• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make It:

Place the chopped chocolate into a saucepan and place the pan over medium heat. Add the water, sugar, and whipping cream. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a steady boil. Boil gently for 1 minute then remove from the heat.

Stir in the vanilla until well blended. Cover the pan and chill 8 hours or overnight.

Place the mixture into the cylinder of an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacture’s directions.

Ripen the sherbet for at least 4 hours.

Serves 12.

**This is a great dessert for any dinner party.  Place a scoop in a dessert bowl and top with fresh raspberries or  fresh strawberries.

• 1 pound Great Northern beans. Soak overnight, then rinse and drain.
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
• 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup barbecue sauce

How to Make It:

Place the soaked beans into the slow cooker. Add the onion and pepper. Place the short ribs in the slow cooker. Pour the water over the top and stir gently.

Cover and cook on low heat setting for 10 hours.

Remove the short ribs from the slow cooker and use a fork to shred the meat off the bones. Return the meat to the slow cooker and discard the bones. Pour in the barbecue sauce.

Recover, turn the heat setting to high and continue cooking 30 minutes.

Serves 8.

**If you want a little more of a beef taste, reduce the water to 4 cups and add 1 can of beef broth to the crock pot.  Always be sure to soak the beans.  This will ensure a soft bean when the soup is done.

• 1 pound turkey breast cut in cubes
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 -ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 (4-ounce) pkg. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

How to Make It:

Place the turkey into a slow cooker. Pour the tomatoes and juice on top of the turkey. Add in the black beans. Pour the tomato sauce into the mixture and stir to combine. Add the pumpkin, onion, garlic, and corn.  Stir in the chicken broth. Sprinkle in the chili powder and mix the ingredients together well.

Cover and cook on the low temperature setting for 10 hours. Sprinkle the cheese over the top just before serving.

Serves 6.

** Add a 1/2 cup of dried cranberries to the mix for a slightly different taste. If your chili is too thick, add more chicken broth during the cooking time.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak cut into cubes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 small carrots, thinly sliced
• 4 cups cabbage, shredded
• 4 red potatoes, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans tomatoes, diced
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato soup
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes

How to Make It:

Place the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and allow it to heat to hot but not smoking. Place the steak cubes and onion into the hot oil. Brown the steak 8 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle being sure to stir occasionally. Drain the steak and onions well.

Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and celery to the slow cooker. Stir the tomatoes along with juice into the slow cooker. Pour the beef broth and the tomato soup into the clow cooker. Sprinkle in the sugar, Italian seasoning, and parsley flakes. Stir until all the ingredients are combined together well.

Cover and cook on the low setting for 8 to 9 hours making sure the meat and vegetables are tender before serving.

Serves  8.

**Any steak can work in this wonderful soup.  Leftover roast also works well.  Canned or frozen vegetables can be used in place of fresh vegetables if you prefer.

First, there are slow cooker cookbooks on the market. They turn some of our favorite stovetop and oven recipes into slow cooker sensations. Dishes you may never have thought of cooking in a crock pot  can be prepared without you even being there. I don’t know about you, but that idea sounds fantastic to me.

What you must remember when cooking anything in a slow cooker is the liquid component. There must be some type of liquid in the bottom of the cooker to begin the cooking process. Without it, your dish will cook to the bottom and burn. There doesn’t need to be a lot of liquid, just enough to cover the bottom in most cases. The juices within the meat will mingle with the other liquid during cooking to create more of a stock.

When using a crock pot it should be at least half full for maximum cooking potential. Keep in mind that the more food you add to the cooker, the slower it will cook. The temperature will cook the food evenly without overcooking if the heat settings are adjusted accordingly. If you aren’t careful and don’t adjust the crock pot heat settings, you may find that an eight hour setting cooked your dinner in two and spent the other six drying it out.

Meats are the most common food cooked in a slow cooker. People use a crock pot to cook main dishes for dinner since this is the meal we struggle with preparing most on a busy schedule. Any meat used needs to be thoroughly drained before adding it to the cooker. Since meat takes longer to cook, it needs to make up the bottom layer. This will also help keep the meat moist since it will cook into the liquid underneath.

For safety, cook meats at least three hours so that an internal temperature that is high enough for proper cooking can be reached. This is not usually a problem since many use the crock pot at its lowest setting (six to ten hours depending on the brand of cooker). Just a word of advice, whole chickens should not be used in a slow cooker. The internal temperature needed to safely cook that much chicken properly can’t be reached in time for eating at such low temperature settings.

If you plan to cook vegetables in your slow cooker, here are some tips. Tough fibrous veggies like carrots and potatoes can be tossed in at the beginning with the meat. It takes longer for the fibers to be broken down and the vegetables to be cooked all the way through. More delicate vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms should be added half an hour before the meal is done.

Slow cooking makes dinner a cinch when you are on the run. Just be sure to experiment with various dishes the first time to get an idea of how long your slow cooker takes to create the particular meal. Layering foods correctly and testing heat settings will ensure your meal will be delicious every time.

