Oatmeal is a really great breakfast.   It lowers cholesterol, stabilizes blood glucose levels, and keeps you feeling fuller longer.   So why doesn’t everyone eat it?   I think there are two reasons:  Flavor and Texture.   Nothing like a bland mushy meal to make you turn away in disgust.  I mean who wants to choke down something because it is healthy?   Not me…  Well, unless my cholesterol levels are high…  Then it becomes time to re-write what you know about oatmeal!

As an added bonus this meal is ready for you when you wake up.

Tools and equipment :

01) Two Quart Slow Cooker [I have an old slow cooker that has served me well for years.]
02) Glass Measure Cup [I prefer to use glass for liquids.]
03) Measuring cups and spoons [I have a mix and match of these.]
04) Timer [Wemo] [Turn your slow cooker on and off so you can have a warm breakfast.]

Ingredients

01) Steel Cut Oats [Say goodbye to mush.]
02) Brown Sugar [Yum.]
03) Salt [Good News. Salt by itself does not increase cholesterol.]
04) Vanilla Extract [More yum.]
05) Maple Syrup [Adding depth of flavor.]

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Directions for THE BASE (makes enough for 2)

These directions are for what I consider a good base flavor. I can typically get two full breakfast bowls out of this recipe.
In the slow cooker add:

2 cups of water.

1/2 Cup of steel-cut oats.

2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar.

1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup.

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt.

1/4 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract.

Stir it all together, and you should have something like this:

I like to taste the flavored water at this point to verify that I have a good blend.  Plus, it kind of tastes like cookie dough to me.

Set the Slow Cooker to LOW and plug it into your timer.  I use Wemo because they are simple and I don’t have to listen to the ticking sounds of the analog versions.  I bet you could even connect Wemo to Alexa and tell her to set the timer, but I haven’t tried that so don’t quote me.

Cook for 5-6 Hours.   I cook mine for 5 and 1/2 hours, and I get a good consistency.

You should end up with this:

Now, while this tastes good plain, you can make it even better with macerated fruit!  I like Apples and Lubby likes strawberries. (Learn how to macerate strawberries here.) OR throw in some chocolate chips and really go all-out cookie-flavored!

You can also make this creamier by adding Coconut Milk in place of water

Until next time
-Hubby