You know how sometimes when you have oatmeal, it’s really mushy? And sometimes, it’s really slimy? Well this one is jussssst right. This apple cinnamon oatmeal is absolutely perfect.
You can use this trick to make plain oats as well, but here is a version with apples and cinnamon. The trick is to bring the water to a boil, add the oats, cover, and remove from heat. Let the oats sit for 10-15 minutes, and you have the perfect, non-slimy, non-mushy, oats! Hooray! You can really make any combination of “stuff” in Perfect Oats- add dried fruit or raisins to boiling water, add a mashed banana… the possibilities are endless. Here is what I did. First, peel, core, and chop one or two apples into small pieces. Next, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in saucepan and mix in some cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the apples and stir, completely coating the apples. Continue sauteing until apples are cooked but not too mushy, stirring occasionally.
Add 2 cups of water, 1-2 tablespoons of honey (depending on how sweet you like it), and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil. Stir in the oats and the nuts. Remove from heat, and cover. Let sit for 10-15 minutes (or longer, it doesn’t really matter. It won’t overcook since the heat is off.).
When ready to serve, put hot oatmeal into a bowl and, if you want it to be extra delicious, add a splash of whole milk or cream. My uncle served it with yogurt on top and that was also very yummy. I prefer this method to actually cooking the oats in milk, but I imagine that if you prefer to cook oats in milk, you could follow the same procedure to make Perfect Oats. Weekend prep: The great thing about this and other oatmeal is that you can make it and refrigerate it for about a week, and reheat it later for breakfast (or lunch, or dinner!). If you do this, you may need to add more water because it tends to dry out over time. Make a big batch over the weekend, and divide into individual containers. When you are ready to eat, add a couple of tablespoons of water and microwave for one minute. Here’s the recipe for apple cinnamon oatmeal! You may also like these DIY instant oatmeal packets.
