Recipe reprise: Toasted Peanut Butter Oats

reI know I posted this recipe already. I finally made it again when I had my iPhone handy and took a few pictures. The image quality is a little blurry because in most cases, I was trying to take the picture with one hand while doing something else with the other. Still, I think it makes the recipe a little easier to understand.

Last time I made the recipe with Bob's Red Mill Oats. This time I used Quaker Old Fashioned Oats. The result was similar but they took a little less time to cook. I am starting with my original directions but modifying because of the difference in the two kinds of oats. The first picture is all of the ingredients except the banana. I think you probably know what a banana looks like!

While I boiled the 1 cup of water (for one serving) in a small saucepan on the front burner, I toasted 1/2 cup of the oats in a tea kettle on the back burner over medium-high heat, stirring them with a wooden spoon so they would toast evenly. The oats start to smell really good when they toast, and that's how you know they are ready. For me, it took about the same time as it took for the water to boil.

When the water boiled, I poured the water into the oats. There are some small dark specks that seem to be a part of the oat that toasted faster than the rest. I was afraid they would give the oats a burnt taste but they didn't. Note: The dark specks did not appear in these oats. My guess is that is because the Quaker Oats are more processed than Bob's. If you are going to be weirded out by dark specks in your oatmeal, you might prefer to use Quaker Oats. To me, they tasted about the same. I covered the pan, reduced the heat to medium, and stirred gently every so often. I followed the cooking time directions on the package, which may vary depending on what brand and style of oats you use.

When the time was up, I turned off the gas, dropped 2 tablespoons of peanut butter on top of the oats and covered them. I let them stand for about 2 minutes off the heat to absorb the rest of the water and melt the peanut butter a little so it would be easier to stir in.

Then I uncovered the pan, gave everything a good stir, and poured it into a bowl. I sliced a small, ripe banana on top and dug in.

I was impatient and hungry so I just stirred in the peanut butter this time. I even had sliced a banana while I was waiting for the oats to cook so I was ready to eat as soon as they were done. I topped them with a half-teaspoon each of ground flaxseeds and wheat germ for a little extra nutrition. I also hadn't used salt when cooking this time, so I added a little after tasting to see if they needed it. They did, just a little. I had a cup of green tea alongside just to be super-healthy and to supply a little caffeine -- I didn't feel like making coffee and I already had the teakettle out, so why not?

According to LoseIt!, this breakfast had 447 calories but was very satisfying and tasty. I didn't get hungry again until lunchtime, which is rare for me. If you want to cut calories and fat, an easy way would be to use just one tablespoon of peanut butter per serving (saves 95 calories). You could also go with just half a banana, if you wanted (saves another 45 calories).

If you just can't get enough of oatmeal, you should check out PastaQueen's post about publishing her recipe for coffee-spiked oatmeal, the same one that took her to the Quaker Oatmeal Festival and Drive of Horrors. Or you could just check out the recipe itself. Seeing her post reminded me that I had oatmeal pictures hanging around on my iPhone, just waiting for their small moment of stardom. Enjoy!