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By Aimee, July 16, 2010

We spent a most fabulous weekend in Las Vegas for my big 35! It was so much fun, and we saw so many wonderful things. The highlights of our trip were all nature related, and here is one of many highlights, watching tigers play at the Secret Garden at The Mirage. Of course, even bigger than that was watching the dolphins! I have video of that too (just needs a bit of editing).

Tigers at play. from Aimeeroo on Vimeo.

Not only was it great to get away on a real vacation with my husband, but it was awesome to cross of one of my 101 items in the process. I’ll be sharing more from our trip soon. Stay tuned!

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By Aimee, July 16, 2010

I have a confession. I love my slow cooker! In fact, I love it so much that I actually have two of them (one small for just the two of us, one large for dinner parties). There is something so awesome about being able to put together dinner in the morning, and then go about the day knowing that it will be all ready to eat at night. In fact, with some recipes you can assemble everything the night before, store it in the fridge, and have it ready to go into the cooker without any extra effort in the morning.

With out much effort or having to stand over a hot stove and oven too! Not only is it easy to use, but it makes some tasty food! I especially love to use it in the summer when it just sounds miserable to be cooking (90-100 degree weather will do that to a person).

Recently I got a copy of the newly updated Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes. I actually had the previous edition, and so I was very happy to get the chance to check out this new version! All my favorites were still in the book, plus 100 more recipes. Also new, and very helpful, are 4 pages of “Extra Information”: “Substitute Ingredients for When You’re in a Pinch”, “Equivalent Measurements”, “Kitchen Tools and Equipment You May Have Overlooked”, “Assumptions about Ingredients in Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, Revised and Updated”.

Of course, if you love to use a slow cooker, you might already have this cookbook as your go to book. It is certainly on heavy rotation in our house. I especially love the variety of things that can be made in a slow cooker, from breakfast, to dinner, dips and deserts, it’s all there! I love that most of the recipes use few ingredients, and those that use a lot make use of easy to find items (like soups, or lots of vegetables). We have loved everything we have made in our slow cooker so far, and can’t wait to keep trying more. Here is a recipe for you to try next time you feel like doing something new with your slow cooker:

Broccoli Corn Bread
Winfred Ewy
Newton, KS

Makes 8 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 3- to 4-qt

1 stick margarine, melted
10-oz pkg. chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
1 onion, chopped
1 box corn bread mix
4 eggs, well beaten
8 oz. cottage cheese
1¼ tsp. salt

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix well.
2. Pour into greased slow cooker. Cook on Low 6 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serving suggestion: Serve like spoon bread, or invert the pot, remove bread, and cut into wedges.

The above is an excerpt from the book Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook: Revised & Updated: 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes by Phyllis Pellman Good. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy. Reprinted from Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook. © by Good Books (www.GoodBooks.com). Used by permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2010 Phyllis Pellman Good, author of Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook: Revised & Updated: 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes.

What about you? Do you have and use a slow cooker? What are your favorite things to make in it?