Peanut butter banana oatmeal

A.k.a. "creamy, gooey, comforting oatmeal that's perfect on a cold morning"

I'm battling a cold and the semester is plugging along and there's snow in the forecast (finally!). That means it's time to bring back the hot breakfasts. I've been eating a lot of hot quinoa lately with a spoon of almond butter and it's been a nice way to get the day going. This morning I woke up and decided I wanted something more exciting so I went on one of my favorite blogs "Oh She Glows" and found this recipe. It's a single serving recipe but very, very filling and you can probably share it with a friend with some sliced fruit on the side. Or if you're really hungry like I was you can just about finish it up by yourself. You might not even be hungry later for elevenses or "smoko". As you can tell, I'm getting ready for our upcoming trip to New Zealand:)

Here's a link to the original recipe.

Ingredients:
1 very ripe banana, roughly chopped
1 tsp non-dairy butter or coconut oil (I used Earth Balance)
1/2 Tbs natural peanut butter
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2-1 tsp chia seed (or ground flax)
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8-14 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
toppings: heaping 1/2 Tbs peanut butter, nuts, cinnamon, pure maple syrup

1. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, cook the banana and non-dairy butter or oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Stir in 1/2 Tbs peanut butter, add the oats, chia, milk, spices and a pinch of salt. Whisk/stir well until combined.

3. Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, stirring often for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

4. Scoop into a bowl and top with peanut butter, nuts, cinnamon and maple syrup. I used crunchy peanut butter so I didn't add any nuts because there was already a nice crunch in the mix.

On another note- yesterday was Estes' first birthday!!! We got her a new collar and she spent the day doing what every 1-year old dog does- she slept and played with her new toys.

Grandma in PA sent her this sweet card:

She kept me company while I was reading:

We've been busy lately and trying to get outside as much as possible. Last weekend we went snowshoeing and it was beautiful: