Oatmeal Freezer Pucks

If you have read New Nostalgia for any length of time, you will know I am a huge oatmeal fan.  I eat oats in some form every morning for breakfast, and usually end up snacking on another form of them during the day.  I eat them raw, cooked, in smoothies, in breads, in cookies and muffins.  I love my oats!

In the summer, my favorite fast breakfast is raw oats, almond milk, and frozen raspberries.  I let it sit a couple minutes for the oats to soak and raspberries to thaw.  It is a great on-the-go breakfast when thrown in a small mason jar.  I sweeten it with date paste or maple syrup.  Yum.

Now that it is getting chilly outside, I want the comfort of a warm porridge in the morning.  I love steel cut oats and their slightly chewy texture, but did not like the amount of time they take to prepare in the mornings.

Enter Trader Joes.

I found already prepared steel cut oats in the freezer section of Trader Joes.  I loved how they came, frozen in pucks and ready to heat.  They had simple ingredients with no preservatives.  I loved everything about them, especially that they spurred on the idea of this post!

The price at TJ's is good, but I knew I could make them for much less money, and sugar.  So I did!

I bought Bob Mills Steel Cut Oats.  Any brand will do!

 Prepare according to package directions.  Let cool slightly.  Pour into muffin tins.  I did not grease mine, it was not necessary.

It made 6 large pucks and 12 small ones.  I had a couple leftover servings in the pan and ate 'em up!

Here is how I placed them in the freezer.  A simple cookie sheet in between the pans did the trick. 

I froze them solid, then took out of the freezer.  I filled my sink with an inch of warm water, let the bottoms of the pan soak in it for a couple minutes, then used a knife at the edge of each puck to pop them out.  They came out very easily. 

The small muffin pucks were the perfect size for my three lil' muffin girls.  They love helping themselves to a frozen oatmeal puck in the morning.

The larger size was perfect for me!  

Keep in freezer bags, and pull out when needed.  Microwave 2 minutes for large, 1 minute for small.  Stir.  Heat in additional increments of 30 seconds until heated through.  Serve with maple syrup & cinnamon, and whatever toppings you prefer!

 More Of My Oatmeal Loves:
Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Oatmeal
Cinnamon Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal
2 Minute Steel Cut Oats (another fast way to make them)
Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread
No Cook, Overnight Chia Oatmeal
Oatmeal Fully Loaded
Chewy Granola Bars/Best Chocolate "Candy Bar"