If you’re bored with your breakfast, this is a great way to change up that plain old bowl of oatmeal. And it’s so easy. All you have to do is cook a batch of oatmeal, pour it into a baking dish to cool, cut it, sear it, and top it with fruit, nuts and syrup. It turns out kind of like an oatmeal cookie that looks a bit like french toast. Yum. This recipe uses steel-cut oatmeal, which takes longer to cook than instant oatmeal because steel-cut oats go through less processing. (Steel-cut is the whole grain groat cut into pieces.)

I cooked the oatmeal Sunday night, put the baking dish in the fridge, and every morning this week I’ve cut a few pieces and pan-seared them for breakfast. There are many different recipes available, although most of them call for pan-searing the oatmeal in butter. As an alternative, Pam cooking spray works really well. This particular recipe is on the Get Off Your Tush and Cook website. I added the apple cider syrup to the recipe, but it’s wonderful served with maple syrup as well.

Pan-Seared Oatmeal
 

Ingredients
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 cup non-diary milk (I used almond)
  • ¼ cup loosely packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups steel-cut (Irish) oats
  • Cooking spray for searing
Apple Cider Syrup
  • Boil 2 cups of apple cider for about 30 minutes until reduced to ¼ cup
Topping Ideas
  • fresh fruit (banana, pear, apple, berries), dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, apricots), nuts (pecans, almonds, hazelnuts)…the possibilities are ENDLESS!

Instructions
  1. Combine water, apple cider, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in oats. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Spoon oatmeal into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until set.
  2. Use a sharp knife to cut the oatmeal into 8 equal rectangles; cut each rectangle in half diagonally to form 16 triangles.
  3. Spray cooking spray in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 8 oatmeal triangles; cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oatmeal triangles. Top with your favorite fruit, nuts, dried fruit, and a drizzle of syrup.