I love my crock pot, and right about now is when I declare it crock pot season at my house. For most of the warm months, my beat up old cooker has been peeping from the top of my refrigerator, but a few days ago I dusted it off. The rain was coming down in steady sheets, making me hungry for beef stew, and there is nothing like this soothing meal made in a crock pot.

As I was preparing my ingredients I got to looking at this ancient appliance. It’s one of the older models, and to tell the truth, I can’t even recall where it came from, but it has turned out some fine dining over the years. Sometimes I get the notion that maybe I should purchase a new one, but I like the familiarity of this one. It’s as if we have been through battle together. The pot part is dented and scratched, and for sure it would probably not win any awards in the “beautiful kitchen appliance” category. But if there were awards for functionality, this thing would win a blue ribbon

This appliance, particularly for working folks, is a godsend. I love the fact that I can mix up a bunch of ingredients in the morning, and then drive home from work knowing that when I walk in the door, my house will smell like Mom was there all day cooking me something special to eat. I think just the aroma of cooking food alone is worth having one of these staples.

Because this is such a handy appliance for me, I am always looking for new recipes to try in it. Before I had only considered supper dishes, until my friend Ellen suggested crock pot oatmeal, which sort of made me think outside the box. And I was really a believer when I tried this recipe one morning last week, and learned another great thing about my crock pot. Not only is coming home to good food cooking a treat, but so is waking up to it.

Crock Pot Oatmeal

11/2 rolled oats

1/3 cup raisins or sultans

2 cups milk

2 cups water

1 apple cut into chunks

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Put on medium heat and cook for 4 hours. A timer can be used so this can be plugged in before bedtime.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, chopped

11/2 cups beef broth

3 potatoes, diced

4 carrots, sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Crock Pot Lasgana

1 lb. ground beef

1 lg. onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lg. can or jar spaghetti sauce

1 tsp. oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb ricotta cheese

1/4 cup milk

1 egg slightly beaten

1 lb. mozzarella cheese

2 oz. grated parmesan cheese

8 oz. no boil lasagna noodles

Fry the beef, onion and garlic, using a tiny amount of oil if necessary. Add tomato sauce, oregano and salt and pepper then heat through. Combine the ricotta, milk and egg, then mix in the mozzarella and parmesan. Retain about 1 Tbs. of parmesean for later. Using a large serving spoon or ladle, place about 1/4 of the meat mixture in the crock pot – spread evenly. Top this with a layer of lasagna sheets, cut to size. Top with 1/3 of the cheese sauce and repeat layers ending with the cheese sauce. Cook on medium heat for about 8 to 10 hours. Sprinkle the reserved parmesan just before serving.

Beef Stronganoff Casserole

2 lbs. beef roast, cubed

6 oz. uncooked egg noodles

16 oz. can cream of mushroom soup

8 oz. can of beef broth plus one 1 can filled with water

4 oz. sour cream

In crock pot add meat cubes, salt and pepper, and then uncooked noodles on top of meat. Then add beef broth, water, sour cream, and mushroom soup. Cook on medium heat for at least 6 hours, covered. There is no need to stir or mix ingredients however make sure you place the meat and noodles in the crock pot first so the noodles absorb the sauce and cook evenly. This recipe can also be made exactly the same way using an 8 oz. bag of frozen meatballs.