[*]8 cups water[*]2 cups steel-cut oats, (see Ingredient note)[*]1/3 cup dried cranberries[*]1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped[*]1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Combine water, oats, dried cranberries, dried apricots and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours.  

Ingredient Note: Steel-cut oats, sometimes labeled "Irish oatmeal," look like small pebbles. They are toasted oat groats—the oat kernel that has been removed from the husk that have been cut in 2 or 3 pieces. Do not substitute regular rolled oats, which have a shorter cooking time, in the slow-cooker oatmeal recipe.