Well, winter isn’t over yet for those of us in the Great Lakes region. Today we woke up to 10 inches of snow, which fell throughout the day yesterday and through the night. It does look pretty, but… it would’ve looked a lot prettier about a month ago. You see, I’ve made the same mistake I make every year around this time. Almost every February we get a few fluke-ish nice days (last Friday it was 60 and sunny) and instead of recognizing these as the freaks of nature that they are, I instead start twirling around the yard arms outstretched, singing “The Hills are Alive,” truly believing that this year spring is coming early.

Ah well, at least I had this warm, comforting, steel cut oatmeal ready to go this morning to soften the blow. I know overnight oats are the thing these days, and I love how easy they are, but how about a hot bowl of “overnight” oats? Employ your slow cooker, and you’ll have exactly that. And it’s just as easy! Simply throw your ingredients in the slow cooker the night before, plug it in, turn it to low, and you’ll awaken to the cozy aroma of cooked oatmeal.

Of course I had to top mine with a generous drizzle of my Best Homemade Peanut Butter, Ever, as well as fresh blackberries and banana slices.

Chase away those “it’s not spring yet” blues with this cozy, soul-warming, stick-with-you until-noon, slow cooker steel cut oatmeal.

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal

I made this in my small 1.5 qt slow cooker, but you can double the quantity and cook it in a larger model.

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 2 cups of almond milk
• 2 cups of filtered water
• pinch of salt
• optional: 2 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions: Grease the inside of the pot with a little coconut oil (to reduce sticking). Add all ingredients to your slow cooker, plug it in, turn to low, and give it a stir. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours. I always add chia seeds, but that’s because I know I’ll be up at some point and I’ll have a chance to stir it. If you don’t have a two year old who wakes you up without fail at least once per night (or a cat or dog) you might not want to add them until morning, since they will clump up if you don’t stir them in once during cooking.

Serve with your favorite toppings: peanut butter, almond butter, fruit, caramelized bananas, maple syrup, raisins, coconut oil…

What are your favorite oatmeal toppings??

Is the weather warming up and feeling like spring where you live? Wait no, don’t tell me…