Overnight Steel-Cut Oats

I love oatmeal, and I love steel-cut oatmeal, but I rarely make it because I don't want to devote 20 minutes to stirring it in the mornings.  This is an overnight recipe for it, meaning, you soak the oats overnight in liquid, so they are softened by morning.  Then, you only need to cook them for 5-8 minutes or until they are tender enough for you.  There are recipes out there for doing them in your slow-cooker overnight, but I tried that once with yucky results.  However, I think I will research recipes and try that method again sometime, because having them ready when you wake in the morning would be even better!

But anyway, back to this recipe.  You soak the oats in milk and applesauce, which makes for a great flavor and creamy texture, but the milk stuck badly to my cooking pan.  In the future, I might just try water and see what happens.  However, this was very yummy and I was probably just not stirring often enough (was trying to make lunches and unload the dishwasher at the same time). 

I added a little extra sugar to mine and topped with milk and chopped white peaches.  (The peaches were a nice surprise- they were labeled yellow peaches at the store and turned out to be white when I cut them open!  Love all peaches, but white peaches are a treat.  They smell like flowers, too). 

Overnight Steel-Cut Oats
from The Novice Chef
2 Hearty Servings

1 cup steel cut oats
1 3/4 cups skim or 1% milk
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 ounces all-natural applesauce (about one snack-sized cup)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch of salt

1.  In a nonmetal bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, applesauce, cinnamon and salt. Stir in milk; cover and chill for 8 to 24 hours.

2.  To serve, transfer oatmeal mixture to a medium saucepan. Heat just to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until oatmeal is done, adding additional milk if desired and stirring occasionally (or a little more often).

3.  Remove from heat. Add your favorite mix-ins (may need more sugar). Spoon into 2 bowls. Serve with additional milk, if desired.

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