Ode to the Crock-Pot

             I may be in over my head.  I found the website for the Crock-Pot brand slow cookers.  The website has a recipe section.  You can all see where this is going, can't you?  As we all know, I love browsing recipe websites and magazines.  However I usually end up collecting more recipes than I can actually make.  I'm also planning on hosting Thanksgiving again this year and would like to use the crock-pot a little more.  I enjoyed making all of the dishes but using the crock-pot would make the process even smoother.  I know it's way to early to think about Thanksgiving.  A lot of people think I'm a planner out of obsessiveness but the truth is I get so excited about the holiday/party/whatever that I can't help myself.  I hosted my first Super Bowl party in February and I already want to do it again.  If I can plan a party around food, I'll do it and look forward to it for months.  But back to the Crock-Pot recipe section.  I found recipes for: Bread Pudding, Cranberry Orange Sauce (Darcy, I know it's not Grandma's but we have to try it anyways!) and Cherry Delight.  I can make a dessert called Cherry Delight in the crock-pot!!!!!!!  I love cherries!  So does Dad.  If it tastes as good as I hope it does, I'm making it for him at some point.  There's a bunch of other recipes that I'm really excited to look at as well.  I also think that I should get a smaller crock-pot too.  A lot of the side dish recipes use a smaller one.  The crock-pot that I received as a bridal shower gift (thanks Nancy and Jen!) is a 6-quart crock-pot that I registered for.  I wanted a bigger one because I plan on having kids and big crock-pots are great for families.  I love my big crock-pot and have used it a lot.  I think a smaller crock-pot would come in handy too.  I could have two different recipes in crock-pots at the same time!  Right now, the crock-pot sleeve is sitting in my refrigerator with Minestrone soup ingredients ready to go for tomorrow.  I can't wait!

Cran-Apple Butter

I made the cranberry apple butter yesterday. I peeled and sliced 11 apples. The original recipe calls for 14. I know it sounds like a lot but you get a lot of apple butter. I had a cup and a half of cranberry sauce left over from Thanksgiving. My little sister would be shocked. She loves cranberry sauce. I added the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. I did cut down on the amount of ground cloves going in. The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon but I changed it to 1/4 teaspoon. I wasn't sure how cloves and cranberries would taste together. The cranberry-apple butter turned out great but I can't really taste the cranberries in it. The apple butter has a slight tang to it but not a lot. I do like it though. I put some in the freezer containers and the rest in a left over glass jar. The glass jar went into the fridge because I did not want to clean apple butter out of my freezer after the jar exploded! I plan to give my grandma some of the first batch of apple butter and I think I'll give her some cran-apple butter too. My mom might like some too. I think I'm addicted to making it!