one that I haven't used in... um... well, maybe once in the last ten years

o_O

Wow. I use my crockpot like...once a week.

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I don't cook much. :( And then there's just me. A crockpot of food is a LOT of food.

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That's what freezer bags are for!

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True enough!

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I did, and then I got a set of oven-safe calphalon with a pot about half the size of my crockpot. It currently has one recipe of beans with bacon, molasses, and mustard in it, in my oven at home. It's really nice to be able to preboil the beans, fry the bacon, and bake the whole mess all in one pot.

Love,
Rowan

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How do the energy costs compare?

One of the things I like about a slow-cooker is I don't have to heat up my oven and keep it going for a long time. I have a gas oven, though, so I don't know if that costs more to run than an electric oven.

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In the winter, for me, I think it balances out because if I leave the oven on I don't have to turn on the heater. Mostly, my power bill is pretty nominal (30-40 in the winter, 60-80 when I run the AC), so I don't think the oven makes a lot of difference either way.

Much love,
Rowan

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It helps to have a small space!

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It also helps to have a third-floor apartment in Texas. I turn my heat on for eight, maybe ten days a year at most, and even when it's in the 50s I can get away with leaving the heat off and using a blanket because the downstairs neighbors keep their place heated.

Much love,
Rowan

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....I...I have nothing to say that is even remotely polite, so I'll just go over here in my freezing cold corner and sulk.

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It does seem very unfair, just at the moment, doesn't it?

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Srsly.

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Hey, it froze last weekend! It was under 30 and everything! For two hours, maybe even three. I had to bring in the lime tree *and* the orange tree off the porch. I lost a lime in the process (so young, so tragic!).

I made a fire in the fireplace to console myself, and squeezed the prematurely launched lime into a nice margarita.

This isn't helping, is it?

*grin*

Much love,
Rowan

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No. No, it isn't.



(on the other hand, it did make me laugh.)

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*blink*

I'm sorry...were you saying something? I was over here ignoring you.

phttththtptphththt

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This last year or so - yes. I've got two, and need both. I inadvertently trained Lawnchair into expecting that there is always a big batch of something (chili, soup or curry) in the fridge for him to take for lunch. I'm currently working on increasing the number of recipes I cycle through (currently cooking a vegetarian version of tamale pie.)

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Mmmmmm. Tasty!

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Sadly, not tasty. Bland, and took forever for the cornmeal bit to set. Recipe is off the cook list.

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Rats.

I have a tamale casserole that's for oven preparation. Guess I'll be sticking with that.

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Or add beans and call it chili. Ya never know.

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I made that last night. ;P

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I am making crock pot beef stew today as well!

May we both have success

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Yes, please!

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Fortunately beef stew (depending on how you define that) is pretty hard to screw up :)

Low heat, 8 hours, don't add any/too much water. (Unless you want soup.)

Also, WHITE PEPPER!

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Yeah, I am thinking the water the recipe had me add was a mistake. Alas. Perhaps I will take the lid off so it can reduce a bit.


Or... isn't corn starch supposed to be a thickener? I might have to ask my mother a little closer to eatin' time.

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I had the same problem once. I was told corn starch wasn't the best idea so what I did was like you said, removed the lid for about an hour still on low and it reduced to a decent thickness.

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Ah! I KNEW there was some prep I should have done to the beef. Dang.

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Ok, we have some odd parallels in our lives going on right now (besides us both making beef stew today) because I too have two copies of Divine Misdemeanors on the way to me right now. I have to make sure to refuse one of the packages.

Funny thing is that I cannot see any record of me ordering it twice. I do see that Amazon shipped two, in two different packages, at two different prices ($14.04 and $13.76) and charged me for both. So strange.

So, I was going to work on photo albums for my family, caulk my tub and maybe put more antique corsets on e-bay. Are you doing the same or by chance wearing a coral colored top?

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LOL. Maybe we are just meant to have two?

(It might just be a glitch in Amazon's notification system, since it seems there was a price reduction.)

But, no. No antique corsets and no coral colored top. Dragon Age and a black fleece pullover (there's nasty frozen water falling outside.)

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