(Hey Guys- what is the difference between the "Post Reply" and the "Qucik Reply" features, here? So far I don't really see any variation in the process or the outcome of my reply...)
When I first left home in central Illinois at 17 to head 3 hours north to the Chicago area to work in my first big-time kitichens, I answered an ad in the paper in a suburb and ended up renting a bedroom in a nice home that belonged to a couple. They had these TWO crock pot dishes that I swear to God- nothing smelled better than! (although I must admit- they BOTH looked kind of WEIRD. The first one was- place a beef roast in the crock, add a can of cream of mushroom soup, an envelope of Lipton's French Onion Soup Mix and that's it. The second one was same idea- a beef roast, cream of mushroom soup and burgundy. Wow. Again, looked weird as hell- but both smelled/tasted purty darn good!
I cook sauerkraut and either Hillshire Farms smoked sausage or pork spare ribs in the crock pot now and then for 3-4 hours- love'm both! My little sister, who has pretty limited kitchen skills makes something she calls "German Dish" that we all like- though admittedly it's a bit weird too. She layers canned whole cooked baby potatos, chunks of Hillshire Farms smoked sausage, sauerkraut and get this- canned APPLE PIE FILLING and cooks 3-4 hours. We eat it w/ buttered rye toast and it's a family hit- though I won't admit it to just anyone (but, I trust ya'll here!)- HA!
Crock pots definitely have their flaws, and I likely wouldn't serve much out of one for fancy company, but I like mine. (I suspect I will use it more than ever, now that I'm living back in the real world again) The aspect I love about them is, you take 5 minutes to throw in a hodge-podge of "stuff", leave the house, and then half a day later you return home to wonderful intense aromas wafting thru the whole house and FOOD that's hot and just calling to you all ready and waiting for nothing but your hungry butt and a serving spoon!
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