2 - MINUTE APPLE CRISP

I personally have never really liked instant oatmeal that comes in the individual serving brown envelop that you just add hot water to make a bowl of oatmeal. But I had to buy some when I wanted to try a recipe I found in one of my many cookbooks a few weeks ago.

When I saw a post on Facebook by a friend for several different dishes you could make in a mug in the microwave, I thought I would check it out. The only one that looked interestingly enough for me to try was for an apple crisp. It had a mixture of flour, oats, brown sugar, spices, and butter to make the crisp. I thought, "That's more trouble than I want to go to. I like the idea, but I want it to be easier and faster to make."

That's when I remembered the instant oatmeal I still had. I decided I would give it a try using the oatmeal.

The first one I made I used an envelop of cinnamon and spice instant oatmeal. The apples I had were really big golden delicious ones that my friend Sue gave me from her apple tree. I used the whole apple since the cups I have with my cardinal dishes are so big. The second one I made I used all but two of the apple wedges made with my apple corer/wedger. Both worked well, I just didn't want that large of a serving for myself. (My husband ate the first one I made.)

Yesterday I bought some Braeburn apples that were smaller in size than the gold delicious ones I have and made it again using one of them. I decided to use an envelop of apple and cinnamon instant oatmeal. The smaller apple made a nice serving for me. The apple and cinnamon oatmeal wasn't as flavorful as the cinnamon and spice oatmeal, but I enjoyed it. I would suggest you experiment with different flavors and see which one you like. I would use the whole envelop of instant oatmeal even if you use a smaller apple.

2 - MINUTE APPLE CRISP

1       baking apple
1       envelop instant oatmeal (any flavor)
2      tablespoons margarine






Peel, core and cut into bite-size pieces the apple using as much as you like for your cup. 

After peeling the apple, I core and cut the apple in wedges using an apple core/wedger and placed the apple pieces in the cup (no more than 3/4 full).

I sliced the wedge into three slices and then in half. Last night when I made it for the third time, I cut the slices into 3 smaller pieces.

Cook the apples in the microwave for 1 minute on high.

While the apple is cooking, cut the margarine into the instant oatmeal in a small bowl using a fork. UPDATE...tonight my husband made one for himself with half of an unpeeled large apple and I used the other half and didn't peel it either. I also melted the margarine in the microwave and it worked even better than cutting it in.

I slice the margarine in thin slices to make this process easier.

Cover the apples with the oatmeal/mixture. 

Cook for 30 seconds on high in microwave. Stir.

Cook for 30 more seconds on high in microwave.

Allow to cool a few minutes before eating.
If apple crisp just isn't apple crisp to you without ice cream, just add a scoop.

Here is the box I have of 5 different varieties that I will have to try.