Day 63 - Moravian Inspired Chicken Hand Pies

"Moravian" Chicken hand pie, green beans, squash casserole.

My friend Laura is coming to visit me!  All the way from Texas!  I'm so excited I might explode!  Wooohooooo!

Ok, moment.  Moment over.

Anyway, my friend Laura is coming to visit and I'm, clearly, very happy.  Since she's originally from Winston-Salem and has always talked about Moravian Chicken Pie, I decided in my excitement to try making it myself.  But knowing that I wanted to have some for lunch, I decided to have my own spin and make them into little hand pies!

They are soooooo good.  I'm not sure if they're authentic, but whatever this ended up being was fabulous.  I added some green beans and leftover Squash Casserole, and this was one of the best lunches so far this fall.  And the saltiness was a nice contrast to all that candy I've been eating today...ahem.

My pie filling recipe is heavily inspired from this Moravian Chicken Pie recipe, so try your hand at that if you prefer a whole pie!

Moravian Inspired Chicken Hand Pies

1 package refrigerated pie crust, two sheets (I prefer Pillsbury)
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used a grocery store rotisserie with the skin removed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoon butter, cut in pieces

In a medium sized pot, heat broth and butter until just simmering.  Add in flour and stir til smooth and thickened.  Stir in chicken, salt, and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Roll out each pie crust and cut into four wedges (like a pie).  Place 2-3 heaping Tablespoons of chicken mixture on each crust piece and fold over, crimping edges firmly.  Pierce top of each hand pie with a fork.  Place on a parchment lined sheet and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, or until crusts are brown and crispy.  Serve hot.

Day 62 - Squash Casserole

Squash Casserole, Clementine, Roasted Chicken

At long last, I found the perfect squash casserole!  It's light and creamy and cheesy and goooood.  So good, in fact, that I had it as my entree for lunch today, along with a little bit of leftover roasted chicken and a clementine.

This Squash Casserole recipe is an almost exact copy of Cooking Light's Squash-Rice Casserole recipe.  The only changes I made were using yellow squash instead of zucchini, and using a wild rice blend.  And, you know, adding more cheese.  Because everything is better with more cheese!  This is a great keeper for those of you collecting holiday recipes!

Squash Casserole

8 cups sliced yellow squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth 
2 cups cooked long grain and wild rice blend
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup Ritz crackers, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Combine first 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain; partially mash with a potato masher.

Combine squash mixture, rice, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup crackers, salt, pepper, and eggs in a bowl; stir gently. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Top with remaining cheese and crackers, then broil 1 minute or until lightly browned.  Serve hot.

Day 61 - Baked Potato

Baked potato with cheese and sour cream, clementine, rotisserie chicken.

Y'all, I could not come up with an idea of what to bring for lunch today.  So, I brought a baked potato.  I baked it the night before and nuked it for about a minute at work.  In all honesty, it was way better than I thought.  The skin lost its crispiness, but the inside flavor stayed great. 

Threw some cheese and sour cream on the side, rotisserie chicken, and a clementine. 

Self explanatory?  Good. :)  Now go eat some potatoes!

Day 60 - Rotisserie Chicken and Quinoa

Rotisserie chicken, quinoa, holiday grapes, celery.

So, I splurged this week and got a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  It wasn't even on sale...I'm living dangerously, y'all.  But it definitely made prepping a few other meals MUCH easier - chicken salad, quesadillas, soup.  So today's lunch was a leg and then some of the leftover chicken, a little quinoa pilaf (quinoa cooked in stock with spices), grapes, and celery.

I'm so tired, that I just typed "celery" as "celergy," and then corrected it to "clergy."  That's just not good.

Anyway, it was a tasty cold lunch.  Nothing to write home about, but still better than a sandwich!

