30 Days of Oatmeal: Vegan Red Bean

It's time for a savory oatmeal recipe! This one is reminiscent of vegan red beans and rice. (Shameless plug: I'm a big fan of the Budget Bytes recipe blog. Beth Moncel's recipes are savory, scrumptious, and low cost.)

Anyway, back to the oats. In this recipe, I incorporated the creaminess of oats with the traditional spices of red beans. (I used pinto beans in lieu of red beans, however, as that is all we had in the house.) I added salsa to emulate the onion and peppers usually added to red beans.

Try this recipe and tell me what you think!

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
1/4 t garlic
1/4 t thyme
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t smoked paprika
Dash cayenne
1/2 c pinto beans (or red beans if you have them)
2 T medium salsa

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring oats and water in a boil. Lower to a simmer.
2. When oats reach desired consistency, stir in the spices. Then add the salsa.
3. Fold in the beans and allow them to warm.
4. Transfer the oatmeal to a bowl and enjoy!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pizza Parfait

 Are you a fan of cold leftover pizza for breakfast? Some are. Some aren’t. I’d probably put myself in the later category.

The Oatmeal Artist has a great pizza porridge recipe, but I wanted to go a bit different. I wanted a quick, on-the-go, savory version. So I went parfait style.

This recipe tastes exactly like a piece of cold cheese pizza, a good piece of cheese pizza-the kind that comes from a pizzeria, not a pizza chain. The spices I added tasted right for me, but feel free to adjust them to your own personal taste.

Ingredients:

½ c quick cooking oats, divided

½ c tomato sauce*, divided

½ c plain yogurt (I used Mountain High Dairy’s whole milk yoghurt**)

¼ t dried basil

¼ t dried oregano

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Sea salt

Directions:

1. Mix together ¼ c oats, ¼ c tomato sauce, and ¼ t oregano. Layer in the bottom of a one cup jar.

2. Add a layer of ¼ c yogurt, topped with a sprinkle of garlic powder and sea salt.

3. Mix together ¼ c oats, ¼ c tomato sauce, and ¼ t basil. Layer in jar.

4. Add another layer of ¼ c yogurt, topped with a sprinkle of onion powder and sea salt.

5. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least eight hours.

*I used home-canned tomato sauce, which can be runnier than store-bought. Adjust liquid amounts as needed.

**Use whole milk yogurt for best flavor. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt will be runnier and have less flavor.

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Chili Cheese

Maybe I should have called this recipe risotto. I didn't taste the chili as much as I tasted the oregano, and with the addition of pumpkin, oh, was it creamy and rich.

Add gooey melted cheese, and this is a satisfying savory breakfast (or perhaps dinner!).

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
1/2 c pumpkin puree
1/4 t chili powder
1/4 cumin
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 c shredded cheese

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, combine oats and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
2. When oats reach desired consistency, add pumpkin puree and spices. Stir to mix.
3. When oats are warmed, transfer to a bowl and top with the shredded cheese.

30 Days of Oatmeal: Green Pea Risotto

I've read a lot about risotto, a dish made of rice cooked in broth. In an effort to build more savory oatmeal recipes into my repertoire, I tried to recreate it using spices and green peas.

I'd call this a moderately successful recipe. It was good, but not amazing. Cooking the oats in vegetable broth instead of water would make this far more tasty.

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t oregano
1/2 t parsley flakes
1/8 t ground black pepper
Sea Salt
1 c frozen green peas, thawed.

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, bring oats, water, and spices to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.
2. Once oats reach desired consistency, stir in green peas to warm.
3. Transfer oats to a bowl and enjoy!