Food is Bubbling in My Slow Cooker

The first recipe is in the slow cooker. Wouldn't you know it...I couldn't use a recipe specifically designed for the cooker, but I'm adapting a recipe that I saw on the Barefoot Contessa. I'm even changing her recipe...using not short ribs but another cut. Well, back to yesterday...The slow cooker was on the front porch early in the morning. I hurriedly opened the box and there he was...Wolfgang Puck...looking up at me. Did I tell you that this is, what I consider, the cadillac of cookers? I had two gift cards and with a percentage off and with free shipping...I got it without paying much. So I figured, what the heck, buy the one I want. Anyway...here it was all new and shiny. This called for a trip to Valli Produce...a store with wonderful produce and an old fashioned meat counter (like Joe was used to years ago) We browsed the produce and half filled our cart. Oranges, apples, pears, peppers, lettuce, leeks, tomatoes,a variety of onions, carrots, two kinds of potatoes, celery, garlic...nothing too exotic. My mouth was watering...I love all this fresh stuff. Then on to the meat counter... holding Joe down. His eyes dance at the sight of a meat counter. He drives a cart around the store, but gets out of it to examine the meat closely. I looked at him from afar...he was a man on a mission and he was as busy as a bee making his selections. When I came close..."Balisha, look at these 7 bone pot roasts...You don't see these anymore. Look at these short ribs...expensive... and we could substitute these cheaper ones." I agreed with his choices (what else could I do?) and we filled the cart. Making our way around the aisles of the store, we selected tomatoes, sauces, oils, olives, and everything else that I needed for the recipes that I was going to try. We learned that we shouldn't shop when we are hungry. The cart was overflowing. With all this food....we were on our way to Culver's...for a burger. We sat there and rested, before leaving for home and the job ahead...finding room for all this stuff. Now here I am this morning...up at 6:30 AM, so I can cook my recipe for 8-10 hours. Things had to be chopped, meat browned on a baking sheet in the oven, wine poured over veggies and everything assembled in the cooker. At this point, the kitchen is a mess. It didn't take long to clean up the mess and now, as I sit here, I can smell dinner cooking. It pleases me to have a pot of food bubbling in the winter time. Something very earthy that will fill our senses and tummys. With all that we bought...we are having canned soup for lunch today...OH! OH! we forgot to buy crackers.

Balisha