I Heart My Slow Cooker(s)

Okay, I still call it a “crock pot”. So sue me. I bought a crock pot decades ago when there was only ONE kind of slow cooker. And it was called a crockpot. For me it’s sort of like the folks in Georgia, while I was attending school in the late 70’s/early 80’s calling every soda pop a “coke”. Or, don’t we all say “kleenex” when we know we’re supposed to say “tissue”?

Rival called it a “Crock-Pot” in 1971, and I had to have one. Mine was avocado green. No removable ceramic insert here; I carefully washed it avoiding getting water into its innards.

What a joy to come home from a long day in the classroom to the smell of a delightful dinner waiting for me. Ahh!

Fast forward quite a few decades. Now we have “slow cookers” made by a variety of companies. And it is still one of my most used and valued appliances. So much so that I have four of them in various sizes. And, yes, my avocado baby still cooks away for me.

However, since I have two houses, the crock-pots reside two to a home. At home two, when my really cheap (not Rival) brand slow cooker died most inconveniently while not-cooking dinner for guests, I went looking for another smallish one to replace it. I only have the one avocado one, and it stays put at house one.

At the store, I discovered that just as portion sizes in restaurants have ballooned out of control, so, too, have slow cookers. So now I have two large ones. Bleah!

So today I ordered a small one. Amazon will deliver it to me for more than the cost of the appliance. Still . . . When a girl needs a smaller crock pot, she’s gotta have one.

Here’s a recipe I have made a lot in both large and small slow cookers. It’s been around for a while, and I’m not even sure who did the original recipe. I believe it was Betty Crocker. People always clean it out my crock pot when this is on the dessert menu!

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake (serves 6)

1 c flour                                                2 T oil

½ c sugar                                              1 t vanilla

2 T cocoa                                              ½ c nuts to batter

2 t baking powder                                 ¾ c brown sugar

½ t salt                                                   ¼ c cocoa

½ c milk                                                1 ½ c hot water

                                               

Pam a 2 ½-3 qt slow cooker. Mix together first five ingredients. Stir in milk, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add nuts.

Spread batter in bottom of slow cooker. Mix together brown sugar, cocoa, and hot water until smooth. Pour over batter.

Cook 2-2 ½ hours. Let cool for 30-40 min with lid off. Serve with whipped or ice cream.