Oatmeal ideas

But before you either

1. get angry at me for starting another oatmeal thread
2. get excited and post all 48697438 of your oatmeal recipes

I'd like you to read a little further.

I have been combing through a lot of the threads and websites on oatmeal recipes.  However, I am one of those people who don't like my oatmeal all mushy and stuff.  How do I get away with this in some of the recipes?  Every morning I cook my oatmeal by boiling my milk, adding the steel cut oats, and evaporating my milk away until there's even burnt milk sticking to the pan if I don't stir it enough.  Then I let it sit and cool, and after about 5 minutes my oats are nice and chewy (consistency of maybe brown rice?)  My question is, does anybody have any recipe ideas for this kind of non-mushy oatmeal (pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, and bananas are out)? Oh yeah, and I don't like it very sweet either, so fruit mix-ins would probably not be my thing either.  Sorry for all the pickiness ^^;  I just want to prevent my breakfast from becoming too boring (every morning I add either just cinnamon or instant coffee to it)

This is weird to most but... I like adding peanut butter to my oatmeal. It doesn't make it that mushy I don't think, but then again I'm not too picky when it comes to oatmeal.

WS, thanks for giving me a recipe for a mushy oatmeal. LOL. I have never been successful in cooking my oatmeal till it is mushy. we will trade recipes:)

I eat steel cut oats. I soak them in water overnight. in the morning, i cook them in some water and I stir very well, and reduce the heat. I add water till it is fully cooked.then I add milk, the milk takes only a minute to boil. 

I eat my oatmeal just like that. I don't wait for the milk to evaporate. the oatmeal is not mushy at all. and you can add cinnamon, blueberries, whatever you like.

:)

Oh, pumpkin pie spice is good on oatmeal too!

I don't cook my oatmeal.  I mix equal parts old fashioned oats, milk and non fat yogurt in a bowl and leave to soak overnight in the fridge.  The oats are still nice and chewy.

Soaking the oats overnight is a great idea. You can make your oatmeal as thick as you want by playing with the yogurt.

For variation, you can try pudding instead of yogurt. Jell-O has tons of flavors: butterscotch, cheesecake, white chocolate, pistachios, pumpkin, banana cream, egg custard, coconut and oreo are the ones I find the most interesting. :)

Hi,
I usually eat my oatmeal like a pankake or waffle.
I mix 1/4 cup milk with 1/3 cup of oatmeal & let the oatmeal absorb the milk (about 5 mins.) 
Then I add an egg & mixt again.
I usually cook it in a pan like a pankake but sometimes in my waffle iron.

Note: you can also add vanilla, maple or chocolat extract for more flavor.

I like my oats nice and thick too.

Things I add: Flavored coffee creamer 

Cocoa powder and TINY bit of brown sugar and cinnamon

Coconut flakes, crushed walnuts or almonds

Grated carrot and cinnamon

Vanilla or anise extract. Be careful with the anise though - tiny bit goes  a long way.

Also - this sounds weird - but cooking oats with some orange juice or orange zest and topping it with dried cranberries is really good. Its not sweet, more tangy than anything.

A semi- mashed banana actually adds some thickness and some chew and its not too sweet.

You might want to try savory oats as well - topped with parmesan cheese, cooked egg, scrambled veggies.

Also, overnight oats are excellent. You soak oats overnight in 1/4 cup milk and however much yogurt you want to use with a dash of some cinnamon and honey. Stays nice and chewy and its totally different.

I tried to soak steel cut oats  in yogurt overnight and it is a big NO NO:) 

soaking oats ( NOT STEEL CUT) in yogurt is great though. you can make museli. I haven't tried it but I hear it is delicious.

http://caloriecount.about.com/low-calorie-oat meal-rasin-cookies-recipe-r248384

an extremely low calorie oatmeal rasin cookie recipe i added. you can add rasins/walnuts/nuts or anything else that suits your fancy to even further personalize it to your tastes.

Hm, okay maybe I wasn't making myself very clear ^.^;

I don't like mushy texture at all.  What I mean by that is, I hate it when it could be as thick as yogurt.  I don't like the mouthfeel of any thickness.  I like it chewy and dry, which is why I always over-boil my milk until there is no liquid.  Sorry for the confusion >_<  Previous posters: if your method still ends up making it dry and chewy, please let me know ^.^;  I'm not too sure which people gave me recipes for thick ones that give a yogurt-like consistency, and which actually answered my question >_<

Original Post by darkylinky:

http://caloriecount.about.com/low-calorie-oat meal-rasin-cookies-recipe-r248384

an extremely low calorie oatmeal rasin cookie recipe i added. you can add rasins/walnuts/nuts or anything else that suits your fancy to even further personalize it to your tastes.

Thanks!  I don't like dried fruit in my oatmeal cookies, but I never thought about adding nuts.  I'll try that when I get access to an oven again. XD

OP: I usually make my cooked-oatmeals into a near-cake like consistency. As in, oats mold into the shape of the bowl kind of consistency.

Awesome! I really like your coconut/nut flavor idea - it really appeals to me.  And I'll give the cocoa powder a shot.  I have not tried anise, though.  Does it taste like star anise?

anise is the same flavoring they use in black liquorice. 

Could you not just half the liquid (or use less at least) in oatmeal recipes so that it comes out dry and chewy?

Original Post by dondons:

Could you not just half the liquid (or use less at least) in oatmeal recipes so that it comes out dry and chewy?

Most, if not all, of the creative oatmeal recipes I have seen involves putting in banana, yogurt, egg, or pumpkin puree to change the taste, all which thicken the consistency, but not necessarily makes it dry and chewy, which is why I was asking for recipes that don't thicken the mixture.

Perhaps make some sort of breakfast oatmeal bar in the oven? That way it would be completely non-liquidy. I'm sure finding a recipe would be quite easy, i've never actually made them myself though.

Haha, I realize that I'm being REALLY picky here, but I don't like them completely dry either if I put them in the oven   But I like the suggestions that some of the people here have suggested, and i will try them once I start the new semester in my new apartment =]

Jelly. Strawberry/grape jelly on top of plain oats is reallyyyyyy good. It doesn't mess up the consistency either, because I don't like mushy oats either.

WS, are you moving to a new apt?? is it a dorm or what? I am moving out too and it is really stressful. but I guess it is better if you have a nice kitchen so you can cook what you like.