Days 4-10 of the Oatmeal Challenge

Ruffled Bowl From Etsy

 "Eat a good breakfast - there's no better meal to help fuel a great day." - Matt Bean

Let me first admit.  This oatmeal challenge has been hard.  It's easy the first few days when I can think of awesome new recipes but then after a while my mind kind of goes blank.  Fortunately I have this blog to keep me accountable (I would feel like I let you down if I didn't eat oatmeal for the full thirty days).  I do however apologize for not keeping up with the blog posts for the past 8 days.  So this post will be longer and full of new fun oatmeal recipes I hope you enjoy.

  Day 4, Saturday:

Today my husband, Shale and I went out for breakfast.  When he asked me if we could go to breakfast I told him I had to go somewhere that had oatmeal.  His response was "I can't believe you chose to have oatmeal at breakfast every day, you know breakfast is my favorite meal".  I'm still not 100% sure why he felt like he was being effected by the oatmeal challenge, it's not like he's been eating it.  He made me laugh though and we decided to go to our favorite place because I was sure they would have oatmeal of some sort.  They did!  It was served perfectly cooked with a side of milk, raisins and brown sugar.  I also asked for some of the fresh blueberries that they put in pancakes and she brought those.  I didn't use the milk as I don't really care for it but the brown sugar, blueberries and raisins were quite good together.  This just goes to show that if you ask for other toppings the restaurant will usually help you out.  You can see my amazing oatmeal goodness to the right.

Day 5, Sunday: Today I made the dates are great recipe that I made a few days prior.  You can see the recipe here.


Day 6, Monday:  The made-over oatmeal breakfast cookie
Today I was not desireing that oatmealy texture so I decided to experiment and I really loved this easy recipe (it didn't require me to stand over the stove)
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup of oats

1 small package of raisins
dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves
non-stick spray
1 tsp brown sugar substitutes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl break the egg and whisk as you would if you were going to make scrambled eggs. 
Add oats, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and brown sugar.
Spray the inside of a small oven-safe bowl or ramekin with non-stick spray
Place all ingredients in bowl/ramekin and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until light brown and set
Empty out onto a plate and enjoy!  See the finished project to the right.


Day 7, Tuesday:
Today I had breakfast with one of the girls that I mentor.   We went back to the restaurant Shale and I went to but today the oatmeal was NOT good.  It wasn't thick and creamy at all, in fact we kept joking that it was "oatmeal soup".  I managed to eat a few bites so that I had something for breakfast but this morning my main course for breakfast was my cup of coffee :)


Day 8, Wednesday:
Today I made the oatmeal raisin cookie oatmeal recipe that I made on day one and then finished it off in a ramekin in the oven to make the top crisp. DELICIOUS!

Day 9, Thursday: Oatmeal and Fruit Goodness
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Oats
3/4 cup of Milk
Blueberries
Chopped Dates
Raisins
dash of cinnamon
Honey
Cook oats in milk as directed
Remove from heat, stir in dates, raisins, blueberries, cinnamon, and honey
ENJOY!

Day 10, Friday: Tropical Pan-Seared Oatmeal
This is probably my second favorite recipe I have made so far.  I got the idea from a lady that I work with who mentioned going to a restaraunt and having pan seared oatmeal appetizers.  She said the oatmeal was cooked then seared in a pan and topped with cranberries, walnuts, raisins and a balsamic glaze. I've yet to try that combination but it sounds amazing and I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually!For today, however, I wanted to try a more tropical twist and being a Florida girl I had several oranges in my fridge that needed to be put to good use.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of oats
1/2 cup of milk
1 tbsp grated orange zest (see here for zesting tips)
1/4 cup of chopped dates

1/4 cup of shredded coconut (I keep this frozen in my freezer so I can use it whenever I need to toss it into something)
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp butter
On stove bring milk to boil (be careful will foam and may boil over)
Add oats and stir continuously for about 45 seconds or until all milk is absorbed (since you are using such a small amount of liquid your oats may burn if not stirred, but you need it to be very thick)
Remove from heat
Meanwhile heat up a skillet (I used cast iron due to the heat retention) to very hot
Stir orange zest, dates and cocconut into the oatmeal
Once pan is hot drop in butter
Add oatmeal in one heap (like you're making a pancake) on top of butter as soon as butter melts
Pat down to round (pancake-like) shape
As soon as one side brown flip to the other side
Remove from pan as soon as both sides are browned
This recipe has a crispy crunchy outside with a creamy cooked middle and really is delicious! The tropical flavors really make it taste fresh and you can really taste the orange all throughout!  It also turns out beautiful (see picture to right).
ENJOY!