Time to make oatmeal..

...or as my son used to say when he was little, "openeymeal". I love to make a big crockpot of oatmeal to last a week in the fridge...


There are many health benefits of oatmeal: It's full of fiber, reduces LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), has lots of protein, and may help prevent heart disease.
The problem with some crockpot oatmeal recipes is they don't use enough liquid. So by the time you wake up in the morning, the oatmeal is crusty and stuck to your slow cooker. This crockpot oatmeal turns out just the way oatmeal was intended to taste and can cook 8 to 9 hours without sticking.

Important: You must use steel cut oatmeal, such as McCann's Irish Oatmeal, not rolled oats or instant oats. Otherwise, your oatmeal will cook too fast and end up sticking to the crockpot. If some has stuck to the sides and is crusty when you are ready to dish it up, just stir it in...it will not matter at all! Try it...here's how...if you like it, let me know...


Crockpot Oatmeal Recipe
2 cups steel cut oats (not instant or rolled oats)
6-8 cups water, depending on how long the oatmeal will cook...

Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. If you're planning to cook the oatmeal 8 hours or longer, use 8 cups of water. If you want to cook it less than 8 hours, use 6 cups of water. Put ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low. Just before serving, Stir in bananas, walnuts, cooked apples, brown sugar, milk, cream, honey, or whatever you like in it. As for me, I just like it plain, with a little butter, sugar, and milk on top. After it cools, I transfer the oatmeal from the crockpot to a 9x13 pan glass container with a lid and place in the fridge. Each day, I scoop some out (it will be very thick and gummy), add milk and sugar, although usually I put in two sweet 'n lows, and put it in my corningware bowl with lid and carry it to work. Then I microwave it for a short time and voila! Openeymeal! Sometimes I leave it cold and instead of milk, I add a one serving size of yogurt to it, mix it up and yummy! Breakfast on the go!

Serving size: 1/4 cup

Per serving: 150 calories, 2 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 26 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 4 g protein, 1% Vitamin A, 6% Vitamin C, 5% calcium, 8% iron, 20 g calcium