Day 59 - Roasted Chicken Salad

Roasted Chicken Salad, Holiday Grapes, Celery, Wheat Thins, Laughing Cow Cheese

I had some delicious chicken salad today with chicken salad type sides - crackers, grapes, celery, lettuce.  And a little bit of cheese.  This is my default chicken salad recipe, and it's goooooood.  The recipe below makes two huge servings (four  normal servings), but you can double or triple it if you want!



Roasted Chicken Salad

1 cup roasted or rotisserie chicken, chopped and cooled
1/2 cup red or black grapes, chopped (or sliced, if they're small grapes)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 t tarragon
1/2 t red wine vinegar
1-4 T mayo (I use Duke's.  Exclusively)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix chicken, grapes, walnuts, vinegar, and tarragon in a small bowl.  Mix in mayo, one tablespoon at a time until salad reaches desired consistency.  Add in salt and pepper to taste.  Makes about two very large servings (of the size pictured above).  Serve cold.

Day 58 - Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 Today was slow cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup!  It's got a lot of the same flavors as a white chili, but it's much lighter.  I did find myself wishing that I had added white beans, but it was pretty darn good as is.  Right amount of heat for me, good broth flavor, tender chicken...just a good, basic soup with a little extra kick.  I'm definitely remembering this one for cold season.

I got the recipe from the blog Bake by Rachel, with a few of my own alterations.   The recipe below is what I made, but I'm sure that her's would be a great option as well.  She gives some helpful hints for shredding chicken, as well.

Pics are obviously from yesterday...I find that my thermos keeps things nice and hot, but since I have to pack it that way in the morning, and there's no sunshine in the morning these days...you know, bad pictures.

Anyway, recipe!:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed
3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh, trimmed
15oz can sweet whole corn kernels, drained
10oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
6C chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 t minced garlic
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp ground pepper, divided
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Seasoned tortilla strips or chips

Add all ingredients, saving cheese and tortillas, to a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Shred chicken with a fork into bite sized pieces.  Skim any fat off the top as desired and serve hot, topped with cheese and tortilla strips.



Does well both in the fridge and the freezer!

Day 57 - Gnocchi au Gratin

Gnocchi au Gratin

 
Alright, alright, I didn't take this to lunch.  I cooked it at home and it was good.  Decadently so.  And trust me, you want to know about this recipe.  Whether you take it to lunch or not, you'll love it.

Inspired by a number of dishes I've been served recently, I chose to make Gnocchi au Gratin.  If you're not familiar with gnocchi, it's a type of pasta most usually referred to as potato dumplings...potato flour in little grape sized nuggets.  You can buy them frozen or in the regular pasta section of your store, and they cook up very quickly.  They're great with just a little olive oil or a red sauce....or, in a gratin.  Cooking something "au Gratin" means, of course, that you cook it in a gratin dish and it has some sort of breadcrumb type topping that gets brown and good.  And, usually, cheese is involved.  It certainly was this time.

Pictured above is one entree serving, about 1.5 cups.  The recipe below is for twice that...so, either two entree servings or 4 side servings.  I had trouble eating an entire entree size, so be warned...this is very rich.  And good. 

Serve with a big green salad and you are good to go!

Gnocchi Au Gratin

1 lb gnocchi
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup emmental or gruyere cheese
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 T butter, divided
1 T flour
dash or two of nutmeg, salt, and pepper

Cook gnocchi according to package directions; set aside.
In a non-stick  pot or double boiler, melt 1 T butter.  Whisk in flour until just blended; do not let this mixture burn or brown.  Slowly pour in milk and heat over low heat until thickened.  Now, slowly stir in the cheddar cheese until cheese is melted and well incorporated into the sauce.  Add dashes of salt, pepper, and nutmeg as desired.  Remove from heat and stir in gnocchi.  Transfer into a buttered 3 cup dish or two 1.5 cup dishes.  In a separate pot or pan, melt remaining butter and stir in breadcrumbs.  Stir, over medium heat, until crumbly and lightly toasted.  Sprinkle over gnocchi mixture.  Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden and crispy.

