Crock Pot Mondays

You can never have enough slow cookers!

This was the declaration I made at a gift opening for a friend yesterday. She and her new husband were opening gifts and they were the lucky recipients of a slow cooker. What a thoughtful gift! When they were unwrapping the present, I commented that you can't have enough slow cookers, which a true statement. The acquaintance sitting beside me chuckled, and wondered how many I have. I now have three, four if you include the Little Dipper that came with my largest Crock Pot.

In the slow cooker world, size does matter. I've discovered the truth of this fact in recent weeks. I made pork chops in my 5 quart pot two weeks ago and they were overdone. Last week when shopping, I found a 3 quart Crock Pot for $15. A steal of a deal that quickly ended up in my shopping cart.

Although I love all my slow cookers, I particularly love the 3 quart Crock Pot. It is the perfect size for the slow cooker meals I've been making lately. However, the 5 quart pot and the family size pots haven't been forgotten. They are both useful in their own right. The 5 quart pot is perfect for cooking small whole chickens and baked beans. I do foresee my family size pot making a lot of taco soup this fall and winter.

The meal we made last night proves that size does matter. Making chicken drumsticks in the family size pot wasn't enjoyable because the chicken would cook extremely fast. Using the 3 quart pot made all the difference in the world. This is an allrecipes.com recipe.

Molly's Chicken

Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks, skins removed

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1- 8 ounce can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

Method:

Place chicken in the slow cooker. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar, tomato sauce and garlic together. Pour on chicken. Cover. Cook low for eight hours.