Oatmeal is definitely a comfort food for me.  When I eat it in the morning it sits in my tummy and says,

“Your day is gonna be awesome”. 

I started making this oatmeal quite a few years ago and I love it (some of our frequent guests even ask for it which is sooo sweet).  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Starbucks oatmeal, but nothing beats making oatmeal in pjs and slippers. Kinda saves money too.

To start, I’ll try to share how I make my browned butter (I’m no pro…just sharing).  On a lot of days I will just use olive oil but I’ll show you the “real” way here:

Oatmeal with brown butter apples

2 medium apples, peeled and diced

1/2 c. raisins

1 1/2 c. old fashioned or steel-cut oats

3 cups nonfat milk (or your choice of liquid)

dash of sea salt

1/4 c. butter

1/3 c. brown sugar (or to taste)

1 tsp cinnamon, plus a dash for garnish

sliced apples for garnish (optional)

Start by putting the milk and oatmeal in the pot with a dash of sea salt, on medium-low heat.  Stir it every few minutes so the milk doesn’t scorch.  I start it first because I cook mine for a looong time…at least 30-45 minutes.  You can cook it less, I just prefer mine to be super-creamy and not chewy. However, nonfat milk has less of a tendency to scorch because of it’s lower fat content.

Second, dice the apples and measure the raisins.  That way, they are ready to toss in the butter after you make it below.

Third, begin melting the butter in a pan.  Basically, you are trying to brown it without burning it to create the brown butter.  Shake it every 10 seconds or so.  Stay right next to it, though, as it changes pretty fast.  The top 3 photos show the slight changes leading to the slightly golden brown result which will smell like toasted butter.

Yes, toasted butter is possible and you maybe didn’t even know it.

Yes, it’s awesome.

Fourth,  toss the apples in the butter and saute until slightly golden brown.  Add the raisins.

Fifth, add the brown sugar to the pan.  As it mixes it will form a kind of caramel with the butter.

  Last, add the apple mixture to the oatmeal pan and cook until your desired consistency.

I always serve mine with sliced apples and a dash of cinnamon.  I’ve been doing it forever and ever so it’s really not just for show.

Ask my family.

It really does cheer my spirits up, though.  You should try it :)

It has been an awesome few weeks for me.  Yes, there have been whiny children that beat up on each other, a traveling husband, a few rough school days, and some disappointing pieces of news.  However, when I think about the last few weeks I think about…

laughter

More than almost anything in friendship, I love laughing together.  I’ve been doing a lot of it and LOVING it.

It makes all of my cares melt away and I go to sleep very thankful for God giving me people I can laugh with.

I’ve also been doing some, dare I say, cleansing things in my life.  I recently cleaned out nearly my entire house (feel awesome!).  I attacked drawers and closets.  I pretty much just have my craft supplies and one counter-top and I should be good.  I fully expect it to build up again, but if you don’t do it a few times a year you might show up on that hoarders show or something.

That would be bad.

I also cleaned out my social “spaces”.  I’ve been really focusing on being a good friend and being there for people who might need me right now in February, not just someday when my kids are grown and I “get the time”.  As an extension of this, I went through my ENTIRE facebook and twitter pages and “hid” people who were negative influences.  I made a decision last year at this time to lessen my facebook presence on my personal facebook page.  I felt super-bummed when my friends were only reaching out to me through facebook comments so I learned from this experience and applied the changes to my own life.  A “like” doesn’t mean nearly as much as uplifting words shared over a cup of coffee or tea.  The lines of friendship are so skewed over the internet.  I love keeping up with people so I just tried to refocus my efforts to the real-life friendships I have while also not feeling guilty for every relationship I can’t invest in (so hard!).

I also want to have encouraging people around with common goals.

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