Yesterday, I made a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Usually I cook two portions of everything I make so I can have leftovers and if I’m feeling lazy, a meal or a snack after a 3:00 pop in the microwave. I followed the recipe on the container, but added two peeled, cored and cubed apples, about a cup of raisins, a cinnamon stick that I pulled out after the oatmeal was cooked, some raw sugar, and some fresh-grate nutmeg.

If you pour oatmeal into a rectangular sealed container and let it chill overnight, oatmeal gels a bit and holds it shape. So I got a nice sharp knife and a flat skillet with some peanut oil, sliced up the oatmeal into half inch thick pieces, and dropped it into the hot non-stick skillet with about 2 teaspoons of oil.  It caramelized/seared a bit on both sides. Earlier this week, I put a can of condensed milk in a saucepan on low heat for about an hour. That turns the condensed milk into a delicious milk caramel (dulce de leche). I poured some over the oatmeal slices and then sprinkled with some chopped pecans.

Not your normal bowl of oatmeal, eh?

Dig in.