This recipe is from the Cooking Forum. I sure miss Marilyn's recipes. They were the best! MARILYN'S BRUSSEL SPROUTS 18-20 Brussels sprouts, cut in half Salt and pepper to taste 2 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. flour 3/4 c. milk 1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise 2 Tbsp. cracker crumbs Clean sprouts by cutting off the tip of the stem and removing the tough outside leaves; wash in cold water. Place in a single layer in a medium skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add enough water to fill the bottom of the pan. Cover and bring to a simmer, steaming sprouts until a knife inserted comes out easily. Do not over cook. Immediately remove from skillet and place in ice water to stop the cooking and set the bright green color. Remove liquid from skillet and add butter, melting completely. Whisk in flour along with salt and pepper until smooth and bubbly; cook for about 2 minutes. Whisk in cold milk gradually until smooth and mixture thickens. Stir in cheese, remove from heat and stir in mayonnaise. Add sprouts to sauce and pour all into a casserole dish. Sprinkle top with cracker crumbs and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until bubbly. Serves 4.

Glenda, I'd be pouring that over ice cream! Well, maybe anyhow. All the recipes sound great. This is the best chili I've ever made or eaten. Al Roker's recipe, from People magazine. 1 T olive oil 2 lbs. chuck steak, cubed 1 lb. crumbled hot Italian sausage (I used mild) 2 large onions, diced 12 cloves garlic, diced 1 T cumin 1 T paprika 1 T chili powder 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes 1/2 c. water 1 15 oz. can pinto beans 1 15 oz. can Northern beans 1 15 oz. can dark kidney beans Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown steak and sausage for 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Reserve 2 T of fat from meat, discard the rest. Saute the onions and garlic in the reserved fat until translucent, 8 minutes. Add cumin, paprika, and chili powder and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, water, sausage/beef, stir and simmer for 90 minutes. Rinse and drain beans, add to chili. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Dish into bowls, garnish with cheese, green onions, sour cream or whatever you like.

Same here, Melissa, mine is nothing like that one, either. HOWEVER, after having purchased a small one, I realized I probably wasted my money. It isn't something I use very often. Not cuz there's anything at all wrong with it, but rather because of the way I cook. Some days, I know right away what's for dinner. Many days, at noon I happen to think, what's for dinner. Sometimes it comes to me. And sometimes at 3 pm I'm thinking what the heck is for dinner. Many days, I'll think I'm going to make such and such only to realize at noon or 3 pm, NO, I am definitely not in the mood for that. I might be planning all day the day before that we're going to have salisbury steak tomorrow, for example and at noon the next day go, "NO way. We need grilled cheese with tomato soup." Everything in my cooking world depends on my taste bud yearnings at the moment. I hate it! But that's the way it goes for me. LOL SO. That's why I don't use slow cookers or my new IP often. LOL again.

I read up a lot on it last fall before I bought one. I'd read a lot about people being so afraid of them. I was sick at the time and I didn't want anything dangerous or scary to deal with. I learned about Jeffrey on the IP FB site and watched his intro to IP video and thought 'that's what all these people are afraid of?' It didn't look like anything to be afraid of to me. I'd ordered one on TG day and it did take me a few weeks to get myself up and around enough to unpack it, read the booklet, rewatch Jeffrey's intro video, wash the thing up and do the water test and then on to eggs. Just like anything new - you need to learn the ins and outs of it. Jeffrey's video goes thru all of that. Seeing it visually makes it all a lot clearer than the little booklet that comes with it. His videos and those of others will get you thru those initial trials! At first I made sure when I made something for my dinner that I had back up food too, even if just a sandwich or other leftovers. my first roast was tough - I believed someone on there who said to cook roast for 20 minutes per lb. I had a piece of chuck roast that was about 1 lb (I cut the roast in pieces). next time I'll cook it for maybe 70 min and check it. now I check timing against a like type recipe on Jeffrey's website, Amy and Jacky's and / or that of This Old Gal. I don't take the word of just anyone on the IP FB page either.