dorm room diy: chocolate-pb-oatmeal-microwave goodness

I do this thing where I get a slight obsession with a blog and then I read all their posts. This summer it was the Dreamstress (which honestly made me sad about my life and its lack of gorgeous dresses). Since coming to school it's been Chocolate-Covered Katie. Oh my gosh, that girl is a vegetarian/vegan inspiration. Quite literally for this.

I read about her Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Baked Oatmeal and kinda fell in love. Except. There is not an oven in my dorm room. And I don't know if my stoneware bowl is oven safe. So I can't just make it all the time, if at all. Enter the mighty microwave!

Assignment: The Oven to Microwave Transformation Project

unfortunately, everything made with dark cocoa turns out looking like mud

This requires some heavy math. Bring out your Pythagorean theorems and rhombuses and fancy math terms. 

Actually, all it takes is some basic oatmeal know how. I'm going to call my recipe a little more inspired by than actually copying her recipe (because for one thing, I'm not going to go the processed fake sugar route), but she definitely gave me the idea! I made this for supper for the first time the other day and I kinda fell in love with the idea that something as nummy as all that could also stay fairly healthy for me. Under 300 calories, protein, fiber, it's pretty good for you. 

Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal with instant oatmeal (adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie's)

1-2 tbs peanut butter

1/2 cup instant oats*

1/2 cup milk

1 tbs dark cocoa ('cos why would you ever do normal?)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 tsp brown sugar

dash of salt

Put the peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and zap on full power for 40 seconds, or until soft and gooey. This makes the peanut butter a lot easier to mix in. 

Add in (quickly now, 'cos that peanut butter will solidify back up!) the rest of the ingredients. Microzap on full power for 45 seconds, stir, then microzap for 45 seconds. Let cool or risk burning your tongue. Or don't wait and dive right in to all that piping hot ooey-gooey chocolate peanut butter goodness. But don't say I didn't tell you so.

*For old-fashioned oats: add an extra half cup of liquid (milk, water, almond milk, what have you) and microzap for 3 minutes, or until cooked to desired consistency. Let sit a minute and then dig into that chocolatey peanut buttery goodness. 

Grade: A+ all around! Amazing original recipe! Amazing yumminess! Amazing microwave!

Except...probably a regular A, because of my original transformation and its dried out edges. 

Extra credit ideas: Hmm, how do you make a chocolate-peanut butter oatmeal better? Katie frosted hers with a glorious-looking fudge frosting, but I'm of the opinion that though breakfast is allowed to get pretty darn sweet, there is a line that it crosses that takes it into the dessert camp and you can no longer justify it as a healthy meal. The ideas that come instantly to my mind are pieces of chocolate and/ or Reese's peanut butter cups. Or maybe melted Reese's on top (someone in the comments of Katie's post suggested that). Once again, dessert camp oatmeal. But! I also thought of sliced fresh strawberries. Wouldn't that be nummy? Or maybe skip a step and use chocolate peanut butter spread. Or Nutella for chocolate hazelnut oatmeal.

Or just be a cool kid and bake the thing. :)

What do you think? Do you have any blogger obsessions (food or otherwise) at the moment? Do you cringe at the idea of that much chocolate for breakfast?