Crockpot Oatmeal

As I've mentioned before, we're fans of the hot breakfast at our house.  But Sunday mornings it's a scramble to get chores done, breakfast made and eaten, kiddos cleaned and dressed, and finally mama cleaned and dressed...all before 9am!  By the time we have everybody strapped into the van, I'm ready for a nap.

A friend recently shared this recipe with me and it's been a great solution to the hot Sunday breakfast dilemma!  Crockpot Oatmeal!  All you need is a crockpot, water, steel cut oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, apples, dried fruit and salt.

First, melt 2T of butter in a skillet with your burner on low.  Then add 1 cup of steel cut oats to brown and toast a bit.  This brings out the nutty flavor of the oats.  You'll want to stir them around every so often to avoid some getting over-browned.

Cut up two apples to shred.

Shred them right into the crockpot, skins and all!

I've also diced the apples which worked fine, but my personal preference is shredded.

(Remember to keep a eye on your oats!)

Now add 3/4 cup of dried fruit.  Whatever you happen to have is fine:  cranberries, cherries, raisins, apples.  I've used them all, my personal favorite is cranberries!

This time I used dried cherries and cut them in half because I have small children who eat oatmeal.

 Pour in 4 cups of water (or you can substitute apple juice for some of the water).

Because you've kept such a close eye on your oats, they are a beautiful toasty brown color and smell wonderful.  Just pour them into the crockpot.

Add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar.

1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more, like me!)

1/2 tsp salt to bring out all the flavors.

Give it all a good stir.  It may not look like much now...but just wait!

We're going to cook this on low for 4-6 hours.  Now, if you have a crockpot with a timer on it, do a happy dance (it's OK, I'll wait).  If not, I have a very small girl who I could lend out any night but Saturday night and she will wake you up at approximately 2AM.  You will feed her and as she is eating, you can turn on your crockpot.

You'll wake up in the morning to the most amazing smell in your kitchen.  Nothing hits the spot quite like flavorful, warm oatmeal.

My kids cheer when I tell them it's Oatmeal Morning.  Hubby and I love it as well.  And it's definitely helped smooth out our Sunday mornings!

UPDATE:  Thanks to my facebook friends who shared a great tip:  If you don't have a tiny girl to wake  you up in the middle of the night to turn on your crockpot, use a LIGHT TIMER!  Those great little inventions that turn your lights on and off at specified times, you can find them at any hardware-type store.  Genius!!  Now, you have no excuse not to make crockpot oatmeal...