Saturday Morning Oatmeal

My husband and I both love a good bowl of oatmeal. I grew up eating packets of instant oatmeal from the microwave, but as an adult I've discovered that nothing beats slow-cooked, made-from-scratch oatmeal. This paticular recipe has become our Saturday morning favorite. Old-fashioned oats are cooked in a mixture of milk, egg, and brown sugar for a rich and creamy oatmeal that is sweet and delicious straight from the pan, or doctored up with your favorite toppings.  The recipe is slightly adapted from a recipe called "butterscotch oatmeal" that I found on allrecipes.com.

SATURDAY MORNING OATMEAL (serves 2 hungry people)

1 3/4 cup milk (I use skim, as it's what we keep on hand, but use something richer if you like!)

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 cup old-fashioned oats

Cinnamon (to taste)

1 Tbsp butter to finish (optional)

Add the egg and milk to a shallow saucepan (mine is 2 1/2 quarts) and beat well so that the egg is thoroughly incorporated. Wisk in the brown sugar and pinch of salt. Stir in the oats, and top with a few heavy shakes of cinnamon.



Once all of the ingredients are combined, turn the heat on low and allow the oatmeal to s-l-o-w-l-y heat, stirring often. Be patient. I've done this different ways, and I've found it's best to add everything to the cold pan, and then heat it together slowly. When I've rushed the heat, I ended up with a grainy texture and small pieces of cooked egg instead of the thick, smooth, custard-like consistency you want. Good Saturday Morning Oatmeal takes time!

Heat and stir over low heat until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble - I'd say it usually takes at least 10 minutes or so before it begins to bubble. Continue to cook the bubbling mixture a few more minutes until it is thick and creamy.

The thick, almost-finished oatmeal makes some great deep gurgling, burbling sounds as it cooks.

When the oatmeal looks like this, turn off the heat and stir in up to a tablespoon of butter to finish. Honestly, sometimes I forget to add the butter (like this morning) and the oatmeal is still wonderful, so just leave it out if you're worried about the extra fat. But it does add a nice richness.

Dish into two bowls and eat up! This oatmeal is delicious just as it is, but feel free to make it extra special with your favorite toppings. We've done sliced bananas and chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, or even chopped apples and a little extra cinnamon. Yum!