Campfire Oats

Oh mason jar. If you weren't so darn useful I'd be sick of you by now. This summer we spent an incredible amount of time at home, tearing things down, building them up. One week we did decide to get away and disappeared into the woods for some camping by the Russian River. It was a test to see if we are all ready to rough it together in a tent with nothing but fire to cook our food.  The boys love to run around in nature and as we suspected, they caught the camping bug. We taught Jasper how to build a campfire.  Around it we read ghost stories, roasted weenies, toasted and burned marshmallows, brewed morning coffee and tried out an idea I came across for mason jar oatmeal. I meant to write about this last month after our excursion, but the the house just took over. Now as we are gearing up for school I thought I'd share the oatmeal recipe as a back-to-school hot breakfast. Made ahead of time and stored in the pantry, all you have to do is pour in hot water and screw the top on, allowing it to stew while you pack lunches and wrangle people to the table...

In addition to 4oz mason jars with lids you need a 1/4 cup of quick oats (or other quick cook grain) and about this proportion of dried fruit, nuts, spices, and brown sugar.  Be sure to add a pinch of salt. Layer into the jar and fit the lid tightly for storing for up to 2 months. To prepare for eating all you have to do is boil some water and pour over the oats almost to the lid line. Seal the lid and allow to stew for 3 minutes.  No extra dairy needed, the oats become creamy and sweet.