French Toast Overnight Oatmeal

There are some recipes that take me forever to get right. Then, there are others that turn out exactly as I had imagined on the first try (like my Carrot Cake Oatmeal and Peanut Butter Cookie Baked Oatmeal).

Add this one to the list!

Admittedly, I spent a while mentally concocting this one, but after I bought some pitted dates, it all came together. This is the first time I've used dates in a recipe (let alone oatmeal), and I must say, I'm impressed! Letting it soak with the oatmeal overnight softened it up and let the oatmeal absorb the sweetness. It was the perfect amount of sweetness, especially when I added a touch of maple syrup on top.

Overnight Orange Dreamsicle Oatmeal

When I was younger, my family and I could eat through a gallon of ice cream within a few days. My dad and I would eat bowl after bowl in one sitting. The favorite in our household was plain old vanilla (usually topped with chocolate syrup). However, sometimes my mom got "fancy" and bought us Orange Blossom.

If you don't know what that is, it's vanilla ice cream swirled with orange sherbet. Mmmmm. It's the ice cream version of orange "dreamsicle," which I believe is one of the world's best flavors. :)

Dark Chocolate and Grapefruit Oatmeal

This recipe is only for those who love bitter. Sweet tooths need not read on.

First, you take a bitter grapefruit. Then, you stir in some bitter dark cocoa powder. Then, you top it with some more bitter grapefruit. If you're wrinkling your nose, then save yourself some time and just click here instead. If you're salivating like I was, read on.

Cranberry Sauce

Because of Thanksgiving weekend, I knew I wouldn't have a chance to create a new recipe (I was in Philadelphia with my roommate). I considered doing a "round-up" of recipes with a Thanksgiving theme, or even a list of ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers in your oatmeal. I still think the second idea would be awesome, but I don't actually have any leftovers except for stuffing, which would NOT go well in oatmeal. :)

But one thing I did have was cranberry sauce. Got extra cranberry sauce? Use it in your oatmeal! Either stir it in, or drizzle it on top...

You may have to wait until next year for more ideas of how to use leftovers in your oatmeal. ;)

Also, a new recipe is coming tomorrow!

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Maple-Nut Sauce

I was so thrilled to see the feedback for my Berry-Ginger Sauce! You guys unanimously supported the idea of more topping recipes, which is really exciting for me! It's often hard to have everything on hand to create a new oatmeal recipe, but new topping recipes are comparatively easy to produce.

This one, for example, is only two ingredients, and it goes beautifully with the French Toast Baked Oatmeal from earlier this week. It would also be delish on Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal or Banana / Banana Baked Oatmeal.

French Toast (Green Monster) Baked Oatmeal

I've never, ever, ever been a pancake-and-waffle kind of person (unless we're talking about my banana-oat waffles...). When it came to my brunch option of choice, I would always pick french toast. My mom would make it using English muffin bread, which gave it such an interesting taste. It's hard for me to fathom using French bread or other fancy breads to make French toast because I'm so fond of the English muffin version (try it sometime!)

French Toast Oatmeal is actually one of the first recipes I made on my own after I gave up the Quaker instant packets. I made it on the stove, and it matched the flavor so perfectly that it made me fall in love with making my own oatmeal. If I'm not mistaken, it was the first "homemade oatmeal" I ever made that I didn't hate. :)

Blueberry Almond Baked Oatmeal

Happy Saturday, fellow oatmeal lovers!

It's so nice to have a Saturday morning at home again. I returned to my usual weekend morning routine of simultaneously making oatmeal and cleaning the kitchen. Why is cleaning the kitchen so cathartic to me?

Overnight Choco-Raspberry Oatmeal

It's amazing (or perhaps just frustrating) how being away for a weekend can throw off my blog schedule so much. It's been six days since my last post! You'd think after a break like this, I'd have some elaborate concoction to share, but alas, this one is pretty simple (but nevertheless delicious!).

My roommies and I went to Boston over the weekend. Considering it's one of the top three U.S. cities I've ever wanted to visit (along with San Francisco and New Orleans!), I was so grateful to have that opportunity. I love my life right now!

Overnight Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

My Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal was a hit. The Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal was also a hit. (Confession: despite the fact that the stove-top version has more views, I highly prefer the baked version!) So why not give the people what they want?

Now you can enjoy silky pumpkin pie that practically prepared itself overnight. You're welcome. :)

Funny story: the second time I made this, I accidentally dumped in a spoonful of TACO SEASONING instead of pie spices. Ugh.

Berry-Ginger Sauce

To be honest, I'd be happy eating "boring" oatmeal forever. A simple peanut butter and banana oatmeal makes me absolutely giddy. However, because I own an oatmeal blog where people come to see new and creative ideas, I have to get fancy sometimes. For those of you who like getting fancy, this one's for you.

Toppings make things special. Just throwing chocolate chips on my oatmeal gets me all excited, so imagine how I felt drizzling on spoonfuls of BRIGHT RED DELICIOUSNESS.

Elvis's Oatmeal

When my roommate told me that NYC was still without power below 26th Street, a few places ran through my head. What did Union Square look like? Was Trader Joe's alright? Did Beyond Sushi weather the storm?

And what about PEANUT BUTTER AND CO.??!!

If you haven't heard of Peanut Butter and Co., it's a tiny little shop on Sullivan Avenue (off Bleeker St.) that specializes in peanut butter sandwiches. I'm serious: check out their menu. It's one of my absolutely favorite places in the city. Not only do I love gourmet peanut butter sandwiches, but the staff there is positively delightful, and the decor is retro and fun.

Baked Banana Oatmeal & Variations

If I wanted to, I could create ten billion recipes of just baked oatmeal based on bananas. So many possibilities!

I liked that idea at first:  more posts, right? However, I didn't want to look like a cheater. Is it fair to share a recipe for baked banana oatmeal, and two days later, post a recipe for baked chai-spiced banana oatmeal?? Nope. So to be fair, I'm going to consolidate it all into one fantastic post packed with fun ideas!