I love crockpots!

Jared and I got married 3 years ago and we got some awesome wedding gifts to start of our lives together. But there were still some things missing that would have been most helpful for us. 

My wonderful aunt Adria gave me a couple things that I use on a regular basis, even after 3 years!

She lovingly gave me a box of plates (I think she got them for her wedding!) because we didn't have any. And she also gave me her old crockpot! It's just a little thing, but I absolutely love it!

The reason I feel the need to post about it, is because I'm starting to use it more and more. Before, I just used it a couple times a month doing sloppy joes or pot roast. 

Now I'm finding all these great things to put in it! For example, just last night I made some honey barbecue pulled chicken. 

Best thing about crockpots is I can put everything in it early in the day and just let it do it's thing while I spend time with Aubrey. She gets a bit cranky when I start working on dinner right before Jared gets home, and when she's cranky, I'm frustrated.

I decided I wanted chicken for dinner that night. So I put 2 pieces out to thaw in the morning while Aubrey had breakfast. Aubrey has her quiet time/nap time from about 11-2. I used that time to put the thawed chicken in the crockpot and mix up the sauce to go over it. 

In a bowl, I put in enough barbecue sauce to coat the pieces and put in 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Mixed it up all nice and happy. Added a tablespoon of water.

Pour over the chicken and make sure it's mostly covered. Add a little water to help with the steam. 

All in all, it was all ready to go by 12:30. Just let it stay on low til Jared got home and we ate at 6:30. I would check on it every now and then. About halfway through cooking time, I cut the chicken into smaller pieces to help the sauce marinate all of it. Added water throughout the day for the steam.

I love cooking in crockpots! In the near future I will try and do a copy cat Cafe Rio recipe. Mmmm Cafe Rio....