Banana Cinnamon Oatmeal in the crockpot

I have been doing the Eat from the Pantry Challenge this month, and one of the first things that I ran out of was instant oatmeal. It's a regular purchase at my house, as I don't have the time to make oatmeal in the mornings - my middle child's bus shows up just after 7:00 and needs a lot of help getting ready, and I love my sleep! So I was thinking about alternatives, and it struck me that my crockpot would be great for making oatmeal. I could start it before I went to bed, and in the morning, there'd be a delicious pot waiting for me and my family.

I looked around on the Internet, searching for good oatmeal recipes. Here's what I found:

• Use steel-cut oats or old-fashioned oatmeal if you want to make it overnight.  Quick oats will cook too quickly - in 4-5 hours, even on low.  The steel-cut oats recipes looked intriguing, but I have two canisters of old-fashioned oats to use up, and didn't want to buy more.
• The amount of liquid to oats usually ranges from 2:1 to 3:1.  You'll want the higher ratio if you like your oatmeal very creamy, lower if you like it more solid.
• Some recipes suggest using milk or half-and-half, others just water.  I used mostly water, but added a small amount of milk.
• Most recipes suggest using dried fruits for flavorings.  This makes sense since the long cooking time will water down the flavors of fresh fruit, so dried fruit, with its concentrated flavor, would be better.  I thought that adding fresh fruit just at the end of cooking would allow it to warm up and flavor the oatmeal without diluting the flavor.
  
• Sugar?  Some add it during cooking, others wait until it's done.

Here's the recipe I came up with:

Banana Cinnamon Oatmeal in the Crockpot

2 cups old-fashioned oats
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 bananas, sliced

Grease the bottom and sides of the crockpot insert well.  Add all ingredients except for bananas and mix well.  Cook on LOW for 8-9 hours (overnight).  A few minutes before serving, remove the lid and add sliced bananas and mix well.  Put the lid back on and cook for a few more minutes to warm the bananas.  Makes 4 large servings.

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