Slow cooker is another way to say “crock pot.” Most of us are used to hearing the latter, but the terms are interchangeable meaning the same thing. Now, if you are considering using a slow cooker (and I suggest that you do), there are a few things you should know before you start to enhance your chances of creating a successful meal. Yes, even a slow cooker meal can be horrible if some basic tips are not adhered to. No one wants to come home with a hearty appetite and find a pot full of mush. Yuck!

So let’s start with the purchasing of a slow cooker. You can buy crock pots in various sizes. From as small as one quart to as large as five quarts, you’re sure to find one that fits your needs. If you come across a larger one, that’s even better. Depending on your family size or the amount of people you’ll be preparing meals for with it, you may find the larger the slow cooker the better it will work.

Slow cookers also come with removable inner pots that allow for easier serving at the dinner table. A removable inner core allows everyone to sit and relax as they spoon their food onto the plate instead of standing at the stove. Some even come equipped with a non-stick inner pot, making clean up less messy.

Temperature settings vary among slow cookers. Many offer a range of temperature settings to meet the needs of the cook. Some have as little at two setting (high and low) and others include five settings that vary from high (two hours) to really slow cooking (ten hours). There may also be a warm setting in case the food has finished cooking but any accompanying side dishes still need to be prepared. This setting is also great for times when everyone isn’t ready to eat their meal just yet.

Be careful with your heat settings, however. As with ovens, temperatures and settings on the dial are a rough estimate. Don’t be like me who, at the expense of my meal, overcooked a roast the first time. Even though I had it set to the eight hour setting to cook throughout the day, my slow cooker has a high temperature and cooks boneless meats quickly. I could have put it in the cooker when I got home and still had a delicious meal in less than two hours.

Just goes to show, you live and you learn. To avoid such a food crisis, test your slow cooker on the weekend when you are at home. Start a meal in the late morning hours, using the lowest setting and see how long it actually takes for the meal to cook. You may need to make adjustments to cooking times when you are away based on what you discover.

A slow cooker can be an extremely useful tool for busy families and even single people alike. With the suggestions above you’ll get used to preparing meals with your slow cooker while you’re not around in no time.

• 8 (12-ounce) pkgs. fresh cranberries
• 6 large navel oranges, unpeeled and cut into wedges
• 4 cups sugar

How to Make It:

Place 1/3 of the cranberries and 1/3 of the orange wedges into the blender. Blend on medium speed until finely chopped. Remove and place in a large container. Continue with the cranberries and oranges in this manner until all are completely chopped.

Pour the sugar into the container and mix together with a rubber spatula.

Cover the container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Makes 4 quarts.

**This simple relish can be made well in advance and will remain fresh in the refrigerator up to 1 month.

• 3 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup almonds, sliced and toasted*

How to Make It:

Place the water in a Dutch oven pan over high heat. Sprinkle in the salt. Bring the water and salt to a rapid boil. Place the broccoli florets into the boiling salted water. Bring back to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until the broccoli is fork tender.

Dump the broccoli into a colander and allow the broccoli to drain.

Place the broccoli into a serving dish.

Place the whipping cream into the Dutch oven pan. Add the orange juice and pepper stirring to combine. Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the mixture is completely heated through.

Pour the sauce over the broccoli. Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the broccoli just before serving.

Serves 12.

*To toast almonds, place them on an ungreased cookie sheet in a single layer. Toast in a 350 degree oven approximately 8 minutes or until the almonds become a golden brown.

Almonds can also be toasted in a skillet for 6 minutes over medium heat or in the microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Always remember to stir the almonds often for even toasting and never let them darken any more than a light golden brown.

• 1 (10-ounce) pkg. plain couscous
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 3/4 cup sweet yellow pepper, chopped
• 3/4 cup almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

How to Make It:

Prepare the couscous as directed on the package.

When the couscous is cooked, place it in a large salad bowl and fluff with a fork. Cover the bowl and refrigerate 30 minutes or until completely chilled.

When chilled, remove the couscous from the refrigerator and stir in the cranberries. Add the onions, sweet pepper, and almonds. Toss to combine all the ingredients.

Place the lemon juice into a small mixing bowl. Add the oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients together well.

Drizzle the dressing into the salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Serves 14.

**Couscous is a North African pasta that can be used in many different dishes. It is available in most large supermarkets.

What You Need:

• 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup long grain rice, uncooked
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/2 cup cream of celery soup
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon chives, dried
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 2 (1-1/4 pound) Cornish hens
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon tarragon, dried

How to Make It:

Place 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat and allow the butter to melt completely. Stir in the onion along with the rice. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice has begun to brown.

Pour the soup into the skillet and stir to combine. Add the water, lemon juice, chives, parsley, and bouillon cube. Stir well to combine the ingredients. Allow the mixture to heat to a steady boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the skillet and allow to cook 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the mixture to cool enough to handle.

Clean the hens with cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Sprinkle the salt and pepper into both hen cavities. Stuff the two hen cavities with the rice mixture.

Preheat oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Place a rack in a large baking pan. Lay each hen on the rack with the breast side up.

Melt the remaining butter in a microwave safe bowl on high for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tarragon to the melted butter and stir to combine.

Brush the hens with the butter mixture. Cover loosely with foil. Bake 45 minutes basting with the butter mixture about every 10 minutes.

Serves 2.