Banana Blueberry Peanut Butter Oatmeal

I love oatmeal. And I love coming up with new ideas for ingredients and flavors to add to my oatmeal. This past weekend I made a tasty combination that I thought was blog worthy, so here I am to share it with you!

The ingredients are simple and wholesome - oats, water, milk, banana, blueberries, peanut butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Easy! It was a cool, rainy weekend here in Boston; enjoying a warm bowl of this oatmeal for breakfast really hit the spot!

Ingredients:

-1 cup water

-1 cup milk (I used 1%)

-dash of salt

-1 cup old-fashioned oats

-1 tsp. butter

-1 banana (preferably not too ripe but not green either)

-1 Tbsp. peanut butter

-1/2 to 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1/2 cup fresh blueberries

-1 to 2 tsp. real maple syrup (optional)

Instructions:

Bring water, milk, and dash of salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. In the meantime, while the water/milk is coming to a boil, slice the banana into 1/4-inch round slices. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add the banana slices and cook until soft and caramelized, about 2 to 3 minutes each side. Be careful not to burn the bananas. They should be lightly golden browned though.

Once the water/milk has come to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. Keep an eye on the oats, stirring occasionally until liquids are absorbed. This should be about 5 to 7 minutes but may vary depending on your stove/heat. Nearing the end of cooking the oats, add the peanut butter and cinnamon and stir well to incorporate it into the oats. Remove from heat, and fold in blueberries. If desired, add a drizzle of maple syrup at this time. Dish into bowls and serve while hot. Enjoy! Makes two servings.

As for the oatmeal itself, I added one cup of water and one cup of milk. I like to add milk to my oatmeal since it makes the oatmeal a little more rich and creamy. You are welcome to only add water for the liquid though, if you'd like, or you can use milk for the entire two cups. Or, use half and half like I did!

I wish I had taken a picture of just the caramelized bananas for you. They were so pretty. :) And in my dish of oatmeal, you can't really see any bananas (but they're in there, I promise!). The caramelized bananas added a really nice sweetness to the dish. So good! And the blueberries were a great addition too; each one added a nice little burst of fruity sweetness!

I couldn't resist adding a few more sprinkles of cinnamon to my oatmeal before I ate it. I looove my cinnamon!

Nice little plug for Tufts, my brother's alma mater, with that mug. He was here in Boston visiting us this weekend, so of course, I had to use my Tufts mug!!

I already want to make this exact bowl of oats again! Hmmm, perhaps that will be tomorrow morning's breakfast. It is a three-day weekend, after all, and that means more time in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have enough time on a weekday morning to make oats like this! I just don't take a lot of time to prepare breakfasts on the weekdays.

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I suppose I should have added some red to this bowl (strawberries perhaps??) to make it a more patriotic breakfast for Memorial Day weekend! I hope everyone takes the time to pause and reflect on the reasons we celebrate this national holiday. Please remember our military veterans who have served our country with honor and bravery!