Hot Cereal Hits the Spot
January’s cold weather has been tough on us this year, and we’ve really enjoyed diving into our stock of recipes to cook up some delicious, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast fare to keep us warm and full throughout the morning. One of our favorite dishes to make is hot cereal in the slow cooker. Because this hot cereal cooks for several hours, it’s convenient as well as nutritious and delicious. If you assemble the ingredients the night before and flip on the slow cooker right before you head to bed, you’ll be greeted with an already-made breakfast when you awake. Perfect for busy mornings!
Start by greasing the bottom and sides of your slow-cooker’s crock with a thin layer of butter. Then, peel two to three apples and dice them into bite-sized pieces. Put the apples into a bowl and add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of light brown sugar, 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. of ground ginger and 1/4 tsp. of ground nutmeg to the fruit. Stir the ingredients to evenly coat the apples with the sugar and spices, then pour the mixture into the crock.
Layer about 1/2 cup of dried fruit on top of the apple mixture, if desired. Some of our favorites include whole dried cranberries, jumbo golden raisins and chopped pitted dates. The dried fruit gives the hot cereal a slightly sweeter flavor that we really enjoy.
Pour 1-1/2 cups of dry hot cereal mix on top of the dried fruit. Some great choices include old-fashioned rolled oats, organic six-grain hot cereal and organic steel-cut oats. Add about half a cup of good-quality granola, such as our organic apple-raisin granola or our organic maple granola, to the crock. Pour 3 cups of cool water over the contents of the slow cooker. Do not stir the ingredients; the moisture from the apples and water will keep the cereal from burning onto the side of the crock.
Place the lid on the crock, flip the slow cooker onto its lowest setting and let the hot cereal cook for six to eight hours. In the morning, turn off the cooker and give the cereal a quick stir. Serve it topped with milk or plain yogurt and sprinkled with sliced almonds.
See what we mean? Delicious!
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