I may have forgotten some details but here was my short list of overall well-regarded choices: All-gas: Open burners, infrared broiler, no self-clean: Bluestar or Wolf (Bluestar has higher BTU, star-pattern burners and larger oven cavity; Wolf has better fit and finish (only IMHO), broader service availability across US, and all burners are same btu's). Closed burners, infrared broiler, self-clean or not: DCS, Capital, American, maybe Thermador or Dacor Dual-fuel: Only option is closed burners, no infrared broiler: DCS, GE Monogram, Capital, Wolf, maybe Thermador or Dacor These were the least trouble-prone and had satisfactory customer service when I was looking (people seemed more hesitant to recommend Thermador or Dacor). I have Wolf AG at home, DCS at beach, and prefer the Wolf's open burners to closed on DCS although DCS is great if you want closed burners. You can make a terrific meal on any of them. Keep reading; you could literally spend days covering all the posts on this subject. Decide what you need for your style of cooking.

Stacy hit the nail on the head : " With new babies and other little ones, we are lucky to get Spaghetti'o's for supper LOL. Add to that we have one,two or three little ones added to DH and I in our queen sized bed every night so understand about the sleep deprevation. " Drake is teething like crazy and was vax'd Thursday and won't go to anyone else and won't play in his exersaucer or on the floor, he has to have momma. That's why I needed a recipe for a whole chicken in the crockpot, I didn't have the time to take it apart, and didn't want to use the oven. Thanks for the recipes, ya'll. Changeling, it's ok. It wasn't entirely you, and I forgive you anyway. I just don't cook the way I used to. It's exactly like Stacy said, some nights I'm lucky to get a can of anything opened for supper. I simply don't have the time or sanity to prepare an elaborate meal. And the forum has changed since I first started posting here, not saying that's bad, just saying that I haven't been able to keep up with the changes because of the direction I've gone with my life. Lyra had it right, too - I come here to visit old friends more than to post about what sides might go with apricot-chili pork loin. I don't have the opportunity to drop in often because of my two little ones. If I'm AWOL, it's because of them. : P

We sometimes (almost every week) make two six quart crock pots filled with stew. We use the usual, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and throw in garlic, bacon, frozen spinach, etc to add some depth to the flavor. Don't forget the spices and worstershire sauce. But the biggest enhancement is adding about 1/4 of wine approximately one hour before we unplug the crock pot. Not only do we eat stew for dinner that night (family of nine) but my husband and I eat stew for luch for the next five or six days. We pack the stew into Rubbermaid disposable round containers and stack all ten of them (or so) in the fridge. Lunch is easy, delicious and filling all week long. Plus, I feel that the nutrition can't be beat, that meat is swimming in all those lovely vegetables, and since the meat is trimmed the fat is somewhat under control.

seems like i got this recipe here and just made it in crock pot rather than oven. You can use any vegitables, any kind of meat, any cream soup, and the golden mushroom dried soup is the best. I think it is the combination of ginger ale and dried soup mix that makes it taste so good. No Peek Casserole 2 lbs stew meat ( i use 3 lbs) 1 can Campbell's Chicken Mushroom Soup 1/2 cup Ginger ale 1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix 1 4 oz jar mushrooms, drained (optional) Preheat oven to 300. Combine ALL ingredients (DO NOT brown meat and DO NOT dilute soup with water) together. Mix well. It will be lumpy before it's cooked. Pour into a casserole dish and cover. Bake 2 1/2 to 3 hours. DON'T PEEK!! Serve over pasta, rice or mashed potato's. The smell as it's cooking is WONDERFUL Or: any kind of meat, any vegetables you want. Keep the ratio the same on the cream soup (any kind you want), onion soup mix (I use golden onion and itÂs great), and the ginger ale. Dump it all in a crock pot on low for about 5 to 8 hours. Makes any cut of meat tender and the gravy is wonderfulÂbut not enough of it.