Adams Family in the Daily News

Last year Cody gave an interview about Crock-pots (which is why we had three Crock-pots for awhile, and I'm still trying to sell off the last one if anyone is interested, see picture below). The story was finally published on Monday in the NY Daily News. The reporter definitely took her own spin on what Cody told her. I wish it were a true telling of our cooking life, although we do use the Crock-pot a lot on Sundays. Anyway enjoy!

New generation of Crock-pots dishes out comfort food classics
BY ROSEMARY BLACK

Cody and Beth Adams have very little time to cook, but nearly every night their Spanish Harlem kitchen smells fantastic as they sit down with their toddler to roast beef, homemade soup, spaghetti – even an occasional fruit cobbler for dessert. All of the above are made in their their slow cooker, which they received as a wedding present, and which they use more than just about any kitchen appliance.

"Food tastes so much better coming out of a crockpot than out of a microwave," says Cody, a public relations executive. (Beth is working on her thesis, and their son, Morgan, is about to turn one.) "In the morning, we just throw everything into the pot and it's ready by that night. It really helps when you have a long and stressful day."
The Adams family has plenty of company when it comes to taking advantage of a slow cooker this winter. Nearly 80 percent of American families now own a slow cooker, and slow cooker use has increased ten percent in the last 20 years, according to Jarden Consumer Solutions, which makes the Crock-pot.

Lest you think the newest slow cookers are anything like your mother's harvest gold model, check out Crock-pot's newest entries in the field: the VersaWare cooker can be used on the stovetop, enabling the cook to brown meats and vegetables in the cooker rather than in another pot. And the SmartSet Crock-pot has five settings for different kinds of food, plus a temperature probe that is placed right into the food so the cook knows just when it's finished cooking.
As for what people are cooking these days, it's more likely to be chicken rather than a tough cut of beef, says Amy Golino, culinary analyst for Jarden Consumer Solutions. "Back in the day, the Crockpot offered a way to tenderize an inexpensive cut of meat," she says. "But today, people are getting more into bistro, traditional comfort food. And that is exactly what Crockpots are good at."

Slow cooker cookbooks featuring recipes for comfort food like mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese no longer call for lots of gloppy canned soups and packaged mixes. In "Fast Cooking in a Slow Cooker Every Day of the Year" (Family Health Publications), JoAnn Rachor offers a variety of recipes that are low in fat and have no cholesterol. Here are three of them – plus a great meatloaf recipe for when you are in the mood for authentic comfort food.