Breakfast So Easy a 5-Year-Old Can Do It!

The title of this post is not an exaggeration, and this recipe has become one of my 5-year-old's weeknight chores a couple days a week. He loves that he can contribute a meal all by himself.

Both of my kids love oatmeal, but this time of year it just feels wrong to eat hot cereal for breakfast. Enter this easy, cold oatmeal breakfast that you can make in under 5 minutes. I have been using the Finish rolled oats that are being packaged locally, and they work great for this recipe. The quantity here is enough to feed my two kids breakfast for two mornings.

Overnight Oatmeal
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
1 cup yogurt (sweetened variety)
2 mashed bananas
Other flavorings to taste: 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp cinnamon, or 1-2 Tbs chocolate milk powder

Pour all the ingredients into a plastic tub and mix together. Add optional flavorings according to what you like. Refrigerate overnight and serve cold in the morning.

Now enjoy a little less stress in your morning!

Peanut Butter Bites

Picture this: You've got dinner guests coming over in a few hours, and you forgot to plan a dessert. Only now the power is off and will be until after they arrive. Yes, you could skip dessert, but who wants to?! In walk these delicious little beauties to your no bake repertoire. You can make them sweeter or saltier according to your taste by interchanging the kind of biscuit you use. That's my own twist on the original recipe from Spoonful. These even work with the local unsweetened peanut butter if you're trying to pinch your pennies. Just a quick note on the chocolate though. Don't try this with the little packets of chocolate chips, as they do not melt easily. Go for one of the generic blocks of "dark compound" chocolate. Your results will be much better!

Peanut Butter Bites
6 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup peanut butter (crunchy, creamy, whatever)
1 cup digestive biscuits or salted "Ritz" type crackers
1 cup powdered/icing sugar
1 cup chocolate for melting

Heat the peanut butter and butter together over low heat until melted. Crush your biscuits or crackers in a plastic zip bag with a rolling pin. A few chunks are okay. To the peanut butter mixture, add the crushed biscuits and powdered sugar. It should be nice and thick. Press the mixture into a greased 8x8 or 7x11 pan. I line mine with greaseproof (waxed) paper to make lifting them out easier. Melt the chocolate (adding about a teaspoon of oil for shine) and spread over the top of the peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate for about an hour or pop in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Take out about 10 minutes prior to serving to make slicing easier.

Notes: Don't fork out your $$ on Ritz crackers unless you need a very specific flavor. Brands like Monaco and Time Pass salted biscuits work just the same in recipes like this for a fraction of the cost.