Slow Cooker Eggnog Cranberry Steel-Cut Oatmeal

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 12-22-14**

Ah, Christmas morning. The morning where everyone wants a delicious special breakfast, but nobody want to cook one! Spend more time with your family and make breakfast the night before! This week's recipe is Slow Cooker Eggnog Cranberry Steel-Cut Oatmeal! Now, there are two kind of people in this world: Those who eat oatmeal and those who don't. If you are not generally a fan of oatmeal, this recipe will not change your mind, even though it is good! Haha! But, if you enjoy oatmeal, this is a nice twist on the regular stuff. I topped mine with some extra cranberries and some chopped pecans, and it was a nice, filling dish. I would recommend doing this if you have a digital crock that can switch to "warm", otherwise it may get a bit overdone on the edges if you cook it overnight. But if you are up late and plan to get up early (about 6 hours), then you are fine if you don't have a digital one! I cooked on low for 6 hours and then my crock switched to warm for a few hours and it was fine. You could probably cook it on high for 2-3 hours too, if you just get up early enough.

 

SLOW COOKER EGGNOG CRANBERRY STEEL-CUT OATMEAL

• 4 cups eggnog
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups uncooked steel-cut oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries or Craisins
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds or ground flax seeds
• (optional toppings: chopped nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, additional eggnog or cranberries, etc)

Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker (except optional ingredients) and mix together. Cook on low for 6 hours or until oats are cooked and softened and the edges have browned a bit. Spoon it up in bowls to serve and add additional toppings if desired! Merry Christmas!

Apple Pie Breakfast

OK, this week, I am doing another breakfast/brunch treat! The hashbrown breakfast casserole I posted a few months ago was a big hit, so I thought I would do another breakfast crock. This one is actually pretty healthy too, which is always a plus, especially if you are trying to lose those holiday pounds :) It uses steel cut oats (also called Irish or Pinhead oats), which are supposed to be the healthiest of oats! Don't use rolled oats, as they will just turn into mush. Unless you like mush, then maybe it would work! Now, the original recipe for this says you can cook it on low overnight 7-8 hours without stirring a lot, but that you need to add an additional cup of liquid for that. Honestly, I don't think it would work well, but you can try it. I prefer the 2-4 hours on high, which could make for a nice late morning weekend breakfast or brunch. Also, peeling the apples is optional, I left the skin on this time, just because I was lazy! It all depends on your taste preference. For my taste, I also sprinkled on some brown sugar when serving, because it isn't quite sweet enough for me, but the kind of apple you pick effects that too. I used Pink Lady apples, because that is what I had onhand, but that is a pretty tart apple.

Apple Pie Breakfast
1 cup of steel cut oats
3 medium sized apples, diced or thin sliced
1 cup apple juice
3 cups water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 2-4 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low until it reaches the consistency that you like. Be sure to stir every hour or so. Makes six 1 cup servings. Leftovers last for a few days in our house.

This recipe even has nutritional info for you! Here ya go! Each 1 cup serving (before any additional toppings) is: 115 Calories; 1g Fat; 26g Carbs; 2g Fiber.

I got this original recipe from the blog, Cooking with Jax.