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A couple of weeks ago my little twin boy Aaron (age 5) and I were sitting in the waiting room at the doctors office. The poor kid has been sick this winter more times than I can count. I actually can’t count REALLY high, I was just trying to paint a picture here. He’s been sick, my friends. Many times. Thanks for your concern. You are always so thoughtful like that.
Anyhow, there we were. The sweet thing wrapped up in a blanket on my lap while we looked at pictures in a gourmet Italian cooking magazine. Yes, of course he wanted to read that kind of magazine. Thanks for asking. Again, always thinking outside of yourself aren’t you. 🙂
While looking at a particularly beautiful photo he said to me,
“Hey Mom. You know what my FAVORITE thing to HATE is?”
With a chuckle I asked what it might be.
“Goat Cheese. That. Is my favorite thing to hate.”
“Your FAVORITE thing?” I laughed. “People usually don’t call something they hate their favorite.”
“Well, I really like to hate goat cheese so I’m going to call it my favorite thing to hate.”
Fair enough. Who am I to govern his favorite things!
P.S. There is no goat cheese or hate involved in this recipe, I just thought it was a cute story you might get a little chuckle out of. This recipe is about steel cut oats and cooking them in the crock pot while you sleep so you can have a hearty breakfast of apple cinnamon wonder when your feet hit the ground in the morning. Nothing to hate about that, is there?
Do you know about Steel Cut Oats, dear reader?
I’m not talking about about Old Fashioned Oats, or Instant Oats or the oats Charles Ingalls may have fed his horse.
Steel cut oats are whole grain groats that have been cut into pieces and retain a bit of the outer bran coating. They take longer to cook than Regular Oats and certainly Instant Oats, but have a wonderful nutty flavor and more substantial texture. I prefer it to regular oatmeal, any day.
This Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats recipe is full of flavor. The apples cook right with the steel cut oats. As the mixture cooks it gets this golden, crispy caramelized top to it… Oh, it’s good. Super good. Hope you try some today, or tonight or first thing in the morning. 🙂
2. Place all ingredients (except the toppings) into the crock pot. Give it a nice stir, cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
Thank you for a great recipe. It was wonderful to wake up Sunday morning to a yummy breakfast and not have to figure out what I had time to make between getting the kids ready for church.
I will be trying your Creamy Chipotle Black Bean Chicken tonight. Can't wait.
I would say that you definitely need the sour cream for body, moitsure, texture and taste. Soda bread is traditionally on the dry side already, so I would suggest leaving this delicious baking endeavor for another day when you have all of the ingredients necessary for the recipe. Why not bake a simple cake instead? I’m sure it will fill your home with a lovely aroma and you’ll have a tasty, creative gift for yourself, your family or one of your lucky friends.Good Luck and I hope this helps.I’m a professional baker.
this is my first time on your site and i love it! i want to make the overnight oatmeal but all i have is old fashioned oats. would that work? thanks!
Welcome to you! Hope you enjoy the recipes. Unfortunately, old fashioned oats won't work well for this recipe. You need Steel Cut Oats.
Good luck!
~Jamie
Jamie, how can you store the leftovers? I know we cannot finish a crockpot size of oatmeal in one day. 🙂
I make a big batch every Sunday to last the whole week. We just put it in a tight sealing dish and in the frigerator. Each day we just dish up a bowl and zap it in the microwave then add milk and toppings. It is so fast and great each morning.
Jennifer,
What a great idea!
~Jamie
Wow. I just found your blog via a BlogHer side bar on Tasty Kitchen, and I am subscribing right now! Everything looks positively scrumptious! Thank you!
I tried this recipe last night (I put the crockpot on at 11pm and opened it at 6am) but when I woke up in the morning the oatmeal seemed a little burnt on the edges. I used olive oil cooking spray and I used coconut milk instead of regular milk. Do you have any recommendations??
Hey there,
The coconut milk may have had something to do with it, however all crock pots cook a little bit differently. Yours may cook at a higher temp, how did it taste?
Thanks,
~Jamie
I'm excited to try steel cut oats for the first time. Is it okay to cook longer than 7 hours? I don't want to stay up so late and we are up at 7am. Should I add more liquid to keep it from drying out? Thanks so much!
OOOH how fun! That’s neat to find a cookbook from your chodhloid. I love the plate that you have the cookies on. I’m going to have to find one to get for myself. Your girls are looking rather cool with those shades!-Teresa
Angie, I put my crockpot on a timer (like for lights when you’re out of town). That way I can go to bed at my regular time and have the oats ready when I get up. Just be sure to turn the crock pot on. Oh – and I add a little extra milk in case I over-sleep.
I just made this (at 12 noon). I wanted to do a test run before leaving it to cook overnight. I am so glad I did. I know my crockpot runs at a higher temp than most. My oatmeal was done in 3 hours, on low! I will try the 'warm' temp tomorrow to see if it will work.
I do know another way to cook steel cut oats. You boil the oats the liquid and any additional ingredients for 5 minutes then remove from heat ant place in the fridge overnight. In the morning you pull it out and finish cooking. It usually takes me about 10 minutes. Not as easy as the crockpot but it works for me, especilly if I can't get my crockpot to behave itself.
By the way the oatmeal is delicious. I am having a bowl for snack right now.;)
AThis recipe is in the crockpot now, it sounds so good together I am looking forward to breakfast ! I don’t even like oatmeal. Canadian Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I have other things to do in my kitchen besides make and clean up from making breakfast. I’m hoping this becomes a family favorite.
I made this this the other day and I love it! I just added an extra apple and some craisons to it!