Know what else is nice? The ritual of it. I’d forgotten about how relaxing it is to grab the paper out of the driveway (our 5-year-old always helps – nightgown, mermaid slippers, and all), sit down with a cup of coffee, and snap open the paper. Sure, there are some stories here and there that are tough for sensitive-ol’-me to stomach, but they’re pretty easy to pass over in print if I need to.

Last week, I found myself looking forward to Sunday morning way more than usual, because I knew there would be a bit fat Sunday paper waiting for us to read while we sipped our coffee. Yeah, it’s a little different with the kiddo right there wanting to “read” with me, but still. Loving it.

I’ve also found that these Banana-Walnut Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats fit right in alongside the coffee and newspaper. It’s such a simple breakfast to whip up, and I like the idea of nourishing my body while I feed my mind. (I know, that makes me sound like a dork. But I am a dork, so. 🙂 )

I’ve been making steel cut oats in then Instant Pot for just about as long as I’ve owned one. So, you know, about 4 months or so. But I am in love with how steel-cut oats cook up in the pressure cooker – relatively fast, super creamy, perfect texture.

I thought I’d doctor up a batch with bananas for some natural sweetness, plus, for a nice dose of healthy goodness,  all of the plant-based omega-3-rich foods I had in my cupboard. Chia seeds, ground flaxseeds, and walnuts, baby. Done and done.

I should note that I’ve never been a huge fan of walnuts (in some forms, they’re probably my least favorite food – and I wholeheartedly believe they should never go near a chocolate chip cookie). But when they’re chopped fine I can tolerate them – and sometimes I even toast up a few to add as a topper. In this recipe, I’m good with walnuts. Tiny ones.

Creamy, healthy, full of omega-3s, and just darn tasty. Start spreading the news! (Sorry, sorry.)

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The Story Behind the Recipe

For the longest time one of my favorite Starbucks treats was their orange-cranberry scone. It’s this gloriously huge hunk of tenderness with hints of orange, bits of dried cranberries, filled with a sort of cranberry jam, and drizzled with sweet icing. It’s not really something I get anymore seeing as how I avoid dairy nowadays and all of that, but I still crave that flavor combination. Bring on the cranberry orange oatmeal!

This is basically just a super simple recipe for creamy oats cooked up with a mix of water and almond milk for extra creaminess. But then, there’s that big ol’ cozy twist of flavor. Orange zest, warming spices, dried cranberries cooked right up with the oats so that they’re nice and sweet and plump by the time it’s served. I find, by the way, that the cranberries make this oatmeal plenty sweet, and that no added sugar is necessary – but you may want to add a drizzle of sweetener like pure maple syrup to the mix.

A smattering of pecans, a few extra cranberries, another drizzle of almond milk, and some pretty orange slices sweeten the deal. Cranberry Orange Steel Cut Oatmeal is a plant-based, super-hearty, uber-comforting breakfast – no Starbucks pastries needed.

Print

Orange Cranberry Steel Cut Oats

Creamy, warmly spiced, and just different enough to be special, this hearty oatmeal is full of cozy flavors – the perfect breakfast for when the weather turns colder.

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 326kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk vanilla almond milk is delicious too
• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon orange zest from about 1/2 medium orange
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• Pinch kosher salt

Optional toppings:

• Orange slices or diced orange I zest the orange then slice it for topping
• More dried cranberries
• Chopped pecans
• Pure maple syrup
• Additional almond milk

Instructions

• Add water, almond milk, oats, cranberries, orange zest, chia seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt to a medium saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and creamy, about 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat and spoon into bowls. Top with orange slices, dried cranberries, pecans, and more almond milk if desired. If you like a sweeter oatmeal, you may want to drizzle with pure maple syrup or your sweetener of choice.

Nutrition

Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 172mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 256mg | Iron: 3mg

This is a sponsored recipe and blog post developed and written by me in partnership with Silk, a brand I love! Thank you for supporting the companies who support Kitchen Treaty.

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The post Orange Cranberry Steel Cut Oats appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

We just returned from an incredible vacation in Palm Springs. Blue skies, 90 degrees, warm pools, margaritas, mermaid Barbies … yeah, I’ve gotta admit to far more Barbie than margarita, considering our preschooler was in tow, but nonetheless. Ahhhhh.

Here in Seattle, winter wasn’t necessarily the coldest, but it was certainly a wet one. Luckily, the sun came out for our first couple of days back, and I’m just experiencing spring fever all around.

I created this Toasted Steel-Cut Oats with Coconut & Tropical Fruits in mid-January, when the world was much more gray, and food with a tropical vibe was feeling a bit like salvation.

The super-simple oatmeal itself doesn’t necessarily need to be covered in tropical fruit, but it’s certainly a nice addition. The base recipe for the oats is a bit of a discovery in itself – creamy and full of flavor. One of the secrets is to toast your steel-cut oats in a pinch of coconut oil before you start simmering it. This really helps bring out the toasty flavor of the oats – a bit of a game-changer when it comes to the steel-cut variety.

