Monday, June 29, 2009

Crock Pot Determination

It's hot here! Saturday was 107! Sunday and today it's been in the 90's. It's too hot to stand over a stove and cook. We are usually either too hot or too tired to cook. I am determined to learn to cook in a crock pot.....not just things like I normally cook in such as chili, a whole chicken, shredded pork in barbecue sauce or beef stew. I really need to expand my repertoire of crock pot creations. The stuff I cook in there is boring. If this woman http://crockpot365.blogspot.com can cook in the crock pot/slow cooker every single day for a year then I'm sure I can use it a couple times a week. The crock pots they had years ago were a lot better than the new ones, in that you could actually cook in them for 8 hours. You could set it in the morning and it would be ready at night. The newer ones cook at a higher temperature so don't take as long. I made a pork and potato dish the other day but I left it in too long. It tasted pretty good but Russell said the pork tasted like fish. But he said that's OK he likes fish. I did not think it tasted like fish at all. But it would have been better if I'd been home to watch it. Despite that failure I'm not giving up. Tonight I'm making a recipe that I got from my online newsletter from Taste Of Home.

Here's a picture of how it's supposed to look. I will post a picture tomorrow of how it came out.
The neighbor situation is a lot better now. We now have the number from her daughter and son in law. They were visiting this past weekend and came over and we talked to them and they said she only drives around this small city and once in awhile goes to nearby Anadarko to play the slots. They say they will have to do something eventually but for now they think she is OK.

The garden is growing pretty good but we found out we need to water it every day. Since we started doing that there are a couple things almost ready to pick, a squash and a couple of eggplants. Next year we are going to use shade cloth for some things because the sun seems to be too hot for them.

I should have my blanket done in a couple of days and then I can start the other one if they have the yard I need at Walmart. I also started buying some baby yard so I can make doll clothes for Christmas. I'll need to go to a craft store to get some more since Walmart does not have a large variety of that type of yarn.
Here's a picture of what I have done so far.
We've rented a few movies recently and none of them were all that great but I really liked the one called Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. It's a Disney movie. Russell probably won't admit that he liked it but he was laughing his a$$ off through much of it so what does that tell you? I also loved the movie Ever After which is an older movie with Drew Barrymore and we both really liked that one. I'm glad I bought that one to add to my collection.

Well I think that's it for now. Life had been peaceful and uneventful so there isn't much else to write about.
Blessings to y'all.

16 comments:

  1. Crock Pots can't compete with microwaves. I'm sure they retain the flavor much better than a microwaved meal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the crock pot website tip. My honey bought a crock pot for the truck and can use some new ideas. I rented the movie Twilight yesterday and just loved it. Have you seen it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm not a big fan of crockpot cooking. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good idea, but everything seems to taste the same in it to me. It's OK for the occassional cassarole or something, but that's about it as far as I'm concerned. Hope you find it better, since - in your situation - I'm sure it will be quite useful to use one.

    I thought the newer crockpots had temperature controls on them?

    Glad you have contact details for your neighbour's family, and that you found out they are aware of how she's doing. It's good to know they are keeping an eye on her.

    I'm also glad your garden and blanket are going so well for you. :)

    Ever After is an amazing movie!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is my absolute favorite slow cooker book.

    http://www.amazon.com/Best-Slow-Cooker-Cookbook-Ever/dp/0060172665/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246360947&sr=1-3

    See is you can find it at the library!

    I agree with how hot it's been. I have been hiding out in the house with the drapes closed - reading!

    The blanket looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. JR: I don't really use the microwave for cooking but Russell has before. I only use it to heat up stuff or to cook prepackaged stuff. I do like those lean cuisines and I'll cook those if I have them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dana: Those crockpots they have for truckers are pretty neat. I think they would be really good for heating canned stuff that Justin would bring with him but being on the road he can't really cook recipes. Those things are pretty neat.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tori: They do have controls on them. But you can't put them on a really low temperature like the older versions. So needing to be at a higher temperature they have to be watched. Yeah depending on what you cook some things can taste the same. But that crockpot site has some really good ideas on things I never would have thought to cook in a crockpot. So I'm going to experiment.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lisa: I'm going to Amazon right now to look at that book. I have a couple crockpot books but I'm not crazy about them. I need something new.
    I agree with you about hiding in the house to beat the heat. But I have not been reading, I've been knitting. I try to get the stuff I need to do done early.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 107 degree heat? You hardly need the crockpot - and could leave the cassorole pan out on a sunny counter... yikes - that's hot!

    I hope your next attempts are less experiments and more successes. :)

    And you must be really relieved to have the neighbor situation at least in a much better place. Whew! Those are the nagging worries that bother people with big hearts like you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Intense Guy: We are now having a cold front. It's only 97 degrees today.
    Just a bit ago I went to rent some movies and saw my neighbor outside. She said she was getting ready for work but couldn't find her house keys. I saw her at her front door so as I was leaving, I called Russell to go check and make sure she to in. She did. Poor lady.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey - thanks for dropping by and your wishes ...been catching up on your blog. Your life seems to be nice and full and very creative! Was sad to read about your neighbor - sometimes families get the 'message' last - but it's always difficult deciding what to do. She's lucky to have caring neighbors like you.
    Take care and continue to inspire!
    Corinne

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi, Barb! You are certainly staying busy this summer. Hubby is wallpapering my kitchen here in FL as we speak! I helped for a while this morning and he said he could take it from there. So here I am at the library trying to play catch up a bit. I wanted you to know that I checked out "The Secret" from the library a couple of days ago and read it in one evening. I really enjoyed it and its message. Will practice what it preaches! Thanks and stay well. I should be back in OK in about a week and a half. D

    ReplyDelete
  13. Corrine: Hello! and thanks for dropping by. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Donetta: I'm glad you enjoyed reading The Secret. If you ever get a chance to watch the movie, it goes a lot more in depth than the book.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Crock Pot! I forgot I had one--hehe! Thanks for the link.

    I would definitely melt down there--107!! 80s is too hot for me up here in Fargo--hehe! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Get that crock out Rita and get cookin!
    80's is perfect weather. That would be a cold front here this time of year.

    ReplyDelete