Perfect oatmeal

I like oatmeal (porridge), but I am really NOT a morning person, so the prospect of doing more than spooning something into bowl at 7 am has exactly zero appeal. Using a slow cooker (crockpot) lets you cook enough for the whole family and everyone gets a perfectly heated serving, no matter what time they get up. Since oatmeal is dead cheap and probably more nutritious than most of the breakfast offerings out there, you'll eat well and save something like 50c per oatmeal-breakfaster per day. There are just a couple of tricks you need to know to make it work, because the recipes I found elsewhere made either burnt the oats, made them disgustingly gelatinous, or required the more expensive (why?) steel-cut version.

Step 1 Gear

You need a slow cooker ($30-50), a bowl (you have one already) and a timer ($5).
Ingredients are quick oats, water and salt.
Trick #1: the bowl is crucial - you're going to cook the oatmeal bain-marie style, and it has to fit comfortably in your cooker.
Trick #2: plug the slow cooker into the timer, then plug that into the wall. Set the timer to cook on low for about 7 hours. I put mine on for 1-8 am; that way it is ready at 7 and hot for everyone who gets up after me.

Comments

[ChrysN]

Having a hot breakfast ready when you wake up sounds really nice.

[makendo]

 Yes, it really is. Now I just need to get a programmable coffee machine...

[beehard44]

you can have a timer circuit hooked up to the switch and the coffee machine is plugged in already