Fall Harvest Steel Cut Oats

I know it's not fall, it's the middle of winter!  But this would be tasty anytime of year.  It doesn't take long to prepare, especially if you are like me and prepare oats Sunday night for the whole week.

Elvis Oats

These are the oats that Elvis would eat if he were still here.  Chocolate, banana and peanut butter. . . does it get much better than that?  I think you need to try this, daily!

Tropical Steel Cut Oats

This little concoction was surprisingly very tasty.  Not that I didn't expect it to be good, but it was better than I had expected, which is always a good thing.  Let's discuss oats for a moment.  Growing up I had a sever dislike for oatmeal.  I couldn't understand why people ate it, it was slimy and just down right tasted like cardboard no matter how much butter and brown sugar I loaded into it.  About 4 or 5 years ago I decided to give it another try, only this time I bought the microwave packets that are already flavored for you (probably loaded with tons of sugar that I don't need).  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.  Honestly, up until about 2 months ago I didn't know the difference between oatmeal and steel cut oats.  I was reading several different blogs that had recipes for either oatmeal or steel cut oats.  After doing a little bit of research on the web I found out that its the way the oats are processed that makes the difference.  I had never tried steel cut oats so I went to the store and bought some.  I have to tell you that I prefer them way more than oatmeal.  If you aren't a big fan of oatmeal you might want to give steel cut oats a try, you might find you love them as much as I do.  And HERE is my secret to preparing them.

Chai Spiced Steel Cut Oats

I've just recently discovered steel cut oats.  Honestly, I didn't like them at first, but I'd made more than one serving and didn't want to waste them.  I put the leftovers in the fridge and saved them for another morning.  The first morning when I made them they were kind of slimy and I didn't enjoy the texture at all.  Reluctantly, a few mornings later I decided I better eat them before they went bad.  I scooped out a serving, popped them into the microwave to warm them up and added my usual toppings to them.  Imagine how happy I was to find out that after them sitting in the fridge a day they actually changed their texture.  There wasn't anymore sliminess to them and they were wonderful!  So now, when I want steel cut oats I make them the night before and store them in the fridge.  It makes life a lot easier in the morning even if they weren't better after "resting" in the fridge overnight.  Give it a try if you are like me and find oats to be a little slimy after first cooking them.