Overnight Irish Oatmeal

I have been cozying up to my crock pot a lot lately - it's just so nice to be able to throw stuff in there and have it come together perfectly with barely any work at all. And I'd read that you can actually make oatmeal in a crock pot by fixing it the night before and setting it on low overnight. I love oatmeal and eat it almost every morning, especially during the colder winter months. I enjoy the Irish-style steel-cut oats the most, but they take so long to cook that I rarely make make time for them in my morning routine. So I decided to try cooking them in the crock pot overnight to see if I could make it work - and it did!!

The oatmeal was not only fabulously creamy from the slow cooking process, but it was also full of flavor from the extras that I threw in. This was a hearty, rich, and healthy breakfast. If you fix this the night before AND set your coffee maker to automatically brew your coffee at a certain time, then it's truly like having a personal chef fix your whole gourmet breakfast for you!

Overnight Irish Oatmeal

1 cup Irish steel-cut oats (ex. McCann's)
4 cups water
1 medium apple - peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon half and half

Grease the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray. Pour all ingredients into your crock pot.

Alternative method: pour ingredients into a heat-proof bowl that fits inside your crock pot. Place the bowl inside your crock pot. Fill the crock pot with water until it reaches about half-way up the side of the bowl.

Stir your ingredients together, place the lid on your crock pot, and turn the pot on low. Allow to cook for 8-9 hours or overnight. Here is what it will look like when you wake up in the morning!

Simply stir up your oatmeal and serve it hot in bowls. Enjoy!