Then, the oats are simmered with coconut milk and water, and flavored with a bit of vanilla at the end of the process. I try to add very little sweetener to my morning oats, but I found a tablespoon of pure maple syrup added to the whole batch made a nice difference.

And finally, the toppings. Nuts, raisins, seeds … really anything goes. But this combo of mango, papaya, and coconut is pretty dang nice. Sunshine on the table, if not in the sky.

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The post Toasted Steel-Cut Oats with Coconut & Tropical Fruits appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

Thank goodness we had this Overnight Pumpkin Pecan Steel Cut Oatmeal waiting for us this morning. It’s the little things that make life a little easier … and not having to worry about thinking up and turning out a breakfast made me happy indeed.

I am rubbing my eyes, downing the coffee, and shoveling this yummy stuff in while trying to hammer out this blog post. My daughter is spooning every other bite into the water she just poured all over her highchair tray.

The first time we tried this oatmeal was last week, um, for dinner. I was testing the recipe and Miss Thing started exclaiming, “Oatmeal! Oatmeal!” She ate a ton, which is always a victory around here. We love it, too.

Even though there’s no milk or cream in this oatmeal, the overnight Crock Pot preparation and the pumpkin make it wonderfully creamy, tender, and even a little decadent.

I love making oatmeal this way. I put it in one of my large Fiestaware gusto bowls, and set that into the Crock Pot. Then I fill the Crock Pot with water, making a bain-marie of sorts. This allows the oatmeal to cook evenly all night, right in the bowl. In the morning, I scoop some of it out into a bowl for the hubby and the kid, and the remaining is for moi. AND THEN I DON’T HAVE TO SOAK AND SCRUB AND SOAK AGAIN AND SCRUB THE DANG CROCK POT! (Well … really, it’s my guy who doesn’t have to scrub the Crock Pot. Somehow he always ends up taking on that job … gosh, I love that guy.)

So yeah … oatmeal this way is pretty much the best thing ever.

Oh, and another benefit to cooking steel-cut oats in the Crock Pot is that I’ve found that only need about half the oats that you do for more traditional preparations. I think the long soaking time makes the oats swell a bit more. So it totally saves you money – and I would guess ultimately calories, too.

Anyway. This particular Crock Pot oatmeal recipe is my most recent obsession. It uses a good amount of pumpkin, pumpkin pie spices, and pecans for a creamy pumpkin-pie-esque delicious overnight easy-clean just dang awesome breakfast.

More Oatmeal Recipes

• Strawberry & Toasted Almond Overnight Oats (Starbucks copycat!)
• Berry Baked Oatmeal
• Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal 
• Mango Oatmeal
• Apple Gingerbread Oatmeal
• Carrot Cake Oatmeal
• PB&J Overnight Oats
• Blueberry Oatmeal

Print

Crock Pot Overnight Pumpkin Pecan Steel Cut Oatmeal

Perfect for fall, this creamy spiced pumpkin and pecan oatmeal makes for an easy, hearty, and no-mess breakfast.

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water plus additional water for bain-marie
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup steel cut oats not quick-cooking
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans plus more for topping if desired

Instructions

• In a medium bowl mix 1 1/2 cups water, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
• Add the oats to a 23-ounce or larger oven-safe bowl (I use Fiestaware or Pyrex are good choices). Pour the pumpkin mixture over the top. Stir. Carefully place bowl in the middle of the Crock Pot and carefully fill Crock Pot with water, to about 1 inch below the rim of the bowl. Sprinkle with pecans.
• Cook on low for 8 hours.
• Turn off Crock Pot and remove lid, allowing the bowl to cool enough to lift out of the Crock Pot. Remove bowl and stir well. Sprinkle pecans and additional brown sugar on individual servings, if desired.

I’ve joined a few of my fellow Crock Pot loving bloggers to bring you a great bunch of Crock Pot breakfast recipes today. Follow the hashtag #crocktoberfest2013 on facebook, twitter, and instagram to see all of the fabulous slow cooker recipes being shared this week.

• Overnight Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal from Around My Family Table
• Slow Cooker Breakfast Pumpkin Bread Pudding from Cook the Story
• Pumpkin Oatmeal in a Crockpot from Peanut Butter & Peppers
• Crockpot Breakfast Casserole from Eat Drink Love
• Apple Monkey Bread from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Crockpot Creamy& Savory Coconut Rice from Curry and Comfort
• Crockpot Southwest Breakfast Casserole from Cookie Monster Cooking
• Slow Cooker Ham & Swiss Fritata from 365 Days of Crockpot
• Sunday Slow Cooker Hashbrown, Ham, & Spinach Casserole from Slender Kitchen

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