You guys are the best! All day today, I felt like we were all standing around in the kitchen together, chatting about how to pull off a last-minute Thanksgiving dinner. It’s easy, you reminded me. Stuff a winter squash, roast some veggies, make a soup or a good salad, put out cheese or olives. Easy is perfect. And just as perfect were the reminders that it’s not the food that makes a holiday special; it’s the excuse to gather as a family and enjoy each others’ company.
And…that’s good. Because we arrived to find our rental-with-kitchen unsavory, and decamped to a hotel suite with only a mini-bar fridge instead. So no kitchen, no Thanksgiving cooking. We’re going to have our Thanksgiving dinner this weekend instead, back in Seattle. Which I already have planned now, days in advance—I’m so uncharacteristically organized! But seriously, thank you–I am so lucky to have met so many wonderful cooks and epicures and readers and writers in this little place called the internet (interwebs?) and I’m thankful to know you all.
In celebration of life with a mini-fridge, and especially for those of you on the road this weekend, I’m sharing my favorite hotel-room breakfast today. On the way out the door for our trip, I packed a little selection of dried fruits and nuts and a bag of oats, and of course a jar of peanut butter (any grocery store with a bulk section is great for stocking up like this if you’re away from home). Our mini-fridge is handy for storing milk or soy milk or yogurt. If you have a piece of fresh fruit available, or even if you don’t, that’s all it takes. If you have an elegant wine glass handy, that’s icing on the cake.
Overnight Oats with Peanut Butter and Banana: Soak a couple handfuls of oats in water (or milk) overnight in your mini-fridge. In the morning, stir in a big spoonful of peanut butter, a sliced banana, a splash of milk, and maybe a few chocolate chunks (if it’s that kind of morning, and if you’re traveling with them, which of course I am).
Related Recipe:
Overnight Oats with Apple, Currants, and Walnuts
Emmy Cooks 
Great picture. Crazy scale and wonderful light.
mmmm – chocolate on top definitely sounds like a goer!
WELL.. i will be travelling soon, maybe not with Peanut Butter! but definitely with a banana and chocolate and i can throw in some oatmeal.. excellent.. c
what a great idea, the captain’s in seattle a lot and always stays at hotels and this will be a healthy way to eat breakfast.
I don’t travel. But I’m in! Yum!
I like overnight oats too because I find soaking them helps them to digest more readily, and banana and choc is always a great combi (:
What a clever recipe. Necessity really is the mother of invention. Never thought I could cook while staying in a hotel.
What a great breakfast to start the day! Peanut butter, banana, chocolate and oats make such a filling and happy breakfast food!
Bummer about only having a mini-fridge! But on the other hand, sometimes it’s nice to have an excuse not to cook… and now you can still do Thanksgiving right, back in your own kitchen! I’m sure it’ll be much less stressful that way. : )
I love your idea of overnight oatmeal and am just waiting for the next time that I travel to give it a go.
Sad to hear that the rental was unsavory. I can only imagine! But at least now you are prepared in advance :-)
Yummmmmm oats and chocolate..swoon!
I forget how much I love overnight oats. Maybe it’s because I can never remember to put them in the fridge at night, I’m terrible at planning ahead, but I do love them much more than cooked oatmeal.