Maple Bacon Overnight Oats

This post is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company.  Maple Bacon Overnight Oats combine Quaker® Old Fashioned Oats, sweet maple syrup, and savory bacon in a delectable and easy to prepare breakfast that is perfect for busy mornings.

When I was young, I had a picture in my head of what I was going to be like when I became a mother.

I envisioned myself as the quintessential homemaker.

I planned to be a mother to six with a doting husband and a dog.  I would have an immaculate house, workout every day. and still have time for cookie baking, car-pooling, and I'd have a homemade dinner on the table every night promptly at 5:30 pm.

Let's fast forward to now, shall we?

• I am the blessed mother to two. (Did I really want six kids?  What on earth was I thinking?  Two is like a flipping zoo.)

• I do have a doting husband and a dog.  (A dog that sheds a pound of hair a day, I may add, which kind of throws that whole immaculate house thing out the window.)

• I workout occasionally, and I bake cookies every now and then.  So there's that.  (Go me!)

• Dinner by 5:30?  Yeah, not happening.  (Somehow we managed to postpone dinner until 9:45 pm the other night.  Time flies when you're sweeping up dog hair, running errands, and raising two kids, I tell ya.  I give myself a free pass on this one because it's summer.  Ha!)

While my real life snapshot of middle-aged motherhood isn't exactly what I thought it would be, I have to say that some of the core ideas of being a mom have stuck with me from my childhood ideals.

I tell my kids I love them every day, we read books before bedtime, and we always sit down to the table to eat as a family.  When you're the one responsible for deciding what's actually going to be eaten around that family table seven days a week, well, coming up with recipe ideas can be challenging at times, to say the least.

And in our house, that's my job.

Breakfast is the meal that usually stumps me the most, because while I'd like to make a hot breakfast every day, time doesn't always allow for it.  I'm a breakfast believer, though.  It's the most important meal of the day!  We'll be gearing up for back-to-school soon, and I like to start the day strong for the whole family, beginning at the breakfast table!

Which brings me to Overnight Oats.  Yes!  Love, love, love them.

Overnight Oats are a combination of Quaker® Oats and milk.  Then you can mix in anything you like!  Try chopped nuts or nut butter.  Love fresh fruit?  Try adding berries or bananas!  Go for extra creamy oats and stir in some Müller yogurt.

The possibilities are endless!

If you're like me, you'll go for maple and bacon.  Because, well, salty bacon and sweet maple syrup are simply a match made in heaven.  Yes, even in your oatmeal.  Add some chopped walnuts for texture and you're golden.  Oatmeal perfection, friends.

Want to know the best part about overnight oats, though?  NO COOKING.

That's right, you mix everything together in a bowl or a pretty glass jar, and that's it.  After that, you put them in the fridge until you're ready to eat them.  Easy!  They are good cold, room temperature, or with a quick zap in the microwave to take the chill off.  These oats are seriously the perfect breakfast solution for busy moms like me.  Simple ingredients, easy to prepare, and customizable.

As it turns out, I'm not the picture perfect mother in my childhood vision, and I'm okay with that.  I'll focus on balance over perfection, and keep doing what I do to be the best mom I can be.  And that starts with breakfast!

Hooray for Overnight Oats!  I know you're going to love them!

Maple Bacon Overnight Oats

   

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 cup Quaker® Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 slice maple bacon, cooked and crumbled

Instructions

1. In a pint jar or bowl, mix together the oatmeal, milk, walnuts, 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup, and the cinnamon.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 5 hours.
2. Remove from the refrigerator and top with the crumbled bacon and remaining tablespoon of maple syrup.

Notes

• These oats are good cold, room temperature or heated in the microwave.
• Plan ahead!  Next time you're cooking bacon, make extra and keep it in a baggie in the refrigerator.  When you're ready for these oats, all you'll have to do is grab a few cold slices, wrap them in a paper towel, and pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  Done!
• This post has been sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company. Thoughts and opinions, as always, are 100% my own.