Welcome Heart, Sue Donaldson, Speaker

Working outside the home renews crock-pot enthusiasm -- whether it's a hand-me-down pot from your mom, a great garage sale find, or the latest and best from Costco. I may have become overly enthusiastic.

Rival supposedly is the best - I accidentally have 3 Rivals. I felt I needed one that can be "timed" but they were too expensive - found the lovely almost-new one on the left at a garage sale. I haven't figured out the timer-feature yet. I do know I overcook things in this one: newer models heat hotter. Now, why would they do that do us and our age-old recipes??

The biggest one on the right usually stays in the garage unless I need to triple a recipe or carry something hot in the car so it won't spill. I lend this one the most, as well.

My favorite is the stainless--used so much, I broke the lid. My Dutch oven lid and my Pampered Chef skillet lid both work fine.

AND, I just read in a fancy food magazine about a crock-pot you can use on top of the stove for browning before "crocking" - and then there it was - brand new - at my favorite thrift store. I still didn't want to pay $20.00 for a crock-pot I didn't need. But, Mission Thrift held their $5.00 a bag sale last week, and guess what fit in the bag?? Yea! I'll let you know how it works. (made by Versaware) Thankfully, the instructions are included - obviously someone else didn't have my enthusiasm.

Now for my new favorite crock-pot recipe:

Chicken Lasagne Florentine

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed (or 3 cups fresh, steamed and squeezed)

2 - 3 cups cooked chicken breast, diced

1 cup sour cream, light

1 cup millk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/8 t. nutmeg

9 uncooked (!!) lasagne noodles

cooking spray or crock pot liner

1 cup shredded Mozarella cheese

Combine first 10 ingredients. Place 3 lasagne noodles, broken to fit, into pot. Spread 1/3 of spinach mixture over noodles; 1/3 of mozarella cheese, then 2 more times. Cover with lid. Cook on low 5-6 hours or until pasta is done. Yields 4-6 servings. Creamy and delicious.

My favorite tip from my friend, Joanie, is to use crock-pot liners - especially for creamy dishes like this. They are a splurge so I use them sparingly. I found them at Ralphs but World Market carries them. Sign up for their "club" and they offer a $10.00 gift card for your birthday - I spent it on liners.