Enjoy!  Nap.  Work out.

Day 56 - Eggy in a Basket

Eggy in a Basket, grapes, clementine

 
Eggy in a Basket.  Some people call it at Toad in a Hole, but the British call it an Eggy in a basket, and I think everything the British do is cuter, so we're going with that.

Long story short, it's a piece of toast with a hole cut in the middle, with the egg cooked in the hole.  You cook the whole (har har) thing in a skillet, and it's delicious.  I prefer the egg cooked sunny side up, but since I was taking it to work I cooked it over hard this time.  Which is why the yolk is all but disappeared.  It's simple enough that I don't think you need a real recipe, do you?  There's always Google if you need it...

Added some fruit, and I had a pretty good light lunch.  I did get hungry around 3pm, though.  Next time, I'll add a granola bar.

Day 55 - Brisket and Cornbread

Brisket,cornbread, green beans, clementine.

 So, remember the brisket from the Huevos Rancheros the other day?  I had leftovers, so I had them for lunch today, and it was gooood.  Added some cornbread, green beans, and a clementine.  Very satisfying.

It would make sense for me to share the cornbread recipe with you now, wouldn't it?  Yes.  But, this is a family recipe from my mom's friend Susan.  And, since it's a family recipe, I'm not sharing without permission...which I haven't asked for.  Perhaps later!

But for now, you should totally check out Susan's book about restoring Eudora Welty's garden, called One Writer's Garden...it's all about gardening and literature and women and belonging and other good stuff!  AND it's pretty!

Day 54 - Cream of Mushroom Soup

Cream of mushroom soup

 
Made this last night and had to pack it for lunch today.  The pics aren't from my thermos, but I promise it stayed beautifully warm and was a great, unhealthy treat at work.

Cream of mushroom soup.  Perfect consistency, great flavor, nice and creamy.  Great for a rainy day.

I gotta quit making comfort food for lunch, though.  I promise, my dinners have been salads lately.  Sometimes...

Cream of Mushroom Soup

8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup dried mushrooms
2 strips bacon, diced
1 cup half and half
1.5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup sherry
1 T butter, optional
1 T cornstarch
1 t fresh thyme
1 t worcestershire
1 t garlic
2 bay leaves

In a nonstick soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until it begins to crisp.  Add in mushrooms and garlic, cooking until they begin to soften.  Add in chicken stock, thyme, Worcestershire, and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil.  In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine sherry and cornstarch; shake until smooth.  Pour into soup and cook until thickened.  Remove bay leaves and stir in half and half.  Cook until heated through, and serve immediately.  

This picture is only here because you can see my kitty in the background, checking out the birds, and I think it's cute.  That's all.

Day 53 - Brisket Huevos Rancheros

Brisket Huevos Rancheros

 Ok, I'm cheating.  I didn't take this to lunch today.  In fact, I didn't go to work today.  But this was such a delicious brunch that I had to share!

I also can't take full credit for this recipe.  A similar recipe came about a few months ago when I was having dinner with my friends Kate and Frances.  We wanted to cook, and started talking about what we already had at home.  Long story short, we combined ingredients and leftovers we already had, took them to Kate's house, and made some delicious brisket huevos rancheros.  Then I had huevos rancheros at a diner the other night, and decided to re-create the brisket version this weekend!  And, being me, I used the slow cooker to do it.

Brisket isn't a traditional choice for huevos rancheros.  The dish usually consists of a corn tortilla, some sort of chili sauce, and a fried egg.  The chili sauce is where everyone gets creative - sometimes it's as simple as a smooth red sauce, or it can be chili with beans, beef, vegetables, or whatever else.  My version is a little less "soupy," which I like.  If you like all the sauce, though, you could easily take the liquids from the slow cooker and thicken them like a gravy.

