Use the coffeemaker to heat water for quick oats

Stephanie's found a safer way for her son to cook his own breakfast:

My 9 1/2 year-old son loves oatmeal for breakfast every morning. He's old enough to want to do things on his own but not old enough to use the stove alone, so he has to wait for me to make the oats (we don't have a microwave). Also, at first the oatmeal's really hot from the stove, so he has to wait for it to cool.

Last week i realized that if i ran plain water through the drip coffeemaker, it was the perfect temperature for making quick cooking oats. Now, my son makes his own oatmeal: he just turns on the coffeemaker in the morning, pours the water, mixes with the oats, butter, etc. and his breakfast is ready! Another plus: the coffeemaker water temperature is not boiling hot so after it is added to the oats, they are ready to eat right away.

We've published a version of this hack before, but as a travel tip using a hotel coffeemaker!

Related:
Homemade instant oatmeal packets
Frozen raspberries cool down hot oatmeal

Comments

[Louise]

I hear you can also make oatmeal in a thermos overnight - no morning prep whatsoever!
http://www.recipezaar.com/285466

[Cynthia]

We just came back from a vacation where our daughter became ill at a hotel that did not have microwaves and the like. We used the coffee maker to make cup of soup.

[Eleanor in Houston]

I know this is one more piece of equipment, but I cannot believe how useful our electric kettle is. I can heat 7 cups of water to the boiling point in 10 minutes. The 1 cup or so we may need for oatmeal heats up in under 2 minutes. Fabulous!