Slow Cooker Fall Morning Pumpkin Oatmeal

I recently bought a large bag of organic locally grown rolled oats.  We are trying to spend more of our food dollars locally to support farmers as well as reducing the transportation emissions associated with our food.  Eating locally is not always easy in Canada, unless you live in more southern regions.  Where we live, I am grateful for any and all locally grown foods that I can access.  So although I am accustomed to using quick cooking oats in the kitchen, I decided it was worth it to make these oats work for us.

I know that I could have processed the oats in the food processor for a few seconds to make them "quicker cooking", but I decided to branch out and try out some new ideas.  The first day that I cooked the rolled oats, I was pretty annoyed at how long they took to cook.  Having cooked steel cut oats in the slow cooker before, I thought I would give it a try with my new bag of oats.  Also, since it is fall, I had to put a pumpkin-y twist on my breakfast oatmeal.

Fall Morning Pumpkin Oatmeal

2 large apples, peeled and sliced (about 2 cups)

2 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

1/4 cup maple syrup (or brown sugar, brown rice syrup, etc.)

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups rolled oats

2 1/2 cups water

Beginning with the apples, layer the first 6 ingredients in the slow cooker.  Pour water over the ingredients.  Do not stir.  Cook on low overnight for 8 to 9 hours.  Serves 6.  Breakfast will be waiting for you when you wake up!

I used my smaller sized slow cooker, and so the ingredients filled it about 3/4 full.  If using a large slow cooker, you may need to reduce cooking times to prevent the edges from becoming too dark or crispy.  Keep leftovers in the refrigerator and microwave before eating.  I found this better the second day!

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Weekday Soup

For a few years, we rarely ate soup at our house.  Our oldest daughter had been newly diagnosed with Celiac Disease and we were transitioning to a gluten free diet in our home.  All of the soups that we were used to buying contained gluten, and so they were out of the picture.  I was slowly moving towards making more and more of our foods from scratch, but soup was not one of them.  As a mother who worked full time and had to cook every night to make sure that our meals were completely gluten free, I was not prepared to spend my weekends cooking soup.  I mean, that would take forever.  Right?

Maybe not.  At first I began to cook big batches of soup on weekends and freeze them in meal sized portions to take out and thaw for weekday meals.  I still do this for more time consuming soups such as pea soup and the very labour intensive borscht that I make twice a year.  However, I now also make soup from scratch on a weekday after work.  From start to finish, it's ready in an hour.  Of that hour, most of the time is spent simmering on the stove while we do homework, tidy up or just relax.  In the fall and winter months, I make this soup about once a week.  It is fast and versatile - perfect for using up whatever veggies you have in the pantry or refrigerator.

Weekday Soup

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced celery

2 tablespoons olive oil (or oil of your choice)

3 cloves minced garlic

2 cups diced carrot

6 cups stock or broth (chicken, veggie, beef, whatever you have around)

1 large can tomato sauce (the ones I use are about 2 and 1/2 cups)

1 cup frozen peas

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Other add ins: 1 cup corn kernels, 1 or 2 cups shredded cabbage, 1 cup diced zucchini, 1 cup baby spinach leaves, etc.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add in celery, onions and carrots.  Stir every minute or so.  Once the onions are cooked, add in garlic.  Cook for one minute.  Add in broth, tomato sauce, oregano and thyme.  Cover.  Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots are almost cooked.  Add frozen peas and any other add ins you like.  Bring to a simmer again.  Allow to cook for five to ten minutes or until the peas and add ins are cooked to your liking.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I have also thrown everything in the slow cooker and allowed it to cook for ten hours on low while I was at work, and it turned out very well.  Something else we do is throw in a pound of lean ground beef with the onions, celery and carrots.  Make sure it is cooked through before adding the next ingredients.

At our house, we always eat these with grilled cheese on rye bread for the adults or gluten free bread for our older daughter.  A great and simple dinner on a chilly fall evening!

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