cinnamon, and a touch of honey for sweetness.  It is amazing!  I'm going to experiment a bit with my toppings and I have some mini chocolate chip morsels calling my name, perhaps for tomorrow's breakfast.

This is a really great recipe to make ahead on Sunday for your weekday breakfasts.  It's quick, it's delicious, it's healthy (ignore the above chocolate chip reference), and it's versatile because you can add whatever you'd like on top depending on what you are in the mood for.

So delicious! 

What are your favorite oatmeal toppings?  Do you have any other quick, easy breakfast recipes? 

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients."