Food Friday: Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats with Pumpkin and Maple Syrup

Monica at Yummly has some great recipes.  She put out a few pumpkin recipes this week.  I am trying the Crockpot Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats recipe.  Sort of.

This is what I did:

In a two-quart bowl, or maybe it is three-quart, I will have to check, I placed these ingredients:
1 cup uncooked steel cut oats
3 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
Half a can of pumpkin purée--about 3/4 cup
1/4 cup pure Vermont maple syrup
3 caps vanilla--probably about 2 teaspoons
Heaping tablespoon of homemade pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice)
Heaping tablespoon ground flax seeds
1/4-1/2 teaspoon himalayan pink salt
2 Tablespoons butter

The recipe called for grated apple or applesauce but I forgot this.  Since it is a new recipe anyway, I don't suppose it matters much.  I don't have very high expectations but would be pleased if it turned out to be tasty.  When it is cooked I can always add some applesauce to it if it seem needed.

Mix all these ingredients together carefully in your bowl then place in a large crockpot.  Our crockpot is 7-quarts and oval.  When the bowl is in the ceramic crockpot bowl, VERY CAREFULLY pour in warm water about half way up the bowl of ingredients, cover, then turn the crockpot to LOW for 8 hours.  I am writing this part after having put the porridge cooking.  More in the morning when it is, hopefully, cooked and delicious.

Pumpkin Oatmeal in the Crockpot ready to "double boil".

UPDATE:
I started the crockpot cooking at 9 PM.  This morning at 6:30 AM I opened the cover.  This is a crockpot that cooks on low for 8 hours then goes into warming mode.  You do the math to know how long this was in the crockpot.

In the night I woke up once and had the delightful benefit of smelling the cinnamon!  A great fragrance to enjoy. It put me right back to sleep.

Pumpkin Oatmeal after cooking

The pumpkin oatmeal had cooked to perfection.  The solids had solidified and some liquid was on top.  After stirring for a minute with our trusty wooden spoon it was nice and smooth.

Pumpkin Oatmeal after stirring.

Taste test:  well, it is certainly edible.  Not very sweet, which is a plus, though Dear One may want a spoonful of brown sugar or even maple syrup on it.  The pumpkin is there but not overpowering.  The texture is luscious and smooth.  I think this is a good recipe that I might make again.  I will add apple the next time, though, to see what difference that makes.  I think today I will throw some chopped pecans over the top and add some more ground flaxseed.