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I wondered if Youtube would have any time-lapsed videos of food cooking in a crockpot. Nope. But it does have a video of someone cooking Chicken Cola. (!!!) Yup, that's chicken cooked in a crockpot with Soda / Pop / Cola as the liquid.

I'm not sure what that would be like, but FO actually sounds like she's really interested in trying it. Maybe next week I'll try it with boneless chicken breasts.

This morning, I put in another pot roast, but added hot picante sauce and A1 bold and spicy.

It was okay, but it still didn't impress me as much as the original pot roast. It wasn't as tender, for whatever reason (maybe it helps to put it on high for a little bit? Or maybe this roast was bigger, so it takes longer to cook?)

As for the spiciness, the potatoes absorbed a lot of it and became extremely spicy. But the beef, not so much. That's kind of the opposite of how I would have wanted it to be.

Hopefully this isn't too much beef rib in too short a time, but I started a pot roast this morning. I browned the outside on the stovetop, then put it in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots.

The weird thing is that the roast was over $20, and I bought jeans at the same store, and our bill was just over $100. I can't remember the last time our bill was so low. FO said it could have been because we didn't get anything for the cats (well, much, we still got some milk and treats, iirc), but even before we had Caramel our grocery bill was rarely below $120.

I finally made the turkey thighs in the crock pot. It turned out pretty well. It was so tender the meat just slides right off the bone. But there's some room for improvement. For some reason, there was just about no liquid left when I took it out! Could the mist be getting out somehow? I also cooked on the high setting for the first time; maybe that forced the mist out. Anyway, it might have been better with a little more liquid.

But it's definitely a viable alterative to baking (especially in the winter when we can't grill)

I wonder if it would make turkey drumsticks and wings edible.

I browned it before I put it in the crockpot. I thought that was called "braising" it, but maybe you're supposed to braise things in a pot in the oven at 325F or something -- whereas a crockpot shouldn't go above boiling, I think, though the missing water might tell a different tale. If a crockpot doesn't braise, I don't know what the proper term would be.

Apparently slow cooking is not such a simple thing. Bomberguy sort of suggested this when he talked about the rib roast, but I might think that if slow cooking makes tough meat tender, it could make tender meat even more tender. But I don't think it works that way; what makes the tough meat tough is also what makes it tender when it melts in a slow cooker.

So, it seems maybe tricky to pick a good piece of beef for a potroast. You might not necessarily want to get the best quality cut for that purpose. Like, the last time I used rib, but maybe I should try a shoulder roast.

I think it turned out alright. Definitely better than baked or grilled. It's still not as good as thighs, though. And on Thanksgiving, I think I'll continue to roast.

I'll have to think of ways to add more flavor. For one thing, I've found some oregano helps.

This Chinese place around here used to have some peanut butter chicken that I loved, but they don't offer it anymore. I might have to learn to make my own.

Yeah, the cheese ravioli was much better. The beef was so dense it was a chore to eat, and after like 5 raviolis I was completely full.