Homemade Instant Oatmeal

When the weather is cold, one of my favorite comfort foods for breakfast is oatmeal. We go through a lot of instant oatmeal in our house in the colder months. Sometimes a full box in less than a week, which can really add up.

While I was searching through Pinterest I found several pins about how to make your own instant oatmeal, I decided to give it a try. And I have to say I'm hooked. Sorry Mr. Quaker, but you are no longer welcome in my house. Homemade instant oatmeal tastes so much better than store bought, it's more filling and you can be a little creative with the fruit you add to it. 

To make your own instant oatmeal you will need:

1 - 18oz can of Quick Oats
1/3 cup - Dry Powdered Milk
1/2 cup - Brown Sugar
2 tsp - Cinnamon
1-2 cups - Dried Fruit (raisins, cranberries, etc...)

Add your ingredients to a resealable container and mix it all together. I used an old lemonade pitcher that I never use anymore, it's just the right size for a double batch (a single batch is shown).

Instead of boring old raisins, I used dried cranberries, pomegranates and blueberries. I found all of these fruits in the produce section at my local grocery store.

When you are ready to make breakfast, mix 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup water and microwave it for 2 minutes. It will be thick so you can either use a little more water, or add some milk when it's done cooking. This amount will make just as much as using 2 packets of the store bought instant oatmeal.

To make this ready for on the go, just scoop your desired amount of the instant oatmeal mix into a zip-loc bag and take it with you and add the water later.

Enjoy!

For more winter breakfast ideas check out how to make Snowman Pancakes