Ok guys I quickly threw everything in the crock pot for the Orange soda recipe and NOW I relize i was suppose to cook the rice seperate.:: So do you think I need to take out the rice and cook it later or what should I do?????????????????????????????????

Where's the recipe? What kind of rice did you use?

It was posted in todays daily chat. I used brown rice. Any ideas?

Well, I think the rice WILL cook in that time. You will just have orange flavoured rice.
Let us know how it turns out. You may have discovered a new recipe! Somebody has to take over now that Julia Child is dead!

Thanks Ruth. I am going to add carrots a little later I just don't want them to be too mushy. Will let you knpw how it turns out. Oh and by the way I did use Diet Orange soda. ::0:

I asked a question as a reply to the recipe but maybe you can answer it. Is it safe to use Diet Orange soda that has Nutrasweet? I didn't think you could cook with it.

Ok now I am concerned What do you mean by Safe????????

I remember reading something about Nutrasweet breaking down when it is heated. That is why you find Splenda used for cooking products but you don't find Equal in cooked products. I've also heard that if you get a can of Diet Coke hot that it tastes terrible even if it is refrigerated. Maybe someone can tell me that I am wrong.

Nutrisweet sometimes disappears when heated. It may do that in the crockpot and it may not. It really is "safe" unless there's something new to worry about.

Well I guess I will have to go check my bottle of Orange soda and see what it is made with. Its made with nutasweet so we shall see what it tastes like. So far it looks ok.

Yup, you are right, Ruth. Sorry for causing alarm. Here is what I got from Equal's web site:

Can aspartame be used in cooking or baking?

Yes. Low-calorie sweeteners containing aspartame can be used in a wide variety of recipes. In recipes requiring lengthy heating or baking, a loss of sweetness may occur. Therefore, it is best to use tabletop sweeteners with aspartame in specially suggested and tested recipes. If a food containing aspartame is heated for too long, it would still be safe but will simply not provide the desired sweetness.

You need to be concerned about heating aspartame. One of the chemicals that results from heating aspartame is formaldehyde. (you know, the embalming fluid...)

Where did you get that info, Peggy?

Ok Yall are really freaking me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Long story... at one time I was contemplating med school and did my pre-med in biochemistry. When dealing with nutrition, I always need to know the science behind the way things work - just a small quirk of mine.