I’m becoming a creature of habit at the ripe old age of 36. I started eating oatmeal for breakfast when I worked with a personal trainer a few years ago, and it’s one habit that has stuck.
I’ve posted before on a recipe for steel cut oatmeal. Since then, I’ve also tried it in the crock pot using this method. I like the bain-marie method; it makes the oatmeal even creamier somehow. I used one cup of oats to 3.5 cups water in a 4-cup capacity Pyrex measuring up that fits well in my crock pot. I add water to about the same level as inside the Pyrex cup, cover and set on low overnight.
My favorite toppings include cinnamon (Penzey’s pumpkin pie spice is also amazing!), REAL 100% maple syrup (trying to avoid artifical sweeteners), toasted walnuts, and frozen blueberries or banana slices.
It’s dinnertime now, but I could TOTALLY go for a bowl of oatmeal right now.
Yum!
Hope you’re all weathering Snowpocalypse 2010 well!
For more great ideas, check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family!
New! Just posted over here as well:
Sandwiched 
I’m so glad that you discovered the bain-marie method for your steel cut oats–it’s forever changed (and improved) our breakfasts! I had some this very morning with cinnamon…mmmm……
Now I’m hungry, too!
Mmmm… that sounds good. I’ve often thought about making it in the morning, but I’m usually the hungry NOW type. Using the slowcooker appeals much more. 🙂
Having it ready in the slow cooker in the morning is PERFECT for needing it ready NOW! Leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave, too.
I know it’s a bit wasteful, but… Amy’s makes steel-cut oats that you can buy in the frozen section of the health food store. It’s delicious, natural, and best of all: ready to mix in your goodies in 3 minutes. I love to mix in whatever berry is in season, bananas, cinnamon, dates, diced apple, walnuts, et al. Yum!
Hey…sometimes that convenience is worth it! I think I bought a bowl of frozen Bob Evans brand oatmeal once…it was great, but for $3 per serving, I try to make it myself when I can.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your comments on my review of SO EASY. I’m quite pleased with this cookbook – tasty and satisfying (and, of course, so easy!).
Like you, I’m a creature of habit w/oatmeal for breakfast. I’ll admit I take a shortcut with Trader Joe’s cranberry w/flax seed instant oatmeal. I add 2/3 c milk and a tablespoon of raisins, and pop it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes.
I haven’t tried oatmeal in the crock-pot, but I’m sure that’s a more healthy alternative (w/out addd sugars). I’m a big fan of Penzey’s, too 🙂
When I was visiting friends in San Francisco in January, they made steel cut oats every morning for breakfast, served with a variety of choices of fruit, and vanilla yogurt instead of milk to stir in. My friend is diabetic, and her doctors suggested this approach to breakfast.
When I got home, I found I really missed that great start to the day, and now I do it that way at home most days. Sometimes, I substitute Go Lean multi-grain oatmeal in the cinnamon and honey flavor – it goes incredibly well with blueberries! 🙂
Hi,
That’s great, just don’t forget the good dollop of raw cream on top! Animal fats are very necessary for good health. The blueberries look yummy:)
Thanks for sharing this link on my blog! I’m definitely going to try cooking them in the crockpot now.
I still make a variation of this almost every week. My kids can never agree on what to add, so I make steel cut oats totally plain and add toppings in the morning. One kid will only add brown sugar and cinnamon, while the other is anything-goes! Our big hit last week was pumpkin pie oatmeal (dollop of canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar or maple syrup, and toasted pecans or walnuts). Other favorite toppings include blueberries (fresh or frozen), bananas, homemade (crock-pot!) applesauce, chocolate chips (pumpkin and chocolate FTW!), and flavored coffee creamer.
I had problems with my pyrex being too tall for the lid to fit on the slow cooker. I figured out that I have a 1.5 qt stainless steel bowl (originally from Linens ‘N Things, but I bet you could find something similar in the sold separately stacking bowl sets at Bed, Bath and Beyond) which both fits better and allows me to add a little extra in the flavorant department (like dried apricots with a little more liquid) and now have it overflow.
Nice!Sounds like that’s a great workaround. Thanks for commenting!