No Mess Crock Pot Steel Cut Oats

Jonesy's Note:

After being a zaar lurker for years, I finally am posting so I can find this recipe again. My husband gets up early for work and likes steel cut oats, but I don't want to be slaving over the stove or have a nasty crock pot mess. So I found this method on a blog (I don't know where exactly), and tried it last night. It worked perfectly! The oatmeal brulee came off a different blog and I haven't tried it but it sounds absolutely yummy!

• Total Time: 5 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 4.0 cups

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 4 cups water
• 1 dash salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix steel cut oats, 4 cups water, and salt, if using, in a bowl large enough to hold it.
2. Put some water in your crock pot and carefully lower the bowl with the oats into the water bath. You don't want the water in the crock pot to overflow into your oats, but I tried to follow the blogger's suggestion of matching the water level outside to that of the water/oats inside. Your bowl may get a hard water line on the outside that will come off in the dishwasher.
3. Cook on low overnight. In the morning you will have creamy oatmeal and can add your favorite fixins to it (milk, fruit, cinnamon, sugar, pumpkin, etc).
4. For Oatmeal Brulee: Fill a ramekin approximately half way with oatmeal (mixed with milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar--to your desired sweetness).
5. Add blueberries and raspberries (or any other berry, apple, whatever).
6. Cover with another layer of sweetened oatmeal to smooth out top.
7. Sprinkle with mixture of 1 Tbsp white sugar and 1 tsp brown sugar.
8. Broil 1-3 minutes, or until sugar forms caramelized crust.
9. This sounds like a dessert to me, and was from a Disneyland resort's breakfast menu, but if it has oatmeal, that makes it breakfast, right?

Reviews

[Chef #341885]

I halved this recipe and made it in my 3 1/2 quart Crock Pot. I used the handy Crock Pot cake and bread insert that I have instead of a bowl and it turned out perfectly. I added 1 cup cool water to the Crock Pot for the bath, and put 1/2 cup steel cut oats, pinch of salt and 2 cups cool water in the insert; put the lid on, put it in the Crock Pot and put the lid on the Crock Pot itself. It cooked for 7 1/2 hours while I slept and turned out perfectly. Upon arising I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon, pinch nutmeg, 2 T Splenda and 1/2 cup raisins and stirred everything together. I then put the insert back in the Crock Pot in the hot water bath for an additional 1/2 hour. Next time I will try it using apple juice instead of water. This is a foolproof way to wake up to a nice warm healthy breakfast. Yum

[gailanng]

My picture is far from perfect, but I've been distracted by my g'children, who have been tempting both fate and patience for the past half hour. Having had 3 kids of my own, colonization isn't new to me, but with the expansion, I didn't expect a settlement.

[Bstgirl]

So awesome! The kids loved waking up during the week to their favourite oatmeal. Thanks!!