“Drive Thru” Breakfast at Home

My kids love, love, love oatmeal for breakfast, and sometimes they wake up so “HUNGER-Y” that there is just no time to waste in getting it on the table. Fixing our favorite oatmeal recipe in the microwave takes ten minutes, but now we can get it on the table in two.

I made a double batch using the original, stove top directions (bring to a boil over low heat and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 15 minutes.) because I don’t have a microwave safe dish big enough for a double batch. I made the version without fruit, then I spooned it into muffin cups and let it cool. I froze them until they were solid, then I ran hot water over the back to release them. Just hold a cookie sheet face to face with the muffin tin and squeeze them together so your oatmeal doesn’t fall out into the sink while you are doing the release. Also, I found out that my heavy-duty “high end” tin did not work for this. The oatmeal didn’t release, but the thinner no-stick tin worked perfectly, as you can see.

I put the oatmeal “muffins” in a container and when we want oatmeal for breakfast on the double, we top two of them with some fruit and microwave them on high for a minute.

You’ll notice my version has no sugar. Depending on how sweet your fruit is, you may find that you don’t want any. For more tart fruits, we sweeten each serving to taste. Ian calls this version “put together” oatmeal, because the applesauce makes it thicker than the microwave oatmeal he has enjoyed in the past. After initially refusing to try it, he now will eat oatmeal no other way. (Woe betide us if we run out of apple sauce in this house!)