Crockpot Oatmeal

I have made this recipe for my family a number of times now.  Each of us enjoys it (a big plus), and it is super easy (another big plus).  I am a big fan of eating breakfast foods for dinner, and this meal is an example of that.  There are always leftovers, too, which is nice.  At least a few bowls are served at breakfast in the days following this meal.

Served plain

With toppings: brown sugar,
granola, and diced strawberries

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats & Apples

Ingredients:

~2 cups steel cut oats, dry
~2 cups apples, chopped
~3 cups water (be prepared to add more water to your crockpot later on, if your oatmeal starts to look too thick)
~1 cup low-fat milk
~1 tablespoon cinnamon
~1 teaspoon apple pie spice (the original recipe called for pumpkin pie spice... you could use whatever you like or have on hand)
~I also added about 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, about 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, and about 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~margarine (for greasing inside of crockpot)

~optional toppings:  cranberries, dried cherries, raisins, pecans, brown sugar, granola

Directions:

Grease slow cooker with margarine.  Add ingredients to slow cooker, except the toppings.  Stir to mix and cover.  I cooked mine on the low setting for about 3 hours.  As I mentioned, I did need to add more water later as the oatmeal became too thick.

~nikki