Almond Berry Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal

Yellow fruit is currently my obsession. And the yellow fruits I am referring to are ones that you normally wouldn’t think of as being yellow – cherries, plums, and raspberries. They might look under-ripe and unappetizing to you, but I have to buy extra whenever I plan to make something with them. I inevitably eat some a lot of it on my 5 minute drive home from the grocery and/or before I even cook them. I cannot help it. To me fresh fruit is almost as good as a soft just-out-of-the-oven cookie. The cherries and raspberries were the only ones the survived long enough to make it into this oatmeal. I maybe should have added the raspberries in the morning, after it had cooked because they pretty much disintegrated (note their invisibility in the picture). But the flavor definitely did not disappear and the texture is great. If you are one of those people that like to come up with excuses for not eating Breakfast, throw them out the window and make this oatmeal. That is if you can even come up with any to deny such a thing as this.

ALMOND BERRY OVERNIGHT SLOW COOKER OATMEAL

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups Rainier cherries, pitted and cut in half

1 cup raspberries

1-1/2 cups almond milk milk

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp butter, cut into 5-6 pieces

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground flax seed

1/4 tsp salt

Sliced almonds, for garnish

Directions:

1. Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger) slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients from cherries to salt to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours.
2. Spoon oatmeal into bowls; add sliced almonds, if desired.
3. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers. To reheat single servings: Put 1-cup cooked oatmeal in microwave proof bowl. Add 1/3 cup fat-free milk. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Continue cooking for another minute, or until hot. Recipe can be doubled in 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Increase cooking time 1 hour.

Source: Adapted slightly from Pass the Sushi