indian spiced oats w/ coconut milk

I've been off the steel-cut oats bandwagon for a while because I've been addicted to my little breakfast egg quesadillas (I'll post that soon because they're too good to keep to myself). But, this week I got a hankering for the almighty oats. I didn't realize how I missed their chewy goodness until now! Anyway, this little Indian pilaf inspired oat mixture turned out FANTASTIC. The spices, sweet raisins, crunchy almonds and super creamy coconut milk balance each other perfectly. This breakfast will make you feel like the Maharaja while only costing you $0.70!




Total Recipe cost: $2.80
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $0.70
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 30 min. Total: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 cup	steel cut oats	$0.70
1/2 tsp	salt	$0.05
1 tsp	cinnamon	$0.10
1/2 tsp	ground ginger	$0.05
1/4 tsp	ground cloves	$0.05
1/2 tsp	vanilla extract	$0.15
1/4 cup	brown sugar	$0.12
1/2 cup	raisins	$0.31
1/4 cup	sliced almonds	$0.56
1 cup	light coconut milk	$0.71
TOTAL		$2.80

STEP 1: In a medium pot bring 4 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt to a boil. Once it reaches a rolling boil, add 1 cup of steel-cut oats. Reduce the heat to medium/low and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is to your desired thickness.

STEP 2: As the mixture simmers, add the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla extract and brown sugar.

STEP 3: Once the oats are finished cooking, divide it up into four servings and top each with 2 Tbsp of raisins, 1 Tbsp of sliced almonds and 1/4 cup of coconut milk. Dig in!

NOTE: As with all of my oats, I divide them into resealable containers and keep them in the refrigerator. Then, in the morning, all I have to do is grab one and microwave it for a minute or so and I have a super hearty breakfast ready to go!

Originally I intended to put cardamom in the spice mix but later realized that I didn't have any. You can try this out with just about any combination of Indian spices and I'm sure it would be fantastic. I even thought about putting a chai tea bag in the water as it came to a boil before adding the oats. I'm not sure what kind of flavor that would add but it sounds like it could work!