Too many mornings have that rushed quality about them, when you're lucky to get out the door near your targeted departure time, and your socks and shoes match, respectively. Those mornings, you typically breakfast on something out of a wrapper (sad) or maybe nothing at all (tragic!). Enter the slow cooker, often your dinnertime hero — but did you ever think about how it can bring together a delicious morning, too? Imagine, instead of that cold, hard kitchen on a Monday morning, being gently awoken to the aroma of cinnamon-y baked apples or some steel-cut oats — or (we got you, savory sisters) a hash brown casserole or some scrambled eggs? Well, all it takes is a few minutes of planning the night before (think of it as your counter-Sunday-Scaries ritual) and you can change the whole tone of your mornings. We love this for you.

Say hello to your new hosting go-to. This brings all the French toast deliciousness but with none of the standing at the stove, dripping, flipping, sweating, all before you've had your first cup of coffee. Just pack that slow cooker and let the most incredible aromas waft to every corner of the house.

Valerie B's take on slow cooker oats is similar in spirit to Ree D's, but here she goes for banana and spices rather than peaches and brown sugar (we're here for both). Go ahead and customize with your toppings, going with additional fruit or toasty nuts. That's right; we said it. Go nuts.

This casserole is in the vein of a strata, with breakfast sausage, cream cheese and provolone, peppers and scallions, and in its signature move, hunks of bagels and everything seasoning. Yes, the seasoning goes in separately from the bagels — the better to make sure it's not too much (or too little) for the whole thing. We wouldn't get mad at some bloody marys, here.

Here we've got another variation on the hash brown casserole, only this one goes in the ham direction rather than the sausage. The cream cheese doesn't taste cream cheesy, but just behaves as a tangy source of creaminess that carries the flavors of the Cheddar, peppers and onion. Fresh scallions scattered right before serving add a welcome, fresh and bright bite.

When oats are old-hat, it's time to do something more interesting. This hot breakfast porridge blends steel-cut oats with cornmeal and barley, yielding a gentle textural bite, ready to accept fruit and nuts, brown sugar or maple syrup, and a splash of cream or crown of Greek yogurt. It reheats like a dream, too.

Who woulda thought a quiche could be turned out of your slow cooker? This crustless version is creamy and cooked perfectly all the way through, due to the even cooking of the insert. Its look is less pie and more airy souffle, and a cheese and spinach topping is a wonderful counterpoint to the richness.

Spoiler alert: You will make it all the way to lunch without getting hungry after a serving of this casserole. It's a cheesy, meaty bit of heaven, peppers and Cheddar, and hash browns, too. This would be an absolute feast at brunch with a side of good buttered toast and fruit salad — or all on its own!

Just as with steel-cut oats, slow cookers also take all the guesswork out of making perfect grits. The slow cooker can be your sous chef, letting you put your attention towards ideal poached eggs or some breakfast shrimp to put on top; but a bowl of steaming grits topped with some butter is also heaven alongside your morning coffee. You can pump up its natural savoriness by stirring in some cheese, but it also goes in the sweet direction quite nicely, drizzled with honey or maple syrup.

Yes, it can even handle beverages! Katie Lee Biegel's lattes are a surprising mix of spiced chai, coffee and whipped cream on top, because you don't dream up this combination unless you're ready for something special. Give it a try — coffee and tea never knew they should go together, but it works.

Steel cut oats! They're what your nutritionist wants you to eat. Frankly, they're what you want to eat, too (the tastiest of the oatmeal options) but who even has the patience for all that stirring — even on a weekend morning?! The slow cooker is the genius method for this — zero stirring necessary, and you get even, perfect cooking of each grain, no scorching at all. Why didn't we think of this sooner?

Let's not bury the lede here — baked apples obviously make a lovely, light dessert, and all the better, when you're entertaining, to have them ready to go, right in the cooker. But they also taste just right for breakfast, with a little Greek yogurt on the side. You'll love that combo of apples with the zing of dried cranberries and toasty crunch of walnuts.

You could do worse than to ask a genie to conjure Ina Garten up in your kitchen when you need her most, like on a bleary-eyed morning. Well, her slow cooker scrambled eggs might be the next best thing. Yes, you still have to stir — that's how you get those luscious curds--but the result might be the most textbook scrambled eggs you've ever made, creamy and savory, no browning in sight. How easy is that?