Slow Cooker Spiced Vanilla & Apple Steel Cut Oatmeal

Wowza...long title.  Did you get all that?  I am sure I have said this before but I LOVE OATMEAL!  There is really nothing better then a nice big steaming bowl of oatmeal on a brisk autumn morning.  Are you in the mood yet?

This oatmeal is SO good, yet not that pretty.  So therefore, no pictures.  Hope you understand. 

I made this oatmeal around 3pm.  It takes a recommended 5-6 hours in the slow cooker.  I am NOT waking up to start breakfast, so I made it late enough so I could have a small bowl for dessert before bed.  The steel cut oats retain their shape, I guess you could say, so you can reheat it just fine.  I added a touch of milk and an extra sprinkling of brown sugar before I heated it in the microwave.

The recipe I started with said it made 3 to 4 servings.  If you eat oatmeal on a regular basis I am sure you have seen how small the portion sizes are.  So I doubled the recipe.  I shouldn't have done that.  I now have a TON to eat.  So this will easily make 6-8 servings.  This would be a GREAT holiday morning breakfast!  Easy to make a feed a gang!

Let's do this thing.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups steel cut oats
• 8 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 2 apples, cut into bite size pieces with the skin still on.  Just make sure to wash well.
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook LOW 5-6 hours.  NO LONGER.  
2. Stir and Enjoy!   If reheating add an extra splash of milk and an extra sprinkle of brown sugar never hurt anyone.

Recipe inspired by Sweet Treats & More

Clean Eating Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I LOVE cooler weather because that means OATMEAL!  I found a great blog with 100 oatmeal recipes.  I am going to be scrolling through there, trying them out, and posting my favorites.  The first one to be included is Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.  

Yes, you read that right.  PUMPKIN PIE OATMEAL.

And NO added sugar.  The only sugar comes from the PURE maple syrup.  Please do not top this with pancake syrup.  Not the same.  AT ALL.  Spend the $6, get a small bottle and once opened KEEP IN THE REFRIGERATOR!

This recipe makes a generous size.  I halved the original recipe that said it made 4 servings.  So, this will either make a very filling breakfast, or split it with someone!  According to the Quaker Oat site I made the correct amount for one serving.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Oatmeal cooked, I used Quaker Instant, steel cuts oats would be fabulous!
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree NOT pie filling (VERY important)
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, no sugar added
• pecans for serving on top, I used pecan pieces
• REAL maple syrup

Directions:

1. Cook oatmeal to package directions.  If you are like me, I lost my box, so I included the link to the Quaker site for you.  It has cooking directions.
2. If not using instant, stir in the pumpkin and pie spice about 5 minutes before it is finished cooking.  If using instant, just pour it in after it has cooked for a whole whopping 1 minute. 
3. Sprinkle with pecans.
4. Top with the maple syrup to your liking.  Pure syrup is really sweet.  Add SLOWLY.

Enjoy!!

Original Recipe

Fruit Oatmeal Bars

I just had to put the most important thing first.  The picture.  These are phenomenal.  

I had frozen strawberries and blueberries from earlier this year so I threw those in.  I am planning on making more this week.  I think this time around blackberries are in order.  I'll let you know how those turn out!  I am SO glad I found this recipe.  

I made these in two separate pans.  I had an 8x11 and a 9x5.  I had enough base, but not enough filling.  So I increased the filling. But honestly...can you ever have too much berry goodness?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats, divided*
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or run regular whole wheat flour through a sifter a couple of times)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

*3/4 cups oats for the base of the bars and 1/4 cup oats for the topping

Fruit Filling Ingredients:

• 6 1/2 cups  blueberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, fresh or frozen, divided*
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup and  2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup orange segments
• 1 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla

 *VERY versatile recipe.  Just choose what you want to use.  I did mine half blueberry and half strawberry

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
2. Put the oats in a blender or food processor and run until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in both flours, sugar and salt.
3. Add chunks of butter and use a pastry blender or you fingers to incorporate it into the flour mixture until crumbly.
4. Whisk egg, oil, vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl. Pour into flour mixture and stir until it everything is combined. It will be crumbly.
5. Transfer 1/2 cup of the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup rolled oats (or nuts or a combination of the two). Set aside for the topping.
6. Line a 9×13″ or two 9×5″ pans with foil or parchment paper. Spray the lined pan with cooking spray. Spread the dough evenly in the pan and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust. Set aside.
7. Combine 4 1/2 cups berries, orange juice, sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes. This could take up to 10 minutes if you started with frozen fruit.
   
8. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of berries, oranges, orange zest and vanilla.
9. Spread the fruit filling over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling.
10. Bake the bars for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the crust and topping are lightly brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
11. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, at least 1 1/2 hours.

12.  After cooling I removed the bars by lifting them out of the pan by the tinfoil.

       Then I placed them on a cutting board and cut these with a spatula. 

13.  Once cut I wrapped these individually in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Back to the Cutting Board

Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

These are fabulous AND since it has oatmeal in it, you get to pretend it is healthy for you!  Score on two points!

 Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

Make sure you get your helpers!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Grease pan.  I used a 8"x11" glass baking dish.  A 9" square would work as well.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
3. Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy.
4. To the sugar mixture add the egg, water, and vanilla.  Beat until well blended.
5. Add the flour mixture and oats to the butter mixture.  Mix well with a spoon!  It is getting thick!
6. With a spoon stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.  Spread dough into the baking dish and press down with a wooden spatula.  
7. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chunks on top.

     8.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  You need to check and make sure the center is
            firm.  Mine took about 32 minutes.
     9.  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

   10.  Serve with a LARGE glass of milk.