Bottomless sore throat tea

1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
1/4 cup honey
water

1. Slice or dice the ginger. If you're feeling really lousy, just leave it whole.
2. Put the ginger and honey in a small slow cooker, and fill with water.
3. Set to high until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce to low or warm.
4. Every time you serve yourself some tea, add a dollop of honey to the slow cooker and top it up with water.

My husband and I have been under the weather, and have kept our small slow cooker full of this sore throat remedy. It does wonders and tastes delicious. This recipe is for my 1 1/2 quart slow cooker. If the kids were sick too, I'd probably double the recipe and use my 4 quart model. I've considered throwing half a (washed) lemon into the mix, but I didn't have one on hand.

Slow-Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs

1 lb frozen meatballs
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 1/2 cups vegetable juice (I use V8)
1 6-oz can of tomato paste
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Cook onions in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.
2. Place meatballs in greased slow cooker insert. Add onions, juice, tomato paste and herbs, and cover.*
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4. An hour before you eat, add the spaghetti. Stir occasionally to prevent clumping.>

*At this point, the insert can be stored in the fridge. Just get it started before you leave for the day, and dinner's hot and ready 30 minutes after you get home.

The vegetable juice in this dish is a good way to sneak veggies into your meal.

Slow Cooker Chicken Spinach Curry

1/2 cup red lentils
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, boiling
8 chicken thighs, skinned
8 0z frozen spinach
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt
black pepper

1. Rinse and drain lentils.
2. Put lentils, curry powder, coriander, cumin seeds and stock in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.
3. Place chicken in the slow cooker and push down into sauce. Recover and cook for 3 hours on high.
4. Add spinach and cilantro to slow cooker and push into sauce. Cook for another 30 minutes, until spinach wilts.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I serve this with basmati rice, cabbage bhaji, and sweet pickles.