Day 7: Oats Make the Meal

Steve:  When I am feeling healthy, there is one food I know I can go to in order to feel like I am getting the most health benefits.  I know this because it isn't exactly a tasty food unless you add a lot of honey, brown sugar, dried fruit and milk to it.  I am referring to today's ingredient.

Day 7 Ingredient:  Oatmeal

When you think about oatmeal, there is only a few things that comes to mind.  There is the breakfast of champions that I described above.  There are oatmeal cookies, which are great, but I think that would be obvious.  I could try and make oatmeal creme pies, but I think the expert in that area should keep her expertise.  Thanks Little Debbie.

Therefore, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to make a dinner side dish that would be a wonderful addition to the pork tenderloin I was already planning on making.  Normally, I serve pork tenderloin with rice or potatoes, so I thought making a dish like that would be best.  Since the best way to serve those are to keep it simple and sophisticated, that is exactly what I did with the oatmeal.

I want to mention that whenever I cook rice, I always cook it in chicken broth.  I think it adds to the flavor of the rice and certainly does more than water.  I forgot to include the chicken broth in the picture of ingredients, but it is one you won't want to forget.

Day 7 Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 Cup Shaved Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook Oatmeal according to package directions without adding salt.  The Chicken Broth will have enough

2.  Once oatmeal reaches desired consistency add EVOO, salt and pepper and stir to combine

3.  Divide into two servings and top each with 1/2 the parmesan cheese.

It's just that easy.

Day 7 Meal:  Savory Oatmeal w/Cheese

Here is the finished side dish, and I have to say it was tasty.  It may actually become a staple starch in the rotation.  The oatmeal has a consistency of mashed potatoes or creamy rice and the cheese and oil add to its decadence.

I think this could be even better with some diced veggies like onions, carrots or maybe some peas.  Other spices could make this perfect with different types of foods as well.  This could go Mexican, Italian, or Mediterranean.  It is certainly something I am going experiment with in the future.

I paired this with a pomegranate marinated pork tenderloin which was yummy.  Highly recommend!! 

Heather:
Taste-4 stars: Creativity-5 stars

I must admit I did not see this coming. I was surprised he made it into a side dish and a quite tasty one at that. It really did kinda taste like brown rice, especially with the consistency and the way he made it. I didn't know he used chicken broth until I read this, which doesn't surprise me because he often uses it instead of water which makes things very yummy.  Overall, very creative use of oatmeal and very outside the box.