By Jill Clair Gentry

Since the invention of slow cookers in the 1970s, life has been easier for busy cooks across the world. Throw a few ingredients into a pot, and after work, dinner is done. They’re not just good for making soup — slow cooker recipes could fill each section of a cookbook, from soups to main dishes to desserts. What’s not to love?  

Sharon Turner of Geneva County certainly knows the benefits of a convenient, easy dinner. After graduating from Auburn University and marrying her high school sweetheart, Charles, in 1962, she taught home economics for 35 years while raising two daughters and working alongside her husband on their peanut farm.

These days, Charles and Sharon are what she calls “semi-retired.” 

“We still grow peanuts and corn and have a few cows, and we also have timber,” she says. “Every year, Charles says this is the last year he’ll plant peanuts, and I say, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’”

Sharon is the Geneva County Women’s Leadership Committee chairman and former State Women’s Leadership chair. She stays busy with her church and several other organizations. 

“I cook a lot of meals for families when their loved ones pass away, and these slow cooker recipes are great for that, as well as any family function,” she says. “Since my mama passed away a few years ago, my home is usually where my family gathers.”

At those gatherings, the Turners’ six grandchildren love to gobble up Sharon’s potato soup, and she’s glad it only takes a few minutes to prepare — less time making supper means more time for memories.