Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats (the faster way) and Apple Pie ala Mode Oatmeal

I love me some steel cut oats - great for the blood sugar issues I have (cinnamon is good for that too!).  I usually buy Irish oats because they are one of the easier ones for me to find - and there is something about the tin they come in.  🙂  In any case, there are a lot of places online that talk about how to make them overnight (8 hours on low) in a slow cooker.  That's great but sometimes I want them for lunch.  So I did an experiment and it worked great.  You can do them on high for 3 hours, no problem.  Fast enough for me to get Livi on the bus, eat breakfast, drink coffee, and have my brain kick in and still remember to start them in time for lunch!  Of course you can make these recipes the slow way too.

Basic recipe:
1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix in your crock pot, put on high for 3 hours, and then add in your favorite things and enjoy!

One of my favorite variations - Apple Pie ala Mode Oatmeal
1 cup of steel cut oats
4 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups of peeled, chopped apple (you can use less but I like mine very apple-y)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (fresh if you have it!)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons maple syrup (the REAL stuff)
1 teaspoon good vanilla
Heavy cream or half and half


Mix oats, water, salt, spices, and apple in crock pot.  Cook on high for 3 hours.  Add sweeteners and vanilla (more or less to taste) and top with a splash of cream!
You can skip the "ala mode" part and leave out the cream and vanilla and it is still amazing.  That makes it dairy free too!  Use certified gluten free oats and you're good on that front as well!

Add a couple fried or scrambled eggs, or maybe some breakfast meat and it's a satisfying meal!