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.
