Sunday, April 24, 2011

Weekend Cooking - Elvis Oatmeal

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

For more information, see the Welcome post on Beth Fish Reads.

I don't really have a recipe today. It's more of a variation that I found on the internet some time ago. I can't remember where, but I make it whenever I can. I know that spring isn't really the time for rib-sticking oatmeal, but if you love oatmeal as much as I do, you can eat it all year long. We do.

Elvis Oatmeal

When the oatmeal is about two-thirds done, mix in some peanut butter (I use 2 tablespoons for 4 servings). Stir until melted. Add a couple of dashes to cinnamon and some chopped banana. Stir to combine. If the oatmeal gets too thick, add a little hot water (boiling if you have it) to thin it out a bit. Remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Eat. I like to add some milk to mine, but it's just as good without.

That's the basics, but I usually add a second fruit. If I have Medjool dates on hand, I'll chop 4-5 of those and throw them in with the banana. I think the combination of oatmeal and dates is to die for. Another option would be a small handful of raisins. Also, I like to sprinkle ground flax seed on my oatmeal just before eating it. However, it floats on top of the milk and then sticks to the side of the bowl. I discovered that if I sprinkle it in my bowl before adding the oatmeal it doesn't float and I get to eat all of the goodness.

Enjoy!

*****

When spring finally upon us, I decided to tackle some spring cleaning in the kitchen pantry. I've never done it before. I usually just toss stuff as I come across it, but I've lost track of stuff that's been in there too long. This time I'm going to make an effort to re-evaluate it all and get it organized. Recently, I made a cheesecake with some very stale and bad tasting graham cracker crumbs. They were so bad, I threw out the cheesecake along with the rest of the crumbs. I was so disappointed. I know there probably a lot more than can be tossed.

So, do you spring clean your pantry? Have you ever found anything in there and wonder where it came from? Or do you keep on top of it and clean as you go? Or a little of both?

For other food-related posts this week, click here.

5 comments:

  1. I wish I could say that I kept on top of my pantry, but alas, no. I try to do a major cleaning of the spices and pantry a couple of times a year. I'm of the school that says, When in doubt, throw it out. I don't keep anything I'm not sure of, even though that's not very economical.

    I love dates and bananas in my oatmeal, but never combined them. And with the peanut butter? Yummmmm. (but I use a fake peanut butter because of an allergy)

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  2. We eat oatmeal year round. I must say it has never occurred to me to add peanut butter but now that I think about it, it sounds good enough to try the next time I make it.

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  3. Just the other day, I was just thinking of making something with oatmeal again. After reading your post, I think I will just go and do that!

    Spring cleaning, you're right, it's about time to clean out the pantries. I don't even know what's lurking at the back of some of them...

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  4. My husband always makes the porridge which I eat with raisins and sugar. I'm intrigued by the idea of using peanut butter.

    Pantry: yes, I've come across foods that were best before 2 years ago but generally I catch them before it gets that bad and toss them or eat them depending on how far over date they are.

    Good luck with the spring cleaning.

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  5. Great addtions to the oatmeal.

    The pantry isn't a problem, it's the freezers. Can hardly put anything in the fridge one as it's too full of old unlabeled stuff. Is that a little nudge I feel pushing me to clean it up???

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your comment. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I've been getting lots of spam comments, so I'm turning on word verification to help keep spammers away. I know it's a pain; I don't like it either. Hopefully, in time I'll be able to turn it off again. Thank you!