Foodie Friday -- Crockpot Oatmeal

I found this recipe on Facebook, but I tweaked it numerous times to make it a thick-and-gooey oatmeal instead of runny oatmeal.

Super easy to throw the ingredients together the night before, set the temperature to “Low” on the crockpot, and go to bed. Breakfast is ready 8 hours later.

Sorry, no picture. Since we tend to like lots of cinnamon in our oatmeal, it didn't take an appetizing picture. 

Crockpot Oatmeal

4 Granny Smith apples, cored and peeled, chopped into large chunks

¾ cup light brown sugar

1 heaping Tbls cinnamon

1 tsp Kosher salt

2 cups oatmeal

3 cups water

Place chopped apples on the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon and salt on top. Add oatmeal and water. DO NOT STIR. Plug in crockpot and set timer to low.

Next morning, stir and adjust seasoning (more salt/cinnamon/sugar). If too runny, add ¼ cup instant cook oatmeal. 

Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks:

• ·         Stick with a tart apple. Granny Smiths are awesome for cooking. My chunks were ½ -3/4  –inch thick. The first time I made this I diced the apples. They were too small and simply melted into the oatmeal. We like the chunks.
• ·         We like cinnamon, so I added quite a bit. The original recipe only calls for 1 tsp. which isn’t nearly enough.
• ·         We used a mixture of dark brown sugar and light brown sugar (it was what was left in the bags). My hubby didn’t care for the slight molasses flavor that the dark brown sugar leaves. Your choice.
• ·         The first time I made this, I couldn’t figure out what was missing the next morning . . . until I added a couple of large pinches of Kosher salt.  Err on the side of less salt and adjust the seasoning the next morning when you taste it.
• ·         This time I used a mixture of steel-cut oats and regular quick oats. The steel-cut are supposed to be healthier, but I don’t think they cooked down as much as regular oatmeal would, as there were tiny bits of chewiness.
• ·         The original recipe called for 3-4 cups of water, but it was too runny. If you have some quick oats you can use them to thicken it up, or go slightly less with the water. It’s hard to tell how much the apples will juice.