Spice cookie steel cut oats

As far as taste and cost go, you cannot beat steel cut oats for breakfast. It's perfect, especially on chilly mornings.

The problem most people run into: they do not factor in the amount of time this recipe takes to simmer OR they don't add enough water and the end product is inedible.

My solution to problem number one: I either start the oats as soon as I wake up, then go about getting ready for work. By the time my family is up and dressed, the oats are ready to eat. Once you get steel cut oats going, no babysitting is required.

As far as insufficient water, steel cut oats are NOT the same as rolled oats. They have a 4:1 ratio of water to steel cut oats. Rolled oats have a 2:1 water to oats ratio. So if you try to cook steel cut oats like rolled oats...yikes. Hopefully this chart helps:

Servings	Water	Steel cut oats, dry	Salt   *optional*
1	1 cup	¼ cup dry	¼ tsp
2	2 cups	½ cup dry	½ tsp
3	3 cups	¾ cup dry	¾ tsp
4	4 cups	1 cup dry	1 tsp
5	5 cups	1 ¼ cup dry	1 ¼ tsp
6	6 cups	1 ½ cup dry	1 ½ tsp

Time: 35 minutes
Serves 6

• 1 1/2 cups steel cut oats, dry
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• sprinkle of ground nutmeg
• sprinkle of ground ginger
• sprinkle of ground cloves

1. In a large pot, add salt to water and bring to a boil.
2. Once the water is boiling, stir in oats and reduce to very low simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Stir in spices and serve. Add additional toppings as desired. I recommend natural peanut butter (gives an AMAZINGLY rich and creamy taste), preferred sweetener (1 tsp stevia/sugar blend OR liquid stevia OR small amount of brown sugar). If you are watching your carbohydrate intake, unsweetened vanilla almond milk goes wonderfully with this recipe.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 cup steel cut oats, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tbsp PB
Calories	Fat	Sat Fat	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Sugar	Protein
211	4.6	1	690	35	4.1	0	6

Cost of recipe (not including sales) Costco, Winco, Frys
	Per serving	Entire Recipe
Serving	$0.39	$2.35

Tomato Basil Chicken

If the chicken is defrosted, this recipe is as easy as 1-2-3, so make sure you plan ahead and have your chicken thawed out.

Time: ~50 minutes
Serves 6

• 6 chicken breasts (~5-6 oz each)
• 6 roma tomatoes, sliced
• 6 tbsp. pesto sauce (homemade is best)
• 1 1/2 cup low fat mozzarella cheese

1. Lay out chicken breasts in 9x13 baking dish. Spread1 tbsp. of basil pesto over each breast.
2. Slice the tomatoes and place 2-3 slices on each breast. Sprinkle each with ¼ cup mozzarella cheese.
3. Bake at 400 ° for 40 minutes. Serve with vegetables and whole wheat bread if desired.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 chicken breast with cheese and tomato
Calories	Fat	Sat Fat	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Sugar	Protein
397	17	5	1146	7	1	3	53

Cost of recipe (not including sales)
	Per serving	Entire Recipe
Serving	$1.44	$8.64
2 cup vegetables	$0.64	$3.84
1 pc whole wheat bread	$0.03	$0.18
Total	$2.11	$12.66

Original recipe from: Buzzfeed 4 ingredient chicken bake