1 tablespoon butter
Cereal: oatmeal, cracked wheat, cornmeal grits, or similar cereal (do not use quick cooking cereals)
water
salt
chopped apples, cinnamon, nuts, raisins, or your favorite add-ins

Rub crock wall with butter. Follow package directions for quantity of water and salt per cup of cereal. (Most varieties of cereal work best using a 2-1 ratio: 4 cups water to 2 cups cereal.) Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 9 hours.

Now here's where your creativity comes in.I've only made the oatmeal but you can add chopped apples, cinnamon, nuts, raisins, etc. I had some other specific recipes but I can't find them right now. Anyway you can pretty much make it according to your family's tastes. Susan's note ... the oatmeal, apple, and cinnamon combination works well for our family. Some other possible combos: cream of wheat and cocoa, cream of wheat and peanut butter chips, cocoa wheats and chocolate chips, corn meal mush with cheddar cheese and bacon bits (real not fake!) add in the morning after it's cooked, grits with garlic and cheese, etc. etc. etc. I think once you get the basics down you could probably come up with a bunch of ideas.