Best Bites: Slow-Cooker Oatmeal
By Donna Erickson
Make Slow-Cooker Oatmeal for an Easy Morning Routine
It would be an apt description to call my husband a "musher" even though he has never trained, led or raced a dog team of huskies. Simply put, he likes to wake up in the morning to a hot pot of coffee and prepare a big, steaming bowl of homemade oatmeal, or what our family has called it for generations -- "mush."
PHOTO CREDIT: Donna Erickson
He makes the "mush" by dumping a cup of steel-cut oatmeal that we buy for only 25 cents per cup in bulk at our neighborhood store into a cooking pot on the stove. He adds water, raisins, and chopped fresh fruit such as an apple or a pear, then tosses in a pinch of salt and cinnamon. It's ready to eat in about 30 minutes, just as he opens the sports section of the morning paper.
His has been a fine and dandy routine for years until he recently started a new job as an assistant superintendent of a school that starts in the wee hours of the morning and is located on the opposite end of town from our home. The new early wake-up call prompted a happy discovery: slow-cooker oatmeal. Now he tosses the ingredients in our slow cooker the night before and sets it on low so that the healthy "mush" is hot and ready to enjoy the moment he wakes up. It's a "musher's" dream come true!
If your family knows and likes their oats, give this easy and super cheap version a try. For about 4 servings, you'll need:
1 cup steel-cut oats (not quick-cooking or instant oats)
3 cups water
A pinch of salt
Dried fruit to taste such as apricots, raisins and cranberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh fruit such as an apple or a pear
Cinnamon to taste (optional)
Here's the fun: Let your kids measure and pour ingredients in the slow cooker before they go to bed. Stir, cover and set cooker at low heat. In the morning, stir and serve. Vary toppings from day to day such as brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, honey, nuts or chopped banana. Add milk if you wish.
ALTERNATIVE IDEA
Try this recipe with your rice cooker if it has a porridge or cereal function that cooks oatmeal. Place ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate the night before. Pour contents into the cooker in the morning, then turn it on. It will cook on its own for about 25 minutes while the family gets dressed.
Donna Erickson creates relationships and community through food and fun. Find more to nourish and delight you at www.donnaerickson.com.