We sometimes (almost every week) make two six quart crock pots filled with stew. We use the usual, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and throw in garlic, bacon, frozen spinach, etc to add some depth to the flavor. Don't forget the spices and worstershire sauce. But the biggest enhancement is adding about 1/4 of wine approximately one hour before we unplug the crock pot. Not only do we eat stew for dinner that night (family of nine) but my husband and I eat stew for luch for the next five or six days. We pack the stew into Rubbermaid disposable round containers and stack all ten of them (or so) in the fridge. Lunch is easy, delicious and filling all week long. Plus, I feel that the nutrition can't be beat, that meat is swimming in all those lovely vegetables, and since the meat is trimmed the fat is somewhat under control.

This may be one to save for when the kitchen is re-assembled but I just had to share it. It's from W-S so they skew it to fit their tools. Feel free to adapt as desired. Cassoulet Ingredients: 4 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 8 pieces and trimmed of excess fat Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 2 Tbs. canola oil 1 cup panko 4 oz. thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips 4 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions (about 3 medium onions) 2 cups dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc 1/4 cup tomato paste 1 can (35 oz.) peeled Italian plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped 2 cups chicken broth 12 cups cooked Great Northern beans or other small white beans, drained 1 1/2 lb. fresh chorizo sausage, each halved on the bias 1 garlic head, halved crosswise 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish 1 lb. baguette, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing Coarse sea salt, such as sel gris, for garnish Directions: Season the pork generously with kosher salt and pepper; set aside. In the stovetop-safe insert of a slow cooker over medium-high heat, combine the canola oil and panko. Cook, stirring constantly, until the panko is toasted and golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the panko to a baking sheet and season with kosher salt and pepper. Add the bacon to the insert and cook until crisp on both sides, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Reserve the bacon fat in the insert. Add half of the pork to the insert and brown on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a platter. Repeat with the remaining pork. Add the onions and 1 tsp. kosher salt to the insert and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and softened, about 7 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes and broth. Remove the insert from the heat and add the beans, pork, chorizo and garlic. Place the insert on the slow-cooker base, cover and cook on low until the pork pulls apart easily with a fork, 9 to 10 hours. Skim off the fat, and remove and discard the garlic. Fold in the panko and the 1/4 cup parsley. Adjust the seasonings with kosher salt and pepper. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat the broiler. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil. Arrange the slices, oiled side up, on top of the cassoulet, overlapping them. Broil until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Let the cassoulet stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle each serving with the reserved bacon, sea salt and parsley. Serves 8 to 10. Here is a link that might be useful: Link to the recipe

foodonastump- The Sun Cloud is not just a "space heater", it's an infrared, thermostatically controlled heater that performs more like a furnace than a warm-your-toes-under-your-desk space heater. We've owned nearly every style of "space heater" there is to compare it to. It's designed to warm much larger spaces (1,000 sq. ft.) more efficiently than other space heaters. It's a more comfortable heat and it's the same temperature all around the rooms. No hot or cold spots. Doesn't rob the humidity out of the air. We only heat the main area of our home (living room, dining room, kitchen, guest bathroom - close the 3 bedrooms and master bath off - we don't heat the full basement - 1,372 sq. foot house) and maintain a cool 62-67 degrees F. We've used a Sun Cloud as our main source of heat in two different homes and have gotten the same results over an 8-year period. The only time we run our whole house furnace is during extreme cold (last winter we got down to -15 - but that's not normal), and even then we turn the furnace to a very cold temperature so it only comes on infrequently (usually at night). Passive solar heat helps during the day, and NO windows on the north side of the house. I do a lot of dehydrating in the winter, so the residual heat from it also helps. We keep the furnace FAN going constantly, and that distributes residual heat to all the rooms, so the unheated bedrooms don't usually get below 57-degrees F. The basement also stays in the mid-50's. Our wintertime utility bills are less than half what our neighbor's are, in homes of similar size with two adults in the house hold. Our home is 5-years old and very energy efficient. We also add a layer of bubble wrap to our windows for additional insulation (see link below), and the doors (2) are covered floor-to-ceiling with insulated drapes. We gave Sun Cloud Heaters to our two adult children and they get the same energy-savings we do. We purchased ours locally and they also service the heaters, although we've never needed any. We have replaced one bulb. I know 8 families who use the Sun Cloud as their primary source for heat. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Build-it-Solar - Bubble Wrap Window Insulation

blueiris I have an 18 qt roaster and it's to big for just the 2 of us, that's why I'm buying the 6 qt. I borrowed the 6 qt from a friend to try out the size and see if I'd really use a roaster since I have only used my slow cooker a few times. The slow cooker is going out the door as soon as the roaster gets here. Besides the slow cooker cooking to hot, I just don't see using several pots just to get things ready for a slow cooker. Why dirty a pot to brown ground beef for chili, then put it in a slow cooker when I can just do it all in the same pot. The roaster let me brown the beef, add the ingredients then slow cook the chili, plus I didn't have to watch the stove top all day. I'm excited, but now Walmart is saying it won't be here till the 17th. :(