OVERNIGHT OATMEAL IN THE CROCK POT

Yesterday I woke up to my kitchen smelling of cinnamon. I had decided the night before to try making oatmeal in the crock pot. The wonderful thing is that you prepare it the night before and it cooks while you’re asleep. I thought it would be wonderful to have breakfast already to go out the door with me when I went to work. So I got smart and used a liner bag so that I was able to just turn off the crock pot, twist tie the bag and go. No mess to clean up! I thought it was really good compared to the instant oatmeal that comes in the package. Some of my co-workers volunteered to be my taste testers and agreed that I could bring it to work anytime. The apples and cinnamon were a perfect combination and the oatmeal was cooked just right after 8 hours in my crock pot. I just gave it a good stir and served it right out of the liner. It didn’t even need any more sweetener or milk. If it gets to dry you can always add some milk, half and half, or even yogurt to it. I am now wondering if I can do grits overnight in the crock pot as well. That might be my next week challenge. This will be wonderful for a quick and easy breakfast during the winter months. You can also change up the flavors by adding a little maple syrup, blueberries, bananas or even cranberries and nuts. There are endless combinations to this recipe. Just pick your favorites and have breakfast ready to go in the mornings.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of old – fashioned uncooked oatmeal

4 cups of water

1 tsp. of salt

2 tsp. of cinnamon

1/3 cup of brown sugar

2 apples, cored, peeled and chopped

½ cup of raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the crock pot with PAM. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, apples, and raisins together. Place in the bottom of the crock pot. Then in a large bowl mix together the oatmeal, water and salt. Gently pour on top of the fruit mixture. Do not stir. Cover and cook on low for 8 -9 hours. In the morning stir it up and serve with milk, cream or a little extra brown sugar.

P.S. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it stirred up. This is what I saw when I lifted the lid. Didn't get a chance to plate and picture it at work.