Spatula Diaries: Busy morning breakfast

Okay, my fellow Thanksgiving food fanatics, here’s the fourth and final installment of my Turkey Day-related blogs.

By now, you’ve probably chosen how to cook your turkey, selected your side dishes and assigned who is bringing wine, appetizers and desserts. But in all the frenzy, you might not have thought about what to serve for breakfast. So this week, we’re looking at the right meal to kick off a day of hog-at-the-trough eating.

You want something tasty and filling for breakfast, but not something so fatty-sweet-salty that you’ll lose your edge for the main meal itself. One of my favorite breakfasts for such occasions is creamy, hearty slow cooker oatmeal steeped in cinnamon and topped with dark brown sugar and fresh berries. The nice thing about cooking it in the slow cooker is that you can add your own spices (pumpkin pie, even!) as well as fresh fruit like apples, bananas or pears, which melt into the sturdy oats. It’s prepared in one dish, and it’s completed while you sleep. If you serve a mid-afternoon Thanksgiving, as many of us do, slow cooker oatmeal is rib-sticking enough to keep you satisfied, but healthy enough to be guilt-free. It may be the one thing I eat on Thanksgiving that is.

Enjoy, and visit me at hungryforlouisiana.com.

Slow Cooker Oatmeal
Serves 4
1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 cup peeled, diced apple or pear

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cover. Cook on low setting overnight. Serve with fresh berries, brown sugar, sliced almonds, raisins or cranberries.