This was a crazy weekend! School is back in session, the weather is still warm, and my calendar is booked. I love it. It’s this type of crazy that makes me smile– and sleep well! But when I wake up, it feels like I’m set on low for hours. So I decided on Friday night that I would whip up a batch of overnight oatmeal to help brighten up my weekend morning.

When people talk about having a stocked pantry, oatmeal is pretty much a staple. Steel cut, instant, quick oats… there are lots of kinds and they are all pretty basic. I happen to have steel cut oats right now, so that’s what I used, but in other recipes, like my Crock Pot Purple Oatmeal, I use regular oats, too.  Another staple that I keep on hand, are frozen fruits. They work great in smoothies, but also are the perfect addition to overnight crock pot oatmeal.

There are very few ingredients in this recipe, but the combination is well worth waking up for in the morning. You can handle sunrise, too, if you start it with something that tastes like pie.

 

Crock Pot Cherry Pie Oatmeal

Serves 6

1 1/3 c. steel cut oats

2 1/2 c. water

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2 c. frozen cherries

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on “KEEP WARM” setting for 8 hours. Serve with greek yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

This is the easiest dessert I’ve ever made.  And while this recipe is not new or even really my own creation, I want to share it with you because of WHY I made it, and not just the HOW.

Here’s a little story about my family. My youngest son has some crazy food allergies and while he is awesome and outgoing and resilient, he almost always has to miss out on desserts like cake at friends’ birthday parties, free cone day at the local ice cream parlor, treats at school and after holiday services, and always has a heavy sigh when a waiter or waitress says, “would you like to see the dessert menu tonight?”

So for my sweet boy, I started learning to cook desserts. I don’t like to bake, but there’s something to be said about life being short, so eat dessert first. I bought an ice cream maker  that attaches to my stand up mixer and learned how to make a basic vanilla and then jazz it up with fruit.  I learned how to make a buttermilk pound cake that is an easy crowd-pleaser.  I found chocolate chunks that are good enough to eat alone.

But this crock pot dulce de leche recipe is life-changing. It is simple and sweet and I plan on making it way more often than I probably should! DISCLAIMER: THIS STUFF IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE~ I want to put it in everything. My coffee. My pound cake. Drizzled on a waffle. Scooped onto ice cream. I plan on making teacher gifts with this stuff, holiday cookie exchange treats, and by mid-summer, I’ll probably figure out how to make a pretty delicious dulce de leche martini (for me, not my son!).

I hope someday my kids appreciate the lengths I went to in order to provide them the opportunity to eat well. I like to tell them that I’ve ruined them for marriage by cooking every night and that their future spouses will hate me for focusing so much on the importance of the family dinner. But I won’t apologize for it.

Crock Pot Dulce de Leche

servings: unknown (how much of this is too much?!)

 

2 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk

water

 

Pour sweetened condensed milk into mason jars that will fit in your crock pot. Put lids and rings on tightly, then place in crock pot. Fill crock pot with enough water to cover lids entirely. Cook on low for 10 hours. The ingredient will turn from white to a beautiful caramel color. Turn crock pot off and let cool before removing cans to prevent burning your fingers! Mason jars will be shelf stable, but keep in refrigerator once you open it.