Crock Pot oatmeal

It's totally okay (and completely likely) that I am the only person ever to be excited about this recipe. But I've tried it a few times and just finally got it perfect. I love my crockpot, I love real breakfast, I love cooking ahead. This recipe combines all that and gives me a week's worth of breakfast that actually fills me up and doesn't leave me wishing I had stopped at Bojangles.

This is a Weight Watchers recipe, packed full of protein and fiber but low in calories and fat, so I feel good about it. And I'm a weirdo that loves the taste of oatmeal, even without all the bells and whistles.

There are two things I cannot stress enough: all crock pots cook differently, and use a crock pot liner unless you want to be scrubbing it for days on end.

Start by placing a liner in your crock pot and then spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Do not skip any of this step.

Mix your dry ingredients:

1 cup steel cut oats
2 T brown sugar
1 T ground flax seed
1/4 t salt
Season! (I use anything you find in apple/pumpkin pie...cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, allspice)

Once you've mixed those, add 1 1/2 c water, 1 1/2 milk. Stir and stir. Pour all of that into your crock pot. Next add 2 medium apples, cored and chopped (I don't peel and I use Granny Smith). Stir just a bit.  Add 2 T of butter, chopped into 5-6 pieces. Cook on low.

I've tried this a few times with mixed results. I might suggest you do it on a Saturday or Sunday, when you can check it after 4 hours and see how much longer you want it to cook. Last night I let it cook on low for 5 hours (Yes, I set my alarm for 2 am for OATMEAL when I have a child that sleeps through the night). Then I set it to warm until I went downstairs at 6:30am and it was PERFECT. But I like my oatmeal without any trace of runniness. Seriously, runny oatmeal ruins my life. Steel cut oats have a way different texture than quick cooking or old fashioned oats, but I love them in this recipe. I was able to portion out my breakfast for the week, and eat it on the run because it was more solid than liquid. Win all around!

When I heat up the cold portions, I usually add just a teaspoon or so of milk to keep it from drying out. YUM.