52 in 52 Pinterest Project #1 - Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Pinterest project - 1                                                                   
Pinterest projects to go - 51

I am always on the look for a breakfast recipe that I can "cook" overnight.  This has been my second failure so perhaps the universe is trying to tell me something. 

I was perusing Pinterest the other day and came across this pin for overnight apple cinnamon Oatmeal - original website/recipe found here:  http://bestfoodpins.com/archives/7022

Several things immediately struck me with this pin:

1. I LOVE using the crock pot.  I had never cooked anything overnight in it, but I figured that there has to be a first time for everything.
2. I LOVE apple cinnamon oatmeal.
3. I had all the ingredients on hand and none of them were "weird" or seemed like they needed to be babysat.  I'm not sure if anyone else does this but anytime I read the ingredients to a recipe I always skip over it if it has an odd ingredient or requires too much attention, like stirring constantly for over 10 minutes - who has time for that? 

So we begin our journey.  I pull out my trusty crock pot, assemble ingredients exactly as stated except that I used steel cut oats - what I had on hand.  After an hour I put Saran Wrap over my crockpot under the lid because my pot doesn't seal as well as I would appreciate. 

Our one year old crying woke my husband and I up approximately eight and a half hours into cooking time, which should have been fine.  Upon opening the lid, the most amazing aroma was released.  It smelled like a hot apple pie... *drool*.  I spooned it into a container to take to work and my husband took a bite.  At this point, even though we have been married 4 years, I wasn't totally sure how he felt about oatmeal, but he didn't seem impressed.  He said it needed sugar, which I thought was odd because it seemed like enough while I was putting it together and I used a sweeter apple.  I figured that it was just his lack of appreciation for oatmeal and went on to work. 

Opening the container while at work, I noticed that the aroma did not travel with me to work, which was disappointing.  First bite - it's glue-y.  And tasteless.  And like wallpaper paste with chunks of apples in it.

I want to cry.  My first Pinterest project is a failure!  I have had such success with different pins in the past and the first one that I am going to document is a miserable failure.  Normally I would try to make it again to see if I could tweak the recipe to obtain a better outcome, but this one seems so hopeless that I don't want to waste the ingredients trying it again.   Let's hope that the next 51 have a better outcome. 


- Sara