On a cold winter morning, like this morning, a bowl of cold cereal or a slice of toast and yogurt just does not fit the bill in our house.   I make oatmeal frequently for my husband to take to work (he likes to hit the office early and weed through the previous evenings emails and such before the “official” work day staff moves in)--but, I seem to forget how easy it is to serve oatmeal for the rest of the family as well.  In only a few minutes, our girls can have oatmeal with a variety of their favorite mix-ins--without an overpriced, dehydrated packet of premixed ingredients!  This morning, we took my husband’s favorite oatmeal add-ins:  raisins and walnuts--and mixed it with my usual cinnamon and brown sugar.  A filling, 5-minute breakfast of Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Raisins and Walnuts was on the table--with only one pan and a few bowls to wash!

Ingredients for Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Raisins and Walnuts (1 Serving)
1 cup of Water
½ c. Quick Cooking Oats
¼ c. Raisins
¼ c. Chopped Walnuts
1 tsp. Brown Sugar or Honey
¾ tsp. Cinnamon

Instructions for Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Raisins and Walnuts

Boil the water.  In a saucepan, bring 1 c. of water to a boil.

Cook the oatmeal ingredients and serve warm.  Add the raisins, oatmeal, nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes over low heat.  I like to "cook" the raisin to let them re-hydrate a little in the boiling water rather than simply mixing them in dry--but, you could certainly prepare several servings of the oatmeal and let everyone mix in their own "extra" ingredients at the table.  Serve warm.

Fast and easy--the way most of our weekday breakfasts must be!  You can easily adjust the servings to suit the number needed--and can even follow microwave instructions on the oatmeal packaging, and add the additional ingredients prior to microwaving, to make it a one bowl cleanup!