I forgot how deliciously rewarding it is to prepare and eat a Chef’s Salad.   You get your protein. You get your cheese. You get your veggies. You get your crunchy little croutons. You get a healthy, easy-to-make meal that is tied together with a bouncy light vinaigrette.

Traditionally a Chef’s Salad is made with smoked ox tongue, fresh roasted ham and chicken or turkey cut off the bone and carefully sliced “julienne” style. I’m fine with the ham and chicken or turkey, but the smoked ox tongue is definitely NOT happening in my salad bowl. You go right ahead, and thank you very much.

But what do you do if you don’t have a roasted ham or chicken or turkey hanging out in your refrigerator? You follow my recipe for Super Easy Chef’s Salad. Buy the meat and cheese at the supermarket deli and ask (nicely) for them to cut into ¼-inch thick slices.

You’ll still need to cut the meat and cheese into strips, aka julienne, but that doesn’t take much time. Just stack the slices and cut them all at once. Boiled eggs are easy (and you may already have some in your fridge).

You can use romaine lettuce, but I like to mix it up with iceberg and whatever other leaf lettuce looks good. In this recipe, I used only cucumbers and tomatoes, but you can add whatever veggies you like because, after all, this is a CHEF’S Salad… and you’re the CHEF!

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Life around my house is lived as though someone stepped on the accelerator—going 80 miles an hour, everything and everyone in constant motion (that happens when you have five kids). Lots of running around.

Last month is a good example—getting everyone ready to go back to school is a balancing act… no, a juggling act, beyond compare. Clothes to pack. Doctor appointments. School supplies. Planes to catch. Trains to catch.

And no real time for meals.

So, it’s kind of ironic that my salvation during all this activity isn’t something that moves fast. Just the opposite…it moves slowly. Methodically. It’s my slow cooker…and it’s a life-saver. Uh, make that a time-saver.

My good friends at Hamilton Beach sent me their Set & Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker to try out. What do I think? In three words: I. Love. It.

What’s really great is that I’m able to prep meals the night before… like this Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Green Salsa recipe. First I sliced an onion really thick and put the slices in the bottom of the Slow Cooker’s crock. I rubbed the pork shoulder with spices and set it on top of the onions… and then put the crock in the fridge.

The next morning I added the chicken stock and programmed the Slow Cooker to be ready by the time I got home. The salsa is so easy to prepare, I made it while I got the rest of dinner ready, but you can also prepare it in advance.

I shredded the pork, stirred in half of the salsa and served it with warm tortillas so everyone could make their own tacos as we all sat down for dinner… and put on the brakes for a little while.

And if you have any salsa leftover, it goes great with eggs the next morning!

One other cool thing is that this slow cooker comes with a temperature probe so that you can cook large cuts of meat, whole chickens or even turkey breasts by relying on the internal food temperature to test for doneness.

I used the probe to cook a 4-pound chicken on High in about 4 hours (internal temperature 180°F in the chicken’s thigh). The skin didn’t crisp up and brown the way I like it, so I but it in a roasting pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes… beautiful!

One more thing… head on over to my friend, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, to find more delicious recipes… just like this one!

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It’s Spring, yes, but it’s still chilly enough to need something hearty for dinner, so here it is: Baked Ziti with Mini Meatballs.

I love this recipe because you can use shortcuts (pasta sauce from a jar, frozen meatballs), or take your time and make the sauce from scratch and hand-shape your own meatballs. Either way, you’ll come up with something hot, cheesy and delicious.

I made my meatballs from scratch using ground beef, veal and pork… but you can use any combination (turkey? chicken? lamb?). Remember a little bit of fat in your mixture means more flavor in your meatballs.

If you do make your meatballs from scratch, here’s a great idea: double the recipe, make extra meatballs and freeze them. Then all you’ll have to do is thaw them for a quick dinner (Meatball Sandwiches, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Meatball Appetizers) when you’re in a hurry!

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Watching me baste the turkey used to be great for a laugh.

I’d carefully squeeze the bulb, place it in the turkey drippings and gently, and oh so carefully, release the squeeze on top of the bird. Perfect.

But then I’d try to baste the wings or underside and SPLAT! I’d hit the wall of the oven, or the oven door or the dog (yes, it really happened, but he loved it).

No longer.

Tovolo has come up with the Easy Reach Bulb Baster… an angled, dripless silicone baster that lets you easily maneuver around the turkey (or chicken or roast), directing juices exactly where you want them to go.

Genius.

Because the baster maximizes suction, drips are minimized… no more rogue squirting! A pair of feet holds the tip off the counter and the shape of the bulb allows it to sit upright and not roll around. It’s temperature resistant to 450°F.

It comes with 3 dripless tips: a wide one for suctioning shallow pan juices, a basting brush tip and a regular basting tip. A cleaning brush is also included.

The kids are disappointed that I got this nifty new tool just in time for Thanksgiving and spoiled their fun. But you know who’s really upset?

The dog.