A Hearty Breakfast

There’s nothing better than waking up and smelling breakfast already waiting for you! Thanks to the invention of the crock pot, I woke up to a hearty, yummy breakfast this morning. I received the Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook for Christmas and decided I HAD to try the Maple-Hazelnut Oatmeal.

1 1/2 cups fat-free milk (I used 1% because that’s what we had)
1 1/2 cups water
2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (~3 cups)
1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
2 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 T. butter, softened
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Cooking spray
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 T. chopped hazelnuts, toasted

1. Bring milk and water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

2. Place hot milk mixture, apple, and next 5 ingredients in a slow cooker coated with cooking spray, stir well. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until oats are tender.

3. Ladle oatmeal into individual bowls; top with maple syrup and hazelnuts. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups oatmeal, 1 T. syrup, and 1 1/2 tsp. hazelnuts).

As you can see, we didn’t have any nuts so I just used some blueberries. Also, I used a slow cooker liner which would REALLY help with clean up.

Source: Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook