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?

And now for the after:

The after, without much put back in, shows the back splash off pretty well. We decided to go with the white subway tiles, with an added accent tile in metallic, brushed satin nickle. We have really loved the look of the accent tile breaking up what would otherwise be a plain wall.

My most favorite thing, aside from the counter top, is my integrated sink from Wilsonart. It is such a nice feature, and being able to just swipe messes into the sink has made my life easier than I ever imagined. Cleaning up is such a breeze now. In the photo you will also see the faucet that Delta provided. We have really enjoyed having the soap pump on the sink, and especially being able to pull out the faucet and use it as a spray instead of having a separate spray.

One final shot of the entire kitchen:

There are still a few things that we would like to do, like change the lighting (as you can see in the photos, it’s so dark, even in the middle of the afternoon). We are also looking into new window treatments to add a bit more pizazz. We are so happy with the outcome though, and have nothing but good things to say about our new counter tops and sink. We can’t thank Wilsonart enough for providing them for this project.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much to make a HUGE impact on the look of a kitchen. What do you think of what we did? Do you like the outcome?

Anyway, back to our new kitchen faucet. Delta was kind enough to provide us with the Lewiston kitchen faucet for our project. This model was actually one of two that we had been thinking of buying. We knew we wanted a pull out, like what we had before, and we knew that we wanted brushed nickle finish.

I really had hoped to show you a photo in our kitchen, and I will when we figure out and finish our back splash, but here is a photo from the Delta site just so you can see what it looks like. Since our sink was new, we were able to go with a one hole style, though this faucet can be used on sinks with up to 4 holes. I love the way it looks with just the faucet and no plate, it really opens up the sink area! We also love that it has a soap dispenser as part of the set.

My handy husband really loved the ease of install. The faucet had great instructions, and they made it so easy to install I think I could have done it myself! Luckily my husband was the one to install it since he had the most experience, but the faucet would be great for other DIYers who have a bit of knowledge about plumbing.

As for the looks, I couldn’t be more happy. It’s a very nice, simple style, but without being so simple that it looks style-less. We both love that it pulls out so there isn’t a separate sprayer, making it sleek and compact. We also like that the hot cold is one handle instead of two. This comes in very handy when my hands are messy from cooking and I need a way to easily turn the water on and off.

Thanks to MS&L on behalf of Delta for sending us the faucet for review. I think it’s safe to say you have created Delta customers for life, we really like it that much! I can’t wait to see how good it will look when our kitchen is actually done, it already looks great (and right now it’s backdrop is primed drywall)!

To snow covered, a total of 8 inches fell.

And right now the sun is out in full force, melting the snow, and the sky is a brilliant color of blue. I am already dreaming and planning for the garden. I can’t wait to get back outside.

Also, I still don’t have a backs plash in my kitchen. I do however have a working sink! I will be very happy when my husband is free from these major work projects, and we can finally finish our kitchen and show you the total transformation. Until then, at least my laundry room is clean!

But there is an upside to everything! We have all the supplies, including the tile, so as soon as we fix some bumps and unevenness we can get started right away. We have an awesome new faucet for our sink, the Lewiston from Delta. I was able to order two shelves for the laundry room project, which once they arrive, will be in full swing. And, we have at very least been able to move most of the stuff back into the kitchen, and we can even cook and eat at home again.

The adventures in DIY never end, do they?