Spiced Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Call me boring or stuck-in-a-rut, but this is the oatmeal recipe that I make EVERY morning for breakfast. Sure, hot oatmeal is really perfect on a cold morning in autumn or winter, but who says it can't be an all-year-round breakfast staple? I started making it this way because I get to control how much sugar is in it, unlike the sickeningly sweet instant oatmeal packets.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tbsp peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 2 tsp brown sugar, unpacked
• dash of salt
• cinnamon and nutmeg, to taste

Put the oats, the dash of salt, water, and milk in a microwaveable bowl. Stir slightly and put in the microwave (cook according to the oatmeal container). When the oatmeal is cooked, sprinkle on the brown sugar and then put the peanut butter in (spoon and all). I typically don't measure the peanut butter, I just eyeball it with the spoon I'm going to eat with. If you wait a few seconds, the oatmeal will heat the peanut butter all the way off of the spoon, so it is much easier to clean! Then add a couple sprinkles of nutmeg and liberal amounts of cinnamon, to taste. Stir and enjoy!