Kitchen fabric, Braemore Tureen Garden in Crimson. 
You know, sometimes it’s the small things in life that give us the most excitement! My old crockpot bit the dust recently (hairline crack almost all the way across). It was after all, about 10 years old, so it had seen better days. We got a giftcard for Christmas, so off to Walmart I went in search of a new crockpot. 
Found this sleek red baby & now it’s at home with us. I love cooking meat in the crockpot. It’s great for pork roasts & beef roasts. Put some seasoning in there & leave it for about 6 hours & you have a great meal. This one came with a bonus Little Dipper, which I already had (an old one, which I gave to my friend, Debbie), but this one is red. I love red!
Since I haven’t shared this with you before, if you don’t regularly cook pork or beef in the crockpot, you’re missing out on a great (and easy) cooking experience. These seasoning packets from Grill Mates are wonderful! I get them at Walmart for about 58 cents a package. I don’t use them the normal way (mix them with oil & water & make a marinade). I open a package of dry seasoning mix, dump it over the meat in the crockpot (frozen or thawed), cook for about 6-7 hours on low & it comes out like this. It shreds so well after I cut through it with a knife:
The meat falls apart & is fork tender. The seasoning really cooks into the meat & it is delicious. I don’t usually add much water, but if you MUST add water, only add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. I did notice that this new crockpot seems to cook hotter on Low, so I will have to adjust the added water. The meat will make it’s own juices & you will have a delicious, tender pork or beef roast all ready to eat after about 6-7 hours on low. I promise, it’s that easy! For years, I had been adding way too much water to my crockpot meat (covering it completely in liquid)…big mistake, it was almost dry when I took it out of all that liquid. But, I finally got the clue to not use a lot of water. And it’s that simple & easy. It’s so nice to put the meat in & leave it. I sometimes put it in frozen, but thawed is great too. Either way, it’s done when you’re ready for it! Try it and let me know how it works for you! I do this all the time. My little red accessory will be working for me.
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That is a classy new crockpot there, Rhoda. Love red, too.
I use the Grill Mates for marinating meat for the grill all the time, but never thought to use them on roasts in the crockpot. Thanks for that hint~~I will try it.
I love my crockpot, but I like yours much better! I just found “a year of crockpotting” on today’s creative… it’s at the top of my list, or a few posts back on Kim’s blog if you haven’t already seen it.
Jen R
I love my crockpot! I use it in summer too when it’s just to darn hot to heat up the kitchen. Yours is so cute! I love the red! I’ve never tried the Grill Mates in the crockpot. I’ll have to try it since it looks so easy!
Have a good weekend (hope you didn’t get that storm too badly yesterday – by the time it got to me all it was was rain).
xo,
Manuela
Hey Rhoda,
Thanks for this tip, I have not tried the crockpot, I do have one and I am definitely going to try this…geez it sounds easy.
I got one as a gift at my shower (1979) will let you know if “that baby” still works LOL
Love your new pot, very snazzy !!!
Have a nice week-end…
Kathy 🙂
I will have to try the Grill mates and less liquid. I use my crock pot all the time and am always looking for a different twist 🙂 Love the red crock pot 🙂
I want one of those little dippers, but I already have three crockpots and can never seem to find them alone–they always come with a big crockpot.
Another twist on that recipe is to get a big roasting chicken and put Lipton’s Recipe Secrets right on the chicken (with no water) and cook. The chicken falls apart and is very juicy.
Now I love that window treatment…peter rabbit and the cabbage patch! I love my crockpot so much I have two…my new one is so bland beside yours tho, black trim, drat it! My old one is one the original ark crock pots, as in came off of…it’s about 25 years old and still works, just small compared to todays…love grillmates, never thought about doing my roast that way, tho…hmm.Thanks for the tip!
hugs
Sandi
Your grill mates sound wonderful. I will look for them next time I’m at Walmart.
I love your red stuff…..love it. My family room is red.
I love my Crockpot. It’s not a snazzy red one like yours but I love to cook in it. Last summer when it was so hot I used mine 2-3 times a week (I even blogged about it). I haven’t used the Grill Mates but I’m going to try it. (YEARS ago when we lived in Wisconsin we couldn’t get pork BBQ there so we made our own in the Crockpot).
I love crockpot cooking, so easy! Your new one is kinda sexy! lol I’m going to try your grill mates recipe. Hugs, DebraK
Dear Rhoda,
I’m all for anything that sounds that easy. I’ve never had a crockpot, but I’m definitely thinking of getting one after reading that!
Love that red fabric! Too cute!
xox,
Mary
Love your new crockpots!! I really love red too.
I have a red kitchenaid teapot you would like. Maybe your already have it.
I love doing meat in the crock. I will have to try your grillmates.
I have not tried those before.
Thanks for all the great tips. Love your valance!
Rosemary
I would be completely lost without my crockpot! I’ll be doing a variation of your roast this weekend but I use a bottle of bbq sauce in place of the grill mates. Comes out so tender and yummy!! Love your red crockpot! ~ Lynda
I have the exact same crockpot but not with the red which I like tons better than mine and I love the little red one. You are right, it does cook hotter than my old one used too, I keep it on low always. Oh and I love your other red things too. Red is such a fun color!
Hey. Rhoda..I use red as an accent color as well…my red toaster finally bit the dust but Hubby bought me a wonderful red microwave that I love!! …love your crock pot!
Blessings,
Robin
How funny, my crockpot broke, too. It was a 28-years-ago wedding present. So I got a snazzy red one from Target – it’s 4 qts, just perfect for my husband and I.
Love the new Red crockpot. I have one in silver but don’t use it too often as I too found that even on low it cooks high. Thanks for the tip on the water.
I also love the curtains.
Blessings,
Linda
Beautiful window treatments and crockpots. I love Grill Mates too, use the chipotles a lot. I honestly thought the liquids need to cover the meat also. I make a French Dip type meat and have allways covered the meat with the liquid. I’ll try less liquid next time. Thanks for a great tip.
Sandi
Love that snazzy red crockpot! Mine is old but still crockin’, however, my can opener bit the dust and guess what I got? A RED one! I use those same seasonings and they are great! I’ll try the cooking tip and let you know how it come out.
it’s a great weekend to get the crock pot out! I wish mine was red 🙂