Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

I love a good bowl of oatmeal in the morning, and once Fall comes around I find apple-cinnamon is the only way to go.  In the Spring I like berries, in the winter I like berries and nuts, but in the Fall this version is King.

We used to eat the pre-packaged instant oatmeal, but as I had kids and became more wary of what I was letting them eat I decided it was time to find an alternative.  Once you try this, you will never want to go back to the pre-packaged.

You can easily adjust this recipe to your tastes...if you like more cinnamon, go for it.  If you have more of a sweet tooth a little extra sugar might be for you.  If you are a vanilla fan, add an extra splash.  Oh, and if you are one of those freaky people who has extra time in the morning you can make this with old-fashioned slow oats too.

This recipe makes enough for one person, but it can easily be doubled, or tripled.

No matter what, this meal is a quick and easy way to start your day off right.



Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup instant oats
1 cup medium diced apple
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Put one cup of water and a pinch of salt into a small pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  Add 1/2 cup of instant oats, turn the heat to medium-high, and stir occasionally until the oats begin to plump and there is very little water left.  This should take 1-2 minutes.  Turn off the heat.

Add the brown sugar to the oatmeal and stir.  Add the apples and stir again.

Now you can add the cinnamon and vanilla and stir.  Pour the contents of the pot into a bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes before eating.  Yum!

An Apple A Day...

When we lived in Wisconsin we had a beautiful old apple tree in our backyard that produced an insane amount of apples.  Like Strega Nona's pot, the supply of food from my tree was never ending.  For several weeks every Fall we would pick apples and make fantastic creations with our bounty.  My favorite by far though was always making apple sauce...

I am not a canner...I worry too much about food safety and was paranoid that I would not get it right and kill us all, so I almost always just made my applesauce for the refrigerator or freezer (except the one year when my expert canner friend offered to come over and help me...thank goodness for people who know things that I do not).

After trying a few different ways to make applesauce, I realized that my favorite is skin on, no sugar, touch of cinnamon, true perfection.

I love Texas, but I really miss my apples...

Elizabeth's Applesauce  

Ingredients:
However many apples you have (usually 3-5 pounds works best), cut from the core in a large dice
1-2 cups of water, you can always add more if needed
2 cinnamon sticks

Directions:
Place the apples into a large pot and pour in 1 cup of water.  The water should just cover the bottom of the pan around the apples.  If the water does not quite cover the bottom of the pan add an additional cup of water.  Bury the cinnamon sticks in the apples and place the pot over medium high heat.  When the mixture starts to bubble turn the heat down to medium low and simmer.

Cook the mixture until the apples are quite tender and then remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.  When the mixture has cooled removed the cinnamon sticks and discard them.
Place an immersion blender into the applesauce and blend until you reach your desired consistency.  Spoon the applesauce in freezer safe jars and put them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.  (Make sure that you leave at least an inch of headspace for possible expansion during freezing.  They can also go straight into the refrigerator if you plan to eat it immediately...

But...

I feel that I would be remiss if I did not mention that the absolute best way to eat this applesauce is warm from the stovepot.  Try it, you won't regret it.

(NOTE: If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a potato masher, or you can put it into a regular blender.  If you put it into a regular blender you need to cool it for an additional 10-15 minutes and use caution as hot items in blenders can cause burns.)