Press
I began this crazy slow cooker challenge as a New Year's Resolution at the beginning of 2008. You can read my "official" New Year's Resolution here.
This is what I did when my year was over.
I am delighted with the feedback I received through the year, and each day it eggs me on to read email from readers around the globe who have tried one or more of my recipes successfully.
I'm not much of a cook---before this challenge, I had no idea what spices worked well together, or why you don't do this or that in the kitchen. I regularly burn things in the oven or have stuff boil over on the stove. But I can slow cook. You can too, I promise.
As a newlywed and young mom, I began using my slow cooker to save time and money. I found that a forgotten and frostbitten roast at the back of the freezer could come back to life when slow-cooked in it's own juices, or with a bit of help from a jar of pasta sauce. I was amazed at how tender chicken breasts could become when slow-cooked, and how well our family could eat with minimal effort on my part.
If you are in the market for a new slow cooker, please do your own research, and read the following posts that may prove helpful:
Help! My Slow Cooker Cooks Too Fast!
Frequently Asked Questions, part II
A few site statistics:
(as of September, 2009)
at the height of my challenge, the site was receiving 20k individual visits a day.
number of visits: 4,422,376
average daily visitors: 12,642
average daily page views: 25,402
FeedBurner Subscriptions: 28,185
Google Page Rank: 5/10
Press:
Rachael Ray Show--aired on July 9, 2008
Rachael Ray A Year of CrockPotting, message board thread
post recapping my experience
Good Morning America--February 19, 2009
Good Morning America--October 13, 2009
New York Times Best Seller List: How To/Advice, paperback--December 27, 2009
Guideposts "5 Questions" Video: Make it Fast, Cook it Slow
2/2008 Oregonian--Bloggers Chase Some Quirky Goals (3/09: link no longer available)
7/2008 San Mateo Times, Crock-Pot Meals Rocket Woman to Stardom (3/09: link no longer available)
7/2008 Tampa Bay Tribune, Life's A Crock(Pot), and Then You Blog
9/2008 Prevention Magazine, Slow Cooker Edition (9/24)
9/2008 Work It, Mom, Stephanie O'Dea, Crock Pot Mom and Blogger at A Year in Crockpotting
10/2008 Bay Area Parent Magazine, Life Doesn't Need to be a Pressure Cooker, Just a Crock Pot (page 18) updated 3/09: link no longer available
10/2008 St. Louis Post, Crockpot Simmers in a Bad Economy?
10/2008 News 9, Oklahoma City (story aired 10.30.08)
01/2009 Tampa Bay Tribune, The Stew, It's Over: A Year of CrockPotting
02/2009 NY Post, What A Crock!
02/2009 LA Times, Slow Cookers Have Evolved Over the Decades
06/2009 Sacramento Bee: Keep Your Cool in the Summer with the Slow Cooker
07/2009 Atlanta Journal Constitution, Slow Cookers Right on Time
09/2009 Publisher's Weekly: As Slow Cooker Evolve, So Do Cookbooks
Online Coverage:
1/2008 Today's Creative Blog: A Year of CrockPotting
6/2008 Tip Junkie: Teach Me Thursday
7/2008 Parent Dish Interviews CrockPot Mom, Stephanie O'Dea
7/2008 BlogHer, A Year of CrockPotting on Rachael Ray!
7/2008 Bargain Shopper Lady: Blogger Spotlight
7/2008 Foodie Obsessed: 365 of Crock Pot Cooking
8/2008 Food Interviews: Stephanie O'Dea (3 parts)
8/2008 Work, It Mom, A Year of CrockPotting
8/2008 Gather.com, One Woman's Crock-Pot Obsession Pays Off For All of Us
9/2008 Sacramento News & Review, A Year of CrockPotting
10/2008 Money Saving Mom: Do You Use Your CrockPot?
10/2008 Woulda Coulda Shoulda: Mostly, It Involves a Lot of Spinach
11/2008 Kids Cuisine, The Slow Cooker Savior
12/2008 Frugal Menus at A Year of CrockPotting, Monroe on a Budget
01/2009 101 Strategy, Interview With The CrockPot Lady
06/2009 Planet Green: We Love A Year of Slow Cooking
06/2009 Culinate: Blogs and Books, Together
07/2009 Gather.com: Resolutionista Profile, Stephanie O'Dea
08/2009 MSN Money Blog: Why Slow Cookers Rock
09/2009 Anchor Mommy: Fall Recipe Series (interview and Jamaican Pumpkin Soup)
12/2009 Oprah.com Holiday Bloggers
