I bought a slow cooker!

[forestdale]

I got sick of waiting for one to appear in the newspaper or at a garage sale. I know I'm not patient enough. It's one of my many bad points. I can't wait for anything. Blah....

Anyhow, I got myself a lovely slow cooker. It was reduced from $69.95 to $54.95 so I thought that was okay. I'm too late today to start cooking in it but I'm going to the store to work tomorrow so I'll load er up before I go and have dinner waiting when I come home. This is so good!!!!

[Darlene]

Enjoy your new toy Bethany. I'll be using mine today to make corned beef with cabbage,potatoes & carrots.
What are you going to make?

[dz_blonde_girl]

You're going to LOVE it! You can always pick up another at a garage sale later .

[SewCrafty]

It is nice to come home to a fully cooked dinner, enjoy it Bethany!

[sunshine]

Terrific! I hope you enjoy yours as much I do mine (I have 3 and still don't have enough)

[canadian gardener]

bethany, you will LOVE IT!

so handy. Congratulations. And you know what, I don't see people getting rid of them much which says two things

You could have waited forever to find one and missed all the $ savings from using it (it will pay for itself over and over)-- which also says you are smart to recognize when to buy!

and the reason people don't sell them often is because they are so well loved and used.

[canadian gardener]

From my thread over in homestead gardens on easy OAMC: [ame="http://www.homesteadgarden.com/forums/showthread.php?t=756"]OAMC, the easy way, no burnout, just good home cooking in the freezer - Homestead Garden Forums[/ame]

Crockpots can:

--Make soup and chowder (leftover chopped veggies in the freezer or fridge after cooking day? don't let them get whiskery with age, dump them into the stock from the ground beef crumbles and make a great homemade veggie soup). Eat one meal tonight and freeze the rest in meal size amounts. (smaller or flatter containers are faster to thaw)

--Soups with barley or lentils won't scorch and will get the best and creamiest flavour ever.

--Make stews, chilis, sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, chicken fricassee and eat one and freeze 2! Any stew like casserole will do. Beef Bourgignon is a great example.

--Make pot roast. Some leftovers are sliced and frozen in gravy for another meal. Other leftovers are chopped into delicious meat spread sandwich filling.

--Make chicken pot pie filling in the cp and freeze in meal size portions in ziplock freezer bags. Thaw, and cover with pastry or biscuit dough and bake.

--Same procedure for shepherds pie or tamale pie (make bottoms in cp, cover with topping, bake, freeze rest of bottoms in ziplocks for later thawing, topping and baking)

--Make extra stuffing and cook OUTSIDE the turkey, (saves time stuffing the turkey, is safer, and makes more stuffing anyway) and keep it hot for serving at the big meal. Makes enough for a crowd.

--Make mashed potatoes an hour ahead and keep hot on Low in the crockpot. Makes enough for a crowd so is great for company dinners.

--Make spiced cider or hot cocoa for a crowd and keep it nice and hot for hours without a problem. Set it before going out christmas tree hunting or skiing and come back to a hot treat.

--Cook beans overnite so in the morning you rinse them in cool water, drain and freeze in 2 cup portions. Far cheaper and healthier than canned beans and if you use a microwave to thaw them, they are almost as fast as opening a can of beans. Do this with one variety after another and build up a frozen stash of chickpeas, pinto beans, red beans, white beans etc.

Cook the best baked beans and vegetarian chili ever. The beans have time for the molasses or chili flavour to bake right in, and they never scorch.

[guest2]

Congratulations!!!! I have 2 of them and use them both quite a bit. I used to have a 3rd one but got rid of it since the inner crock was not removeable.

[Katybird]

Bethany, You are going to love your crockpot. It makes cooking so much less of a chore. I love to fill mine before I leave in the morning and when I get home there is a lovely supper all ready and waiting. It is definately my favorite kitchen small appliance.

[forestdale]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, ladies. An extra hug for you, Margery, for the handy hints.

My first slow cooker meal will be one I won't eat but I won't have to cook when I get home. It will be Thai chicken curry. DH and DS both love that. All I'll have to do is to cook rice when I come home. My days at our shop keep changing - i'm working today, tomorrow and Sunday. On Saturday I'm going to try baked beans. And on Sunday, when everyone will be out, me at the shop and DH and DS at the chefs' food fair in the city - I'll load up a vegetable soup before I go and we'll all come home to yummy smells and a hearty soup.

THIS IS SO GOOD!

[milach]

They really are one of the most handy small appliances one can have. They're so economical since they don't suck the electricity like the oven does, and all the recipies I've seen calls for inexpensive ingredients.

And by the way, I have that same sewing machine as in your avitar. I love to use it, except for the fact I don't have any attachments to do anything other than a straight stitch. Honestly, it's alot quieter and runs alot smoother than the new Kenmore one I bought. OK, probably too much info, but I wanted to share that

[forestdale]

Hi Laura

My mum had a sewing machine like this too. They are great for sewing and for a lovely reminder of times past even if they don't work.