This has tons of protein - one small serving will last you all day.  I added beans to amp up the protein level (and save money on the amount of brisket I had to buy - $6 a pound is crazy!), but you could leave them out if beans aren't your thing.  Accompanying it with avocado, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, hot peppers, or even some nice breakfast potatoes would be lovely.  I'm also writing the recipe assuming you want to make about 3 servings - but you can stretch the brisket mixture as far as you want.  You could make as few as two servings or as many as 5 or 6.  For more servings, I'd recommend adding more beans, or even more brisket (at the same cooking time).

This takes a lot of very simple prep time, so be sure to read ahead before you commit to cooking.   The timing is perfect for you to soak your beans on your way to work Friday, toss the recipe into the slow cooker before bed Friday night, and wake up to a delicious brunch on Saturday morning!

Brisket Huevos Rancheros

1 lb brisket
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup dried pinto beans
1 T paprika
1 t chili powder
1 t worcestershire
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
12 oz beer (I prefer corona, but used Yuengling this time...because that's what was in the fridge)
6 fajita sized tortillas
2 T butter or oil
3 jumbo eggs

Soak dried pinto beans for at least 8 hours (or overnight).  Drain beans and place them in the bottom of a slow cooker (I used a 2qt size - your 4qt crock should be ok).  Add onion, bell pepper, and brisket.  In a separate bowl, whisk together all spices with beer and pour over brisket.  Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours, or high for about 6 hours.

When brisket is ready, set slow cooker to warm setting.  Lightly butter each tortilla and place, butter side up, on a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Bake for about 5 minutes at 375F, or until puffy and slightly browned.  While tortillas are cooking, cook eggs as desired (fried or poached is recommended - you want the yolks to ooze and be delicious).

On a plate, layer 2 tortillas, desired amount of brisket mixture, and one egg.  Serve immediately.

Serves 3.

Day 52 - Marinated Goat Cheese

Marinated goat cheese, toasted walnuts, prosciutto skewers, black mission figs, rosemary flatbread crackers.

 Do you ever wish you could just eat appetizers all day long instead of real meals?  I do.  So, sometimes...yeah...

The inspiration for  this lunch came from my friend Kate, who is a chef/entertainer extraordinaire.  She served marinated goat cheese with figs and a baguette when I was at her house the other night.  And after eating almost all of the cheese that she served, I couldn't resist making my own.

The great thing about this cheese is that you can marinate it for as little or as long as you like.  I've done it overnight before, but for this lunch I just did it in the  morning and let it marinate a few hours til lunch. Either way, perfection!  I packed crackers for lunch since that's what I had on hand, but I highly recommend baguette slices if you make this on your own.

The goat cheese pictured above (in the round clear container) varies slightly from the below recipe in a few ways.  The picture is only about half the recipe, and since I was just making it for myself I wasn't ask careful with making pretty slices...it's more delicious lumps than slices in the picture!   I also limited the amount of rosemary on the cheese since the crackers had plenty.

Alright, everything clear?  Onward to recipe!

Marinated Goat Cheese

4 oz log Goat cheese chevre
1 T Tupelo honey
1 t olive oil
1/2 t dried rosemary
drizzle of balsamic glaze (I use Gia Russa)

Slice chevre in1/2 inch rounds and place chevre in an airtight container.  Drizzle with remaining ingredients and close container.  Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-24 hours.  Serve at room temperature with figs, prosciutto, and baguette slices.

Day 51 - Quick Hummus Lunch

Pita with hummus and feta, carrots, grapes.

Delicious cold lunch here.  Mini pitas, hummus, crumbled feta cheese, chopped carrots and green grapes.   I ended up splitting the pita in half and stuffing them with hummus and feta...then eating the leftover hummus with the carrots.

I really wanted some red bell pepper with this lunch...but I didn't have any in my fridge.  I did, however, have carrots. Anyone else call the crinkle cut carrots "carrot coins" when you were little?  Anyone?

