The Homestyle

As I’ve mentioned before, we love oatmeal (well, Brian not so much, but the rest of us do!). We like steel cut oatmeal best: Apple Pie Steel Cut Oats and Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats (I usually omit the orange juice though) are two of our favorite recipes. But sometimes we also enjoy more traditional oatmeal, especially when it’s baked.

A few months ago, I discovered this recipe for Baked Oatmeal on the Money Saving Mom website. It is simple to make, very filling to eat, and can even be made in bulk ahead of time and frozen to save time on busy mornings.

When we make this recipe, we love to stir in some chocolate chips before we pour it into the baking dish. (I usually omit the cinnamon when I do that.) Other times we will dice up apples and add an extra teaspoon of cinnamon for delicious cinnamon-apple oatmeal. Our favorite thing about having the oatmeal baked instead of boiled or microwaved is the texture. It is very much like a crumbly cookie bar instead of a bowl of mush. Naomi likes to pour milk onto hers, but the rest of us like ours straight out of the baking dish.

I love oatmeal. I think I always have. I definitely got that from my dad. And William inherited this deep love of oats from me. The boy can put away as much oatmeal at five as I can at 29! (Thank goodness oatmeal is cheap!)

As much as I love oatmeal, there is one thing I love even more: steel-cut oatmeal! If you’ve not had the chance to try this type of oatmeal, I suggest you shut your computer off this instant and run to the nearest store to buy some. Then, while it’s cooking you can come back and read the rest of this article.

I love steel-cut oatmeal for its semi-crunchy texture. It adds a fun pop in your mouth as you enjoy your morning bowl of oatmeal. I also love its nutty flavor, which is so tasty that sometimes I even eat it plain with absolutely nothing on it.

The only complaint I have about steel-cut oatmeal is that it takes quite awhile to make it. Instead of 2 minutes in the microwave for instant oatmeal, you’re looking at 20-30 minutes of simmering on the stove. {Insert grumbly voice.} Worth it? Yes. Irritating? Absolutely.

So I was super excited to come across a recipe at Simple Bites for Apple Pie Steel Cut Oats made in a slow cooker! I tried them last week and fell in love. Not only is the flavor drool-inducing, but the house smelled so yummy when we all woke up and found a batch of steel-cut oats ready and waiting for us.

If you would like to try this recipe, I do have a couple of thoughts to add to the original recipe:

• I used milk instead of cream, and it worked great. I only buy flavored creamers, so I didn’t feel like buying the plain stuff just for this recipe.

• I just used a glass bowl instead of the 4-cup measuring cup, and it worked perfectly.

• I added an extra Tablespoon of brown sugar… just because.

• I diced my apple into very tiny pieces instead of shredding it. I liked the texture they became after cooking overnight. It really was like an apple pie!

• I completely agree with the author of this recipe – don’t skip the applesauce! (Or apple butter.) It was exactly what this recipe needed to keep me coming back for more.

Let me know if you try it and what you think!