Overnight Oatmeal

Last night I wanted to do something different for breakfast, so I decided I was going to make overnight crock pot oatmeal. I did an internet search and found many different recipes, but I finally decided to go with one from the Food Network site, posted by Alton Brown. I noticed there were about 200 comments by people like me who had made the recipe. A lot of them were not good! But, a lot of the others had suggestions to fix the concerns. I took note of the ideas and ran to the store after work to get a package of steel cut oats.

I have never used steal cut oats before, and so I found myself perusing the Quaker Oats display last night reading packages, instant, quick, rolled...but no steal cut. I almost gave up when I saw this little box labeled Irish Oats, huh, never heard of that before. I looked closer and saw 'steal cut' above the main label...and then the price, almost 6 dollars for the little box! I knew the box would be enough to make the recipe about 2 and a half times, so I went for it.

I can't post the exact recipe, because I did not write it down. I basically squiggled the parts I needed onto a scrap of paper. It called for 1 cup of the oats, 4 cups of water and half a cup of half&half. Mix all these together in the crock pot with some dried figs and dried cranberries. Cook overnight on low, and voila! Breakfast.

These are some of the dried oats. As for the changes, a lot of the people said the recipe dried out, burned, stuck, etc. The biggest suggestion was to put it on low for an hour, and then on warm the rest of the night. A few people suggested turning it back on low for another hour in the morning. Most suggested using regular or skim milk instead of half & half. I don't think I have ever seen it sold in any store I have ever been in, so I just used the milk in the refrigerator.

I took the suggestion of putting it on low for an hour then warm the rest of the night. At about 8:30 this morning, I found this in my crock pot. The only way I can describe it is puddle of goo. It smelled funny, it looked funny and honestly, it tasted funny. Not one for soggy oatmeal, I used a small strainer to drain off about a cup and added some frozen blueberries. I gave a 30 seconds in the microwave to warm the berries up.

The blueberries off set the funny taste a bit, but not much, I think it needs some nutmeg or cinnamon. The rest of the oatmeal I left in the crock pot on low for another hour. It was still quite soggy, so I took the cover off and let it go for half an hour. Still soggy, so finally I put it on High for half an hour, I checked it after 15 minutes and called it complete.

So, I am calling it a semi success. Some of the comments stated it is a recipe you have to play around with, so I think since I spent 6 bucks on the box, I might try it at least once more. Along with the bowl above, I got 4 more small containers. I think I will be adding something to them before eating, though. The little bit I did eat did not fill me, I ended up having a home made granola bar to fill it out.

So, another week almost to an end. Hope it has been good for everyone. I have lots to do this weekend, I am babysitting Saturday and also have some cooking and baking to do.

Happy end of the work week!