Thank God for Slow Cookers: Review and Tasty Tuesday

Other than a husband who can cook, the phone and a take out menu, or microwave dinners, there is one thing I can't imagine living without on those days when I'm in pain or too tired to stand in front of the stove cooking a nice dinner.

My slower cooker.

I am very lucky, I do have a husband who is an amazing cook. However, he works. It's unreasonable to expect him to cook dinner every time I'm exhausted or in pain.

Recently it has been pain that is the problem. Even with the medication my pain is still no better than about a 6 on a scale of 1-10. Standing in the kitchen for a long time doesn't work very well right now.

This is where the slow cooker comes in. I can manage to chop some vegetables and meat, throw it in the cooker, add whatever herbs and other stuff, and turn it on. Much less work for me, and still a great meal when the day ends.

My currently slow cooker is the best thing in the world, at least in my opinion. I cook a fairly large variety of foods, and the size cooker I need varies. My slow cooker has 3 bowls that nest together for storage. This saves space and gives me the variety I need.

I have cooked everything from dip to dessert. In fact, some of the best cobbler I've ever had came from my slow cooker. There is something to be said for being able to make something delicious without too much work.

Having a 3-in-1 slow cooker has only one draw back. I can only use one size at a time. This normally is not a problem for me, but I could see how some people might have an issue with that. For me, the fact that I have the variety without having to store three completely separate slow cookers is perfect. Our kitchen isn't very large so we have to make the limited storage work to our advantage the best we can.

I never recommend another slow cooker to anyone anymore. This is my immediate suggestion when anyone asks me if I know anything about slow cookers and which ones are good. I also recommend Fix-It And Forget-It Big Cookbook: 1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes to go with it. That is my go to book when I need new ideas for my slow cooker. My copy has notes written near the recipes with changes I've made to adjust them to my families liking. It also has little tabs sticking out everywhere marking my favorite recipes. The cobbler recipe originally came from this cook book too. Although I've started using 4 cups of whatever fruit, fresh or frozen, I have on hand to make the cobbler and will adjust the spices accordingly. No matter how I've changed it, the cobbler is always delicious.

One of my closest friends was given her first slow cooker for Christmas. As soon as I found out I sent her a copy of this book as an early birthday gift. When it came in the mail she called me, I answered the phone to her screaming, "OH MY GOSH! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU!" We now talk about what we'll be making in our slow cookers at least once a week. We share what recipes we've tried, things we've changed, and anything else that comes to mind. It's helped both of us give our families delicious food, that seems like it took us all day, on those days when we just can't manage to stay in the kitchen that long.

What are your favorite slow cooker recipes? Do you have a kitchen item you can't live without? What is it? Why do you love it?

Since it is Tuesday, I am going to share the slow cooker cobbler recipe I love so much.

Slow Cooker Cobbler
a modified version of Black and Blue Cobbler from Fix-It And Forget-It Big Cookbook

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp canola oil
4 cups any fresh or frozen fruit, can use a mix of fruits as well
3/4 cup water
1 tsp grated orange peel or other citrus peel (optional)
3/4 cup sugar
whipped cream or ice cream (optional)

1) Combine flour, 3/4 sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
2) Combine eggs, milk, and oil. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened.
3) Spread the batter evenly over the bottom of a greased 4-, 5-, or 6-quart slow cooker.
4) In a saucepan, combine fruit, water, citrus peel, and 3/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over batter. Cover.
5) Cook on High for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, or until toothpick inserted into batter comes out clean. Turn off cooker.
6) Uncover and let stand 30 minutes before serving. Spoon from cooker and serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

I suggest starting with a small serving. It doesn't look like much, but I could easily give 4-6 people dessert from this and most of them probably wouldn't finish it, especially if I topped it with whipped cream or ice cream.

Visit City Wife, Country Life for more Tasty Tuesday recipes and ideas.

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