Figuring it all out

Tola was digging through my bathroom drawer this morning while I was doing my weekly Saturday cleaning.

She held up a tube of lip gloss and asked, "Is dis for your wips or for your toes?"

"That's for your lips. Do you want to try some?"

Next, she pulled out a set of nail clippers. "Dis for clicking your toes. And your fingers, too?"

"Yes, for clipping your fingernails and toenails."

A stick of deodorant came next. "I want some of dis. Is for my shoulder."

"That's your armpit, not your shoulder."

"Oh. Okay... Dat tickles!"

Lotion was next. "Dis so I smell good..."


It went on and on with toiletry after toiletry. I think by the end we had it all sorted out. And I never passed such an enjoyable time scrubbing the toilet and wiping the sink... Children have a way of making everything in life a little more enjoyable.

That much I've got figured out.

Slow Cooker PAR-TAY!

Well, this New Year is starting off with a bang, and between all the new activities added to our calendar, I find myself needing to cook dinner while I'm away from home at that all-important pre-dinner hour. Since I can't be in 2 places at once, and haven't figured out how to clone myself, and hiring a housekeeper/cook is out of the question, I naturally turn to my trusty slow cooker. Trouble is, I turn to it for the same things over and over and I'm craving some variety.

That's where you come in.

I want to know what works for you in your home. What does your family love to eat from the slow cooker?

I'll get this party started by sharing some of our faves.

Did you know you could bake potatoes in a slow cooker? I discovered this a couple years ago and boy howdy are they tender and creamy inside! (Except, dear Martha, I need more than 4 potatoes and use a crock larger than 5 qts...) I fry up some bacon and shred some cheese earlier in the day and have some frozen broccoli all thawed out and ready to zap in the micro before serving. It all comes together quite quickly.

Here's an easy chicken burrito filling I did a few years back and posted at my former blog site.

Of course, there's the standby shredded bbq pork on rolls everyone loves. You can find recipes out there all over the place for this one. I just throw a chunk of pork into the slow cooker, salt and pepper it, pour some bbq sauce over, maybe a few dashes of liquid smoke, just to fool everyone into thinking it was done over an actual bbq, and let her go for 8-10 hours on low. Your house will smell like a barbecue joint by the end of the day. My mouth waters just thinking on it.

And then there's chili. No explanation required. Chili is chili.

So much for my repertoire.

Now here's a couple I'd like to try:

Mu-Shu-Ish Chicken wraps

Orange Chicken

(I'm sensing a theme here. Must be craving some Chinese food...)

And in a similar vein, Thai Peanut Chicken

Okay. Your turn.  Leave a link or a quick recipe for your favorite slow cooker meal below in the comments. Feel free to come back and check out what other people have contributed! Happy crock-potting!