October Oatmeal

My love affair with fall flavors continues, as it should for the remainder of this joyous season. It's all this pumpkin butter's fault!

I woke up yesterday (after getting a lot of sleep) and headed right into the kitchen where I got to work on a new recipe. What started as basic oatmeal quickly morphed into a warm, filling, bowl of autumn goodness!

Apples? Check!

Pumpkin? Check!

Cinnamon? Ginger? Allspice? Nutmeg? Check check check check!

All of these flavors have me singing a familiar song:

October Oatmeal

(Makes 2-3 servings)

2 ¼ cups water

¾ cup oats (I use Trader Joe's quick cook steel cut oats)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 medium-sized apple, chopped into small pieces (Honeycrisp are divine this time of year!)

3-4 tablespoons almond milk

3-4 tablespoons pumpkin butter

½ tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons of walnuts

• Bring the water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan.
• Add the oats and the spices and bring the water down to simmer.
• Cover the saucepan with a lid but make sure to stir frequently for about 4 minutes.
• At this point the liquid should be mostly absorbed, so mix in the almond milk and the apple and cover again.
• After a few more minutes, when the oatmeal has reached the desired consistency, remove from the stove.
• Stir in the pumpkin butter and the walnuts and top with a thin layer of brown sugar.
• Optional step: curl up in bed with a warm bowl of this and save the dishes for later :)

This oatmeal makes a perfect breakfast in bed or brunch addition. The recipe makes 2 large servings or 3 smaller servings, but if you're having a solo breakfast (embrace that “me” time!) you can refrigerate the leftover amount and reheat the next day like I did. I added a splash of almond milk this morning and zapped it in the microwave for a bit, and it was good to go!  

Warm, gooey, rich flavors. Heaven!