Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

I love oatmeal. Most days, I grab a packet of instant oatmeal out of the pantry, place it in my purse, and add hot water when I get to work and eat at my desk. On weekends, when I have more time, I like to make steel cut oats with bananas, pecans, and brown sugar. This is actually my favorite way to prepare and eat oatmeal, however the 45 minutes it requires to cook make it a weekend treat only.

When I stumbled upon the concept of cooking steel cut oats in the crockpot overnight, I decided I had to give it a try. So last night before bed I put everything in the crockpot, turned it on, and went to bed. When Robert and I sat down to eat the results this morning, it was the first weekday breakfast we have had together since our first year of marriage. It was really nice.

The results were so so. I really like my oats firm, which is why steel cut oats are my favorite. The oatmeal from the crockpot was quite soft and not as flavorful as I would have guessed given all the ingredients. I definitely want to play around with this recipe again to see if I can't improve the texture and flavor with some modification. Either way, the benefit of being able to wake up to a hot breakfast ready to eat and shared breakfast with my husband makes it worth making again.

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Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal


Ingredients
1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water, plus more for water bath in crockpot
1/2 cup half & half
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 apple cored, peeled, and chopped

Instructions
Gather all your ingredients, your crockpot, and a bowl that will fit inside the crockpot bowl and still allow the lid to seal.

Fill the crockpot bowl about half way with water.

Add the oats, 4 cups water, half and half, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar in the smaller bowl. Stir to combine.

Stir in the pecans and apple.

Gently place the bowl into the larger crockpot bowl with water making sure the water in the crockpot is at least as high as the oat mixture.

 Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

In the morning, remove the inner bowl from the crockpot and stir the contents.

Serve in bowls with fruit or other toppings.

Source: Mommy's Kitchen

Chicken Burrito Bowls

I've been reluctant to embrace crock pot meals for the past few years. The majority of the crock pot meals I remember from my childhood involved cream of _____ soups or other heavy ingredients that I have tried to remove from my diet. This recipe includes none of those items but all of the benefits of throwing ingredients into the crock pot in the morning and coming home to dinner almost ready.

Robert loves Chipotle and their burrito bowls. I love the concept, but I have found that more often than not the servers give me far too much rice, meat and cheese so that the proportions are not to my liking. I always end up picking things off and leaving way too much food behind. This recipe allows me to get the burrito bowl combo I enjoy with the ability to control the portions.

What I really love about this meal is that by slow cooking the chicken the meat falls apart so readily that shredding the chicken is effortless. One thing of note, once you shred the chicken, put it back in the crock pot and let sit and soak up the cooking juices for a few minutes before serving, otherwise you'll miss out on a lot of flavor!

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Chicken Burrito Bowls


Ingredients
4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup frozen white kernel corn
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes
Rice
Monterrey Jack Cheese
Lettuce
Salsa

Instructions
Begin by placing the chicken breasts into your crock pot.

Top with the corn,

Ro-Tel tomatoes

 and black beans.

Cook on low for 8 hours. Go to work, and take joy in the fact that dinner is practically done!
When you get home, remove the chicken from the crock pot and shred with two forks.

Place the chicken back into the crock pot and let sit for 15-20 minutes (while you cook the rice) to allow it to soak up the cooking liquid.

Once you're rice is ready, (I made cilantro lime rice, here's my favorite recipe) begin assembling your burrito bowl.

Start by placing the rice in the bottom.

 Then place the shredded chicken on top,

 followed by the black bean and corn mix from the crock pot,

 cheese and lettuce.

Enjoy with your favorite salsa for an added kick.