MONDAY RECIPE POST --- STEEL-CUT OATMEAL WITH APPLES AND CRANBERRIES

I have made an almost identical recipe to this one using Old-Fashioned Oats, but this calls for Steel-Cut.  I generally buy a large bag of dried cranberries, to be used in a lot of recipes, including salads, but my favorite way at this point in time at least, is in a bowl of oatmeal.  

Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Apples and Cranberries

Total time: 6 hours and 15 minutes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time on low: 6 hours

Servings: 6

1 cup steel-cut oats
3-1/2 cups of water
1-1/2 cups of peeled and chopped apples
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Place the steel cut oats, water, apple, cranberries, brown sugar and vanilla extract into a slow cooker.  Stir to combine to dissolve the sugar.  

Put the cover on the crockpot,  set to "low" and cook for 6 hours.  

This was excellent.  The original recipe suggested cooking on low for 6 to 7 hours for firm oats, or 8 hours for a softer texture.  6 hours is how long it took for mine and it was fine.  If I go over the six, my oatmeal tends to start turning too brown around the edge and gets clumpy.  My suggestion is to read the instructions on the original recipe here.  Everyone’s crockpot is different, so you'll have to judge by how yours operates.

I usually double the ingredients.  I like to freeze in 1-cup portions, and then if we are in a hurry, I take it out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave for roughly 3 minute.  That is just a guideline as I know microwaves can vary in cooking times. 

This is one of my favorite breakfasts, and seems especially good when it is cold outside. It reminds me of when my mother sent us off to school, well fortified after eating a bowl of hot ‘porridge‘, on a rather chilly and foggy morning in the middle of winter.