Morning Glory Oatmeal

Years ago I worked at a bakery and I remember one of the best muffins they sold was the Morning Glory muffin. Packed with carrots, coconut, walnuts, and a few raisins, it was definitely one of the tastiest ones that I tried. So this morning, while the kids were still snoozing, I decided to see if I could recreate the flavors, but in the form of oatmeal. I figured it would be a relatively healthy breakfast and I was curious to see if it would turn out or not. In my opinion, it turned out great.  My kids were on the fence...it wasn't as sweet as their usual oatmeal where they add brown sugar to it, but I thought it was plenty sweet. Overall they liked it though, and everyone ate their full bowl. Keep in mind that this will taste good with other additions or, if you're like us, go minimal--or not at all--on the raisins or whatever ingredient maybe isn't your favorite. The end product will still taste good!

I made a larger batch of this as we have a larger than average sized family, so you can feel free to cut the recipe down for your family, or else have some leftovers to enjoy another day! Either way, the key to good oatmeal is to use a ratio of 2:1 with twice as much liquid as oatmeal when you're making it.

Ingredients:

3 c. Oatmeal
6 c. Water (notice the 2:1 ratio here!)
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
Pinch of Salt
2 Carrots, shredded finely (mine were so fine you could see them, but they were not at all crunchy)
1 Apple, shredded finely
Raisin (whole or chopped...or not at all! I didn't use many and I chopped them up into smaller pieces)
Shredded Coconut--sweetened or unsweetened, your choice
Nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts or almonds would also work well)
Additional shredded coconut
Maple Syrup--a splash for a bit of sweetness and a finishing garnish

Start out by putting the oatmeal, water, and spices in a large pot on the stovetop.

Next, you'll want to start shredding and chopping...

Carrots:

Apples: 

Raisins:

And then toss everything you've shredded and chopped, including the coconut, into the oatmeal mixture, stirring to combine well. Cooking the coconut and raisins in the oatmeal allows them to rehydrate a bit and of course, it softens the carrots and apples to a nice texture. 

Cook over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. The oatmeal will bubble and thicken up. Make sure you stir it from time to time so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove it from the heat when it's the thickness you like.

After about 9 minutes, my oatmeal was pretty much to the consistency I wanted.

While the oatmeal cooked, I chopped up some pecans to garnish each bowl with.

When the oatmeal was done cooking, I served it up in a bowl, topping each one with a generous sprinkle of pecans, more shredded coconut, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Hope you enjoy this twist on a muffin-turned-oatmeal breakfast!