Beefy Mac & Cheese ... in the Slow Cooker

Slow Cooked Banana Bread

Banana Bread ... in the Slow Cooker

One might ask why would you bake banana bread in a slow cooker? Or any quick bread?
A couple of reasons:

You are heading out the door for a couple of hours
Your oven is occupied with dinner
It's summertime and WAY too hot to turn the oven on

Baked Beans ... in the Slow Cooker

These taste just like the canned Pork n Beans that you would get from the grocery store.



These dried white beans were slow cooked in water for about 9 hours, and then for another 30 minutes to an hour with the flavorful sauce.



They were delicious on toast for breakfast this morning, and the rest have been portioned out into 1 cup containers and frozen for later uses in chilis, taco meat, or just eating plain.

Overnight Baked Beans

2 cups Dried white beans

4 cups Water

1/4 C Ketchup

1/3 C Brown Sugar (unpacked)

2 TB Cooking Molasses

1/2 tsp Onion Salt

1 tsp Ground Mustard Powder

Dash of fresh ground Pepper

Night Before: Combine beans and water in a 3QT Slow Cooker. Cover and let cook on Low for 8-10 hours or until beans have soaked up a lot of the water. Keep in mind, once the beans are completely soft and cooked there will be some water in the crock pot.

Next morning: Add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Cook on High for about 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Makes approx. 4 cups.

In Honor of the Slow Cooker

My Slow Cooker or Crock Pot, has been an invaluable appliance in my kitchen! When I was working full time, and now as a stay-at-home mom, my slow cooker can usually be found in the kitchen simmering something. I decided I just have to share some of its recipes and wonderful uses. Slow Cooking is not just limited to chili's, roasts, and soups! Have you ever tried a slow cooked banana bread, or chocolate fudge pudding? What about waking up in the morning to slow cooked porridge? Don't forget cooking dried beans. Using dried beans instead of buying cans of beans is a lot more economic; plus you can rest assured your food won't have any additives or preservatives.

I just recently purchased Crock Pot's newest VersaWare slow cooker. I LOVE this crock pot because I can use the stoneware on my stovetop to brown ground beef or do any sauteeing the recipe might call for!! No more dirtying multiple pots and pans! This is truly a one-pot wonder.

Some advantages when it comes to using a slow cooker:

• Frees you up during 'dinner' hour (one of the worst hours of the day with small children in tow)
• Lunch/Dinner is ready when you walk in the door after church
• Breakfast can be hot and ready as soon as you get up
• The slow cooker needs virtually no tending while it cooks, freeing you up to do other chores or recipes
• The slow cooker will tenderize less expensive, tough cuts of meat and make great stews out of them
• The slow cooker allows you to be out of the kitchen for extended periods of time -sometimes even all day
• It is low in electricity costs since it only uses a minimum amount of heat
• It keeps the food warm and ready to serve anytime since the crock pot is made up of ceramic or porcelain
• Unlike boiling, you only need a few cups of water for cooking foods in a crock pot

I'd love to hear some of your slow cooking experiences, the pros and cons, how it has made your life in the kitchen simpler?