Already working on tomorrow's lunch.  It's going to be sooooo good...

Day 50 - Leftover Pizza

Pepperoni pizza, grapes, carrots.

Leftovers from last night.  Pepperoni pizza, green grapes, carrots.

Not much else to explain.  Just simple and easy.

Hope you're enjoying your Tuesday. :)

Day 49 - Black Beans and Rice

Black beans on saffron rice, red plum, sour cream, colby jack cheese

Remember the Creamy Chicken Paprika from last week?  Today's lunch was a play on those leftover.  I used the leftover saffron rice and topped it with the black beans I had on the side.  I dressed the black beans up, however, as is usual for me.

This is a pretty standard and quick recipe in my kitchen.  If you like canned black beans, you should try it!


Seasoned Black Beans

1 can black beans, un-drained
1 can Rotel, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T cumin
1 t minced garlic
1 t olive oil
Sour cream and shredded cheese for topping, optional

In a medium pot over medium heat, drizzle the oil and heat til warmed.  Add the garlic, onion, and cumin, sauteing for about five minutes.  Add in the black beans and Rotel.  Cook, stirring frequently, until hot, about 10 minutes.  Serve over rice with sour cream and cheese, or any other delicious toppings!

Day 48 - Creamy Chicken Paprika on Rice

Creamy Chicken Paprika on saffron rice, black beans, mixed greens salad.

This is one of my favorite recipes.  I made it up one night a few years ago based on what I had in the fridge, and it's soooo good...full of flavor.  Great comfort food!

It's basically a skillet chicken paprika with sour cream added.  You could serve it over white or brown rice, but I infinitely prefer saffron rice...the flavors are a great combo.  I usually add in a can of black beans, as well, but I find that they get overly mushy when microwaved in this sauce.  So, for today's lunch, I just stuck them on the side. :)  Added a nice green salad and the only thing missing was a cold dry riesling and a crusty baguette.  Which is what I ate it with last night...But they won't let me bring wine to work.   Crazy.

Anyhoo, recipe time!

Creamy Chicken Paprika on Rice

1-2 lbs chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
2 T olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
8 oz sour cream
3 T paprika

10 oz pkg saffron rice

Prepare rice according to package directions (I often substitute chicken stock for the water).  Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken on each side until cooked through, about five minutes.  Set aside.  Add oil to skillet, being sure to scrape up browned bits.  Stir in onion and cook until tender, about five minutes.  Pour in chicken broth and paprika; bring to a boil and let reduce until mixture has thickened; about 5 minutes.  Stir in sour cream and cooked chicken; heat til warmed through.  Serve hot over rice. 

Day 47 - Loaded Scalloped Potatoes

Oven baked chicken, loaded scalloped potatoes, and green beans.

This is probably the most unhealthy thing I've yet to share with you. Wasn't healthy one of the ideas behind this blog? Oh well, I'm not telling if you don't.  We'll be healthy when it's not comfort food week, right?

More leftovers from last night.  Oven fried chicken, green beans, and loaded scalloped potatoes.The scalloped potatoes were a challenge from a co-worker, I think to see if I could come up with the  most indulgent casserole ever.  Yes, I can.  And it's pretty good, if you ask me.  Might look like a melted mess above, but tastes wonderful...and looks way better in the casserole dish.

Loaded Scalloped Potatoes

2 lb yukon gold potatoes, washed and peeled
3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 cups reduced fat milk
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 oz sour cream
1/4 cup green onion, sliced
1 t sea salt
1 t dried parsley
1/2 t black pepper

Slice the potatoes into very thin rounds; place in a bowl filled with cold water and set aside.

In a non-stick  pot or double boiler, melt butter.  Whisk in flour until just blended; do not let this mixture burn or brown.  Slowly pour in milk and heat over low heat until thickened.

Congratulations, you have just made a bechamel sauce.  Aren't you fancy!

