of the Day....Ann Margaret then and now.....
History
Slow cookers achieved popularity in the US during the 1940s, when many women began to work outside the home. They could start dinner cooking in the morning before going to work and finish preparing the meal in the evening when they came home.
The Naxon Utilities Corporation of Chicago, under the leadership of electrical engineer Irving Naxon (born Irving Nachumsohn), developed the Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker for the purposes of cooking a bean meal. Naxon was inspired by a story from his mother which told how back in her native Lithuanian town, his grandmother made a traditional Jewish stew called cholent which took several hours to cook in an oven. A 1950 advertisement shows a slow cooker called the "Simmer Crock" made by the Industrial Radiant Heat Corp. of Gladstone, NJ.
The Rival Company from Sedalia, Missouri, bought Naxon in 1970, acquiring Naxon's 1940 patent for the bean simmer cooker. Rival asked inventor Robert Glen Martin, from Boonville, Missouri, to develop Naxon's bean cooker into a large scale production model which could cook an entire family meal, going further than just cooking a bean meal. Martin also designed and produced the mass-production machines for Rival's manufacturing line of the Crock-Pot. The cooker was then reintroduced under the name "Crock-Pot" in 1971. In 1974, Rival introduced removable stoneware inserts, making the appliance easier to clean. The Crock-Pot brand now belongs to Newell Brands.
Other brands of this appliance include Cuisinart, GE, Hamilton Beach, KitchenAid, Magic Chef, West Bend Housewares, and the now defunct American Electric Corporation.
Design
A basic slow cooker consists of a lidded round or oval cooking pot made of glazed ceramic or porcelain, surrounded by a housing, usually metal, containing an electric heating element. The lid itself is often made of glass, and seated in a groove in the pot edge; condensed vapor collects in the groove and provides a low-pressure seal to the atmosphere. The contents of a crock pot are effectively at atmospheric pressure, despite the water vapor generated inside the pot. A slow cooker is quite different from a pressure cooker and presents no danger of an abrupt pressure release.
The "crock", or ceramic pot, itself acts as both a cooking container and a heat reservoir. Slow cookers come in capacities from 17 US fl oz to 7.4 US qt. Because the heating elements are generally located at the bottom and often also partway up the sides, most slow cookers have a minimum recommended liquid level to avoid uncontrolled heating. Some newer models have coated aluminum or steel "crocks" which, while not as efficient as ceramic at retaining heat, do allow for quicker heating and cooling as well as the ability to use the "crock" on the stove top to brown meat prior to cooking.
Many slow cookers have two or more heat settings (e.g., low, medium, high, and sometimes a "keep warm" setting); some have continuously variable power. In the past, most slow cookers had no temperature control and deliver a constant heat to the contents. The temperature of the contents rises until it reaches boiling point, at which point the energy goes into gently boiling the liquid closest to the hot surface. At a lower setting, it may just simmer at a temperature below the boiling point. While many basic slow cookers still operate in this manner, newer models have computerized controls for precise temperature control, delayed cooking starts and even control via a computer or mobile device.
Operation
To use a slow cooker, the cook places raw food and a liquid, such as stock, water, or wine, in the slow cooker. Some recipes call for pre-heated liquid. The cook puts the lid on the slow cooker and turns it on. Some cookers automatically switch from cooking to warming maintaining the temperature at 160–165 °F after a fixed time or after the internal temperature of the food, as determined by a probe, reaches a specified value.
The heating element heats the contents to a steady temperature in the 174–199 °F range. The contents are enclosed by the crock and the lid, and attain an essentially constant temperature. The vapor that is produced at this temperature condenses on the bottom of the lid and returns as liquid, into which some water-soluble vitamins are leached.
If you want to read more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cooker
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, divided
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 zucchini, cut into quarters, then cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 cups shredded cooked rotisserie chicken
- 1 (15-ounce) package rolled refrigerated pie crusts
- Preheat oven to 400º.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add red pepper, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, sage, onion powder, salt, and pepper; cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until just tender, stirring occasionally. Remove vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet, melt remaining butter. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly add milk, then broth, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat then add chicken and vegetables to gravy.
