Call for Crock Pot Recipes (PLEASE!)

 OK, so I really need some crock pot recipes for a 7 qt. slow cooker. I use mine about twice a month in the summer and once a week in the colder months. The problem is, it seems like everything I make tastes similar - either beef stew or chicken soup. I've looked up recipes for other things, but even looking up "spaghetti and meatballs", for instance, leads me to hundreds of recipes that are way different from each other. You see, what I usually do when I Google for a recipe is look at a bunch of different recipes, get the basic idea of the ingredients, then make my own version. I can't do that when there are a ton of extremely different ways to make the same thing! Why don't I just try one? Lots of reasons. Mainly: 1) I don't want to spend money on something that no one in the house will eat more than once; and 2) I don't want to have something cooking all day long and have it turn out like crap.

So, why bother asking for recipes? Well, I've found that bloggers and blog readers tend to be able to find the best of the best and are eager to share their little bits of advice with others. And... I am going to have to start cooking the majority of our meals in the crock pot (or the microwave... or an old electric skillet) for a while. See, Michigan Gas Utilities is calling in all of it's debtors this month. Everyone need to have a zero balance or that's it. They aren't allowed to shut people who rely on gas for heat from October through April, so September is pay up or else month here. And let me tell you, when they say "The 7th", they mean it!

We use gas for cooking, heating, and hot water. Well, we used to! I don't mind not being able to use the stove or oven. It forces me to actually plan meals. Plus, with the slow cooker being so large, I have leftovers to use for lunch the next day or to heat up for dinner a few days later. I can even freeze some for way later - like on that day I forget to plug the stupid crock pot in, maybe (yeah, it's happened more that I care to admit!) I don't mind not having the gas for heat, either. Let me tell you - out furnace has been broken for the past two winters. We bought two small electric heaters and have saved a ton of money! Our place is upstairs in a house-turned-apartments and the insulation between the downstairs apartment and ours is nil. When they turn on the heat, it rises up to us. Plus, our place is so small that those two little heaters keep us toasty on the really cold nights. I hate not having hot water, though. For all I talk about being green and conserving, I have to admit that I am queen of the 1-hour, super-hot shower. Hey, I take quick 10-minute showers all week, but Saturdays are my day to enjoy myself (and the peaceful white noise of the water.)

Anyway, since I'm going to be using my slow cooker about five times a week, I need to start making food that actually tastes like anything but beef stew and chicken soup! So, if you have a recipe posted on your blog (or lots of them!) or you know of a blog with a really great recipe, please link up below. Please don't link up to the main page of the blog - I would really like to be able to click the link and see a recipe (and so would everyone else who clicks!) If you don't have a blog post to link up to, please go ahead and use the comments section to share your recipe.

Thanks In Advance!

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