By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

Sure, a half cent is not that much. Especially on an 84.5-cent basis. But when Suburban Propane (SPH) took that distribution to 85 cents last night, it was a reminder of how special these limited partnerships have been as a consistent way to make money.

Propane is a slow-growth business, typically a rural one. Suburban is one of the largest players in the business. It regularly boosts its payout as it takes over mom-and-pop distributions, precisely the kind of companies that have been hurt in this downturn, and grows bigger and bigger.

Folks don't buy Suburban because they are looking to shoot the lights out. But it has given us a 31% total return, and I don't think it is done, as it still yields only 6.19%.

It has few champions. I think that I am the only one who has mentioned them on TV. But this is what this market is like away from Netflix (NFLX) and Chipotle (CMG) or Caterpillar (CAT) and Freeport (FCX) or Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN). It's about grinding out gains without a lot of risk. And piling that dividend back in.

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When you consider that Intel (INTC) is up just 1% and Cisco (CSCO) is down a couple during that period, I think that perhaps we need to find more Suburbans.

That's where the nonaction is.

A portfolio with a Suburban and an Apple I think represents a pretty darned good pairing. Sleep at night and party all day. Good combination.

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Apple, Intel and Cisco.

Jim Cramer is co-founder and chairman of TheStreet. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO.

Click here to follow Cramer's Charitable Trust trades.

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