slow cookin'

I've never owned a slow cooker aka crockpot. I've always thought they were for chili or soups and seeing as how Im not a real fan of either, I didn't bother with pursuing after one. That all changed after we added our newest edition to the family. Cooking for a family of five, plus my mother who is in town  temporarily, can become quite tiring and more often than not is simply forgotten until about 4:30pm. That's when I find myself scrambling to throw something together that is quick and healthy.

I finally decided to look more into this giant pot that works miracles. How can I throw an entire chicken in along with veggies and half the day later produce a delectable dinner? I dont know, but I needed to find out and quick.

After some research and some online stalking, I finally decided a crockpot was in my very near future. There are tons of websites of very easy recipes and countless blogs all dedicated to the POWER OF THE CROCKPOT. I imagine those with a crockpot are equivalent to magicians in Harry Potter; living in a secret magic world of easy cooking and cleanup while mere mortals slave over stoves and hand wash dishes.

I've had my "wand" for a few weeks now and I will admit that I didnt use it right away. It seemed daunting. What was I going to make in this thing? And after hours of slow cooking, what if it turned out disgusting? Then I'm stuck with wasted time and a wasted dish. I pushed my fears aside and started casting my cookbook spells.

I've only made four dishes, but they've all turned out quite delicious to me. I found them all on one awesome blog titled, A Year of Slow Cooking. I highly recommend you check out that page if you're thinking of purchasing a slow cooker. I've created shredded BBQ chicken for sandwiches, Orange Honey Tilapia, Caribbean Jerk Chicken, and even Apple Coffee Cake!

The cake was our favorite :) It tasted like an apple pie turned cake. Im so in love with this machine. Up next: buffalo chicken lasagna!

Here are a few pics of the fish and the cake- please tell me about your crockpots and recipes. I've got a trip planned soon to another country so I should have some great pics and stories.

CIAO!