- Unroll 1 pie crust and place in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Spoon chicken mixture into crust. Unroll second crust and place over chicken mixture. Pinch together and trim edges to seal, then flute. Using a sharp knife, cut four 1-inch slits in top.
- Bake 55 to 60 minutes, or until heated through and crust is golden. Allow to sit 5 minutes before serving.
October is prime time for National Sports Day. That’s why on October 16th, the fans, families, and athletes of all the sports converge to celebrate their favorite athletic events. All disciplines of a sport take the field, from the youngest to the seasoned professional.
While golfers hit the links to get at least nine more holes before the snow flies, hoopsters gear up for the season ahead. The puck hits center ice early in October, while baseball aims for the bleachers and clears the bases.
Football is heating up with tackles, kicks, and offsides. Don’t forget, volleyball digs midseason, too. Runners in most of the country love October. Events like 5k, half, and full marathons throughout the nation feature opportunities to enjoy the fall weather and beautifully changing landscapes. In the Western Hemisphere, families gather to watch soccer’s final kickoff. The intensity builds, and every game ends with memories of wicked kicks or the goalie’s best save.
From a young age, family road trips took many to cheer on siblings in a variety of sports. We hauled our gear from place to place, and the team knew the season was drawing to a close when the duffle bags began to smell.
Gather your friends to enjoy watching your favorite team. Get out and play, too. No matter your skill level, relishing the challenge and physical activity will be worth it.
With all sports, practice is vital. However, time touching the ball under the pressure of competition makes players excel. With the support of great coaches working their magic, these young novices mature into confident players. How exciting to watch their confidence grow.
The Registrar at National Day Calendar® proclaimed National Sports Day in 2019 to be observed on October 16th, annually.
Q. What is the most popular sport in the world?
A. With over 3.5 billion fans worldwide, soccer clearly harnesses the favored sport status. FIFA estimates 265 million play the sport. The sport’s top tournament lasts a month-long every four years and captures an audience of 517 million viewers. In 2018, over 3 million fans attended the tournament, not to mention the billions who watched or listened around the world.
Q. What is the world’s oldest sport?
A. Wrestling earns the title for oldest competitive sport. Evidence of the sport dates back 15,000 years.
Q. What is the oldest team sport?
A. Ulama is not only the oldest team sport, but it is also the oldest known sport to use a ball. The game developed around 3,500 years ago in Central and Southern America.
Today is also............
NATIONAL BOSS’S DAY
Many leaders carry heavy loads. They oversee many employees and guide their careers, too. While their position holds them responsible for a department, business, or organization and leading it to success, their list of responsibilities is multifaceted.
Some bosses have bosses themselves. Depending on the size of an organization, those bosses also answer to someone else. In fact, everyone has a boss of some kind. If your boss is the owner, they still answer to the taxman, the customers, and their merchants. Keeping a business running smoothly with outstanding employees requires balance. These bosses know how to put their best employees forward and lead with the confidence that we look up to.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL BOSS'S DAY
We can celebrate our bosses in numerous ways.
- Give your boss the day off with a game of golf.
- Host a potluck with your boss's favorite foods.
- Have everyone in the office sign a card of appreciation.
- Invite customers or clients to share memories of your boss.
- Create a timeline of your boss's accomplishments.
NATIONAL BOSS'S DAY HISTORY
National Boss’s Day, also known as National Boss Day or Bosses Day, is a secular holiday that began in 1958. Patricia Bays Haroski worked as a secretary for State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Illinois when she registered “National Boss’s Day” with the United States Chamber of Commerce. She selected October 16th because it was her father's birthday and at the time, he was also her employer!Four years later, in 1962, Illinois Governor, Otto Kerner, backed Haroski’s registration and officially proclaimed Boss’s day.In 1979, Hallmark Cards introduced Boss’s Day cards to their inventory.