Now, slowly stir in 1 cup of the cheddar cheese until cheese is melted and well incorporated into the sauce.

Congratulations, you have now just made a Mornay sauce.  Fancy pants.

Slowly stir in sour cream, heating until sauce is smooth.  Add in salt, pepper, and parsley.  Add in all but 1 T of the bacon - reserve this T of bacon for garnish.

Now, in a greased 9x9 pan, lay down a single layer of slightly overlapping potatoes.  Pour over a third of your sauce.  Do this twice more, making three layers, and ensuring that your top layer is completely covered with sauce.  Sprinkle remaining bacon, cheese, and green onion on top.

Cover in foil and bake at 375F for an hour; uncover and bake 5-10 more minutes or until cheese has fully melted on top.

Enjoy.

Then go work out.  Seriously.

Day 46 - Mighty Meaty Spaghetti

Mighty meaty spaghetti, green salad, carrots.

So, comfort food week goes on.  Today's lunch is last night's leftovers...my semi famous mighty meaty spaghetti.

Disclaimer:  This is only "mighty meaty" when I know I'm going to need to eat very small quantities, or I have very hungry company over.  I make this recipe vegetarian for myself all the time.  But  last night was epic TV night, so epic spaghetti was in order.

Anyway, this is another slow cooker recipe.  A little more effort than Ragu, but so worth your time.  This recipe is just for the sauce...feel free to add whatever pasta or other accompaniments you'd like!

The version pictured above is just the leftovers, so all the meatballs were picked out.  I promise, though, when you make it fresh the meatballs are just gorgeous!


Mighty Meaty Spaghetti

1 lb bag frozen Italian meatballs
1/3 lb ground sirloin
1/3 lb ground sweet Italian sausage
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped
28 oz can whole tomatoes in juice
12 oz tomato paste
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup good red wine
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Worcestershire
1 T sugar
1 T dried basil

In a large pan, brown ground beef and pork.  Transfer to a slow cooker and pour in all remaining ingredients.  Set on low and cook for 6-8 hours.  Serve over pasta.

Feel free to leave out all or part of the meat for a less fatty or meaty sauce. 

Also, feel free to dip a piece of toasted ciabatta in the pot and eat it standing at the counter...because it's that good!

Day 45 - Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ladies and gentlemen, it is OCTOBER!

Woooohoooo!

I love October.  Why?  Because where I live, October is when fall starts.  Not the vernal equinox.  October.  That's when the weather gets cooler, pumpkin becomes an acceptable food, and I can start to think about sweaters!  Yay!

So, in honor of this first week of October, and in honor of the fact that the weather is, indeed, getting a little chilly...I propose a week of comfort food!

Um, including a week of salad dinners, so I don't feel awful.

Anyway, comfort food it is!

First up today is Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal.  If you haven't tried oatmeal in the slow cooker, then you must not have a slow cooker!  The trick is to use steel cut oats instead of rolled oats.

Spoonful of steel cut oats.  Looks funny, tastes great.

 
 Rolled oats (or instant steel cut) will turn to glue in your crock pot.  Not tasty.  Traditional steel cut oats are slow cooking and turn out great overnight.  You just plug it in when you're headed to bed and 8 hours later, you have beautiful oatmeal!

I put mine in my handy dandy short thermos and took it to work.   Threw in some cold grapes on the side, I think.  Very filling, still very hot, and very October. :)

You can use any fruit or garnishing you want...the oatmeal to liquid ratio is what's really important, as well as the cooking time.  Other than that, replace with any fruit or seasoning you wish!  In the slow cooker, the edges will crust a little like bread pudding...so good.

Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats (I use McCann's brand)
3 cups water
1 cup half & half (or reduced fat milk, if you want to be less indulgent)
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 T brown sugar
2 T butter
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t kosher salt

Stir ingredients together in the crock of a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Top with more butter, sugar, milk, or whatever you like.  Makes 4-5 large servings.