Slow Cooker Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

First gingerbread pancakes and now pumpkin oatmeal? I am in full fledged fall mode. The only raw vegetables I have been eating is some winter lettuce. All other vegetables in my diet right now consist of roasted root vegetables, squashes, and sauteed winter greens such as kale. I love this time of year. Now on the squash front, I have officially gotten out of control. Last week I bought 4 squash at the grocery store as they were now only 99 cents a pound. This week at the farmers market, I was overjoyed with the overflow of squash. They are such beautiful vegetables. One farm stand had them 4 for 5 dollars; a complete steal! I of course picked up 4. Now I have a pile of squash in my cupboards and I couldn't be happier.

In the past two weeks I have also purchases 6 pumpkins. I roasted them, and pureed the flesh. I also cleaned and roasted the deliciously plump seeds. In case you are wondering, I have about 16 cups of pumpkin puree in my freezer, all in convenient 1 cup portions. There is going to be a lot of pumpkin recipes on the blog this year; I can feel it. I had a pumpkin loving friend visit this weekend and it seemed only natural to make a breakfast that incorporated some pumpkin, which lead to me creating this recipe, which was based off a stove top version I have made in the past.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
Serves 4

1 cup steel cut oats
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
4 cups water

1. Melt coconut oil and add to the steel cut oats in the crock pot. Stir to coat.
2. Add the spices and mix well.
3. Add water, vanilla, and pumpkin and stir to combine.
4. Cook on low for 8 hours.

It is wonderful to wake up to the smell of pumpkin spice in your kitchen. All you have to do is open up the crock pot, give it a stir, and you have a hot breakfast all ready for you. I topped my oatmeal with almond butter but of course maple syrup is also a wise choice. This recipe can easily be adapted to a stove top version if you don't have a slow cooker or just can't wait until tomorrow morning to make this.