Do you ever wonder why you do some things? A few weeks ago, I searched high and low on the internet for a steel cut oats recipe. I used to buy it in the frozen food section at Trader Joe's, but thought I would try to save money by making steel cut oats myself.
I had read that making steel cut oats was time consuming and was looking for a shorter alternative. I had tried making steel cut oats in the crockpot a few times and was satisfied with the results. They weren't great. But I uninstalled the browser I was using and I couldn't find the crockpot recipe. I tried different search engines. I found one recipe that looked promising so I tried it that night. Yuck! It was not tasty at all. Every time, I searched for steel cuts oats, one of the first results was a recipe by Alton Brown on the Food Network website. After wasting more time on the internet than it would have taken to make steel cut oats on the stove, I decided to try to the Alton Brown recipe.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups boiling water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
pinch of salt (optional)
Directions
In a non-stick pan, melt the butter and add the oats. Stir for 2 minutes to toast.
Boil water in saucepan, add brown sugar and vanilla, and stir.
Add the oats to the boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer.
Simmer low for 25 minutes. Do not stir.
Add the milk to the oats; stir gently to combine and cook for 10 more minutes.
Stir occasionally to keep oats from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
Makes four servings. I like to serve with toasted almonds and fresh fruit on top.
Lesson learned - sometimes you don't save any time by trying to save time. Oh well!
I'm not really an oatmeal person, but the combination of this wretched weather with your charming photos is enough to make me reconsider!
ReplyDeleteA friend made steel cut oats for brunch one day with apples and it was so yummy. I think the I like the texture much more the regular oatmeal.
DeleteI have read that if you soak the steel cut oats overnight, it cuts the cooking time.
ReplyDeleteI like taking rolled oats (old fashioned) and soaking them in milk overnight, and then popping them in the microwave for about a minute and a half -- then eating with walnuts and blueberries.
I read an article by Mark Bittman stating the same thing about soaking the oats. I will try this out.
DeleteLike Patricia, I'm not much of an oatmeal person but I guess if I could load it up with brown sugar and blueberries it wouldn't be too bad. :)
ReplyDeleteI think the brown sugar makes it's much tastier for me. :)
DeleteI take 1 cup steel-cut oats, 3 cups water, and pinch of salt, put it in an oven-safe pot, and put it in the oven, uncovered, at 300° for 1 hour. Take it out, let it cool, put it in a bowl in the fridge. Then it only takes me a minute or 2 to scoop some out and microwave in the mornings. Add in whatever you like: almond milk and almond butter; fruit and granola; butter and brown sugar; maple syrup and nuts; eggs and green or red chile; cheese and kale...
ReplyDeleteI've always thought of steel cut oats as a sweet not a savory, but I love the green or red chile idea. Granola sounds good, too.
DeleteYou're making me hungry, Theta. If you're ever looking for a different recipe, the one I use is on the can (tin) of my favorite: John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal. I add cinnamon, ginger, raisins and buttermilk, which you might want to skip. Now, I'm making me hungry.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, I'm too cheap to buy McCann's oatmeal. But I might have to check out a can so I can see the recipe. Ginger, cinnamon and raisins sound delicious.
DeleteI don't like oatmeal, either. But it sounds like something warm and soothing to have on a cold morning. I do, however, know about getting lost in the internet, and wasting lots of time on it!
ReplyDeleteI've learned so much on the internet, especially on YouTube for fixing things around the house. But it definitely is a time waster.
DeleteI love oatmeal...grew up on the stuff having an English dad. I will try this recipe it looks delicious. Plus I could never eat enough blueberries!
ReplyDeleteI think toasting the oats makes it so good. I've also added more brown sugar, too.
DeleteI've pinned this...how did you add the Pin It button to your blog post?
ReplyDeleteIf you use blogger, follow the instructions on this blog: Pin It button. Read the instruction in their entirety. It ended up being easier than I thought it would be.
DeleteHope the instructions work for you!
DeleteI've never tried making my own steel cut oats, and I'm impressed you tried it! Sounds very healthy. :)
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't so hard to make after all, but I did learn that the hard way. :)
DeleteLove oatmeal but stopped eating it years ago..this yummy warm dish may be just the thing to start again...I know how it is when you try and save time and it ends up taking longer...
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of like trying to do something yourself, when asking for help would have saved a lot of time. :)
DeleteSteel cut are better for you, less processed, I guess?? I eat oats 2-3 times/week on the South Beach Diet, but the steel cut are four times the price of the old fashioned!! That has stopped me plus the longer cooking time is a deal breaker! Yours look awesome and the photo alone is a real motivator to try them!
ReplyDeleteSissy, I think you're about them being less processed. I buy them in bulk so I'm not sure about the price point, but they keep me fuller for longer than old fashioned.
DeleteYum--I'm going to try your recipe tomorrow morning! (But I confess in advance to almost never following a recipe exactly.)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, yum! Looks like a good choice for breakfast tomorrow! Thanks for sharing the info!
ReplyDeletehealthy and looks delicious!
ReplyDelete