Munchie Monday: Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats!

We have had overnight steel cut oats before and really liked them.  There may actually be a post sometime in the past year about them.

It seemed like a good idea to try making hot steel cut oats, so I looked for a recipe and found one for a starting place.

This is what I did:

Placed 3 cups unsweetened plain almond milk in the liner bowl of the Instant Pot.  Added 1 cup steel cut oats. Stirred will then put on the cover and pressed the "Porridge" button and let it go.  When it was done, I let it cool down naturally which took about 15 minutes.  Cool down is rather a misnomer because it is only the pressure that cools down, not the contents of the bowl!

When I took off the cover I stirred the contents well and let it sit a few minutes while I diced up a banana and got a cup of frozen blueberries out of the freezer.  After stirring the fruit into the oats, I measured out a cup of the fruit-y oats into each of two bowls.  There was another half cup or more left over but one cup was enough for us to eat.

With the banana in the bowl there was no need for sugar and the milk was already absorbed into the oats.  It was pretty good.  I would not walk across town for it, but still, it was good enough, and rather quick, for a cold morning.  Actually, it wasn't a cold morning, just an experiment, but Dear One did not complain, so it is something we will have again when it really is cold. I hear that it can get down to 30 degrees F. here in the Portland area...

Food Today: Oreo Brownie Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

A friend told me about the blog of one of her friends....networking is everything, isn't it!  I went to that blog which is called "I Sing In The Kitchen".   This particular recipe struck my fancy but made a few changes.

We have a "birthday party" for our women's Relief Society at church this week. I am one of the ladies bringing cupcakes.  When I saw the recipe I just had to make it.

In preparation I needed to bring home some Oreo cookies and a brownie mix, treats that are rarely seen around here...  I have a very good brownie recipe but really like the ease and moistness of brownie boxed mixes, so I purchased several of them, as well, not knowing how much brownie batter I would need.  It turns out that one box (18.4 ounces) of dry brownie mix will make one and a half dozen 2 1/2 inch cupcakes.

I Sing In The Kitchen used mini Oreos and tiny cupcake papers.  I chose to use the regular size ones...being a bit slothful. 

SO...if I was to give a recipe:

Stack two Oreos together with peanut butter in between, or use sweetened cream cheese!

1 or 2 bags of Oreo cookies (I used regular size)
Peanut butter, creamy or chunky
2 or 3 brownie mixes
Cupcake papers (I used 2.5 inch papers)
Frosting

Prepare brownie mix according to box directions.  Put cupcake papers into muffin tins.  Take a small spoonful of peanut butter and spread it onto one Oreo then top with another Oreo and place in cupcake paper in muffin tin.  With a small portion scoop, scoop up brownie batter and carefully release it onto the Oreo stack then put the tin in the oven.

When cooking the brownie Oreo peanut butter cupcakes, my oven took 17-20 minutes to cook at 350 degrees F..  I pulled the pans out when the edges were just a bit soft knowing that they would continue to cook a little a they cooled.

Oreo stacks with brownie batter on top prior to cooking.

Cool 1-2 minutes in the pan then remove from tin and finish cooling on a rack until completely cool.

Make your favorite decorating icing and decorate the cupcakes as you choose.  Since mine are still not cool as I write this post, I do not have photos of icing yet. I place to put a small curlicue or a simple blossom on top.  Not being much of a decorator, this will tax my skill and creativity to the max, as it happens!

Cooked and cooling brownie Oreo peanut butter cupcakes!