UPDATE 1/2/14: Click here to see my new post on cooking oatmeal
I’ve been a big fan of steel-cut oatmeal, but have developed a craving for the goopy oatmeal they serve at this cafeteria I’ve been frequenting recently. I knew it wasn’t steel-cut and it didn’t seem to be regular old-fashion oatmeal either; however, my research indicated that those basically were the only kind available. I bought a box of Quaker old-fashion oatmeal and tried a few batches without any luck.
Unfortunately, my trusted recipe finder (aka Google) failed me miserably. I just couldn’t find anything that told me how to make it. I did see a few posts about cooking it overnight and it occurred to me that a crock pot (slow cooker) might be involved, after all, the cafeteria made it in these giant vats. Eventually, I did find the right keywords and stumbled upon one post that seemed to be what I wanted. Anyways, I made several batches and here’s what I ended up with:
Ingredients:
– 1 cup oatmeal
– 2-1/2 cups water*
Spray the pot with non-stick spray. (You just can’t avoid the hard semi-burned layer on the sides.) Dump the ingredients in the pot and cook for 8-10 hours on low.
*You will probably need to experiment with the amount of water. First off, add more or less to get the consistency you like. Also, the low setting temperature can vary on different crock pots which will use more or less water. I’ve also found that different brands of oatmeal can affect the amount of needed water.
That’s it! Super simple. Obviously, you can dress it up with fruits and things if you want, but that’s up to you. Comes out exactly like the cafeteria stuff I’ve been getting. Enjoy a healthy and delicious meal!
I have experienced a similar probkem. Restaurants in hotels have great oatmeal and I have not been able to replicate. I will try this overnight method. Are you able to reheat leftovers successfully?
Honestly Chris, I have never had any leftovers.