As I stare down the gun barrel of being alone with one toddler and one newborn while my beloved husband returns to work, I simply don’t know how we’re going to eat dinner anymore. But I think I have it covered for at least one night a week.
I’m going to declare next Monday (and all Mondays forever into the future) Crock Pot Night.
On Sunday, when we’re having our regularly scheduled family time and Holden is napping, we will choose a meal from Not Your Mothers Slow Cooker Cookbook and chop our vegetables. On Monday morning, I will throw everything into the crock pot at some moment of leisure (or during several stolen fragments of moments) and let the food just stew until dinner time. Voila!
If all goes well, Monday’s dinner will be hot and edible and the rest of the week we will have delicious leftovers for lunches. Also in this fantasy, Holden will happily eat what we eat and stop spilling his big-boy cup on purpose.
What an awesome idea. I usually can’t get it together enough in the morning to put something in the slow-cooker. Prepping on Sunday is a great idea.
Great idea. We use our crockpot several times per week. Here’s what I’m making today – it’s awesome!
Crock Pot Thai Chicken
1 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces (place in crock)
Mix together:
3/4 cups Salsa
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 crunchy peanut butter (the crunch is the best part) (can be substituted with any nut or seed butter if there are allergies in your house.)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Fresh cilantro for garnish (or even mix it in)
Mix sauce into chicken. Don’t be turned off by how gross it looks.
Cook on high for 4 hours. Serve over whole wheat couscous (or rice, noodles…whatever!)
I actually make a HUGE recipe of this – about 6x the recipe, because it’s so good and the leftovers are just as yummy.
LOVE the crockpot thing, mainly because I can usually convince the husband Stay-At-Home-Dad type to throw something in it occasionally for dinner,but I cant seem to get anything other than mush out of mine-which happens to be the same rival model as the one in the picture! What am I doing wrong?
The crock pot is my best friend. Here is one of my favorites.
ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sage
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
Place all dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and worcestershire sauce and mix well. Spread mixture evenly over meat. Put in a crockpot with 1/2-inch of water and let it cook all day.
Leftovers: Pull apart and make pork barbeque. (My favorite bbq sauce is Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbeque.) Serve on rolls.
Enjoy!!!
I have to admit to using my crock pot more frequently, too. I told my husband that I’m officially a mom now, since I’ve used it more than 3 times (and our son is only 4 months old). Since we both work outside the house during the week and I’m afraid to leave the crock pot on when we’re gone for 10 hours, we normally use it on Sat or Sunday. It makes supper a snap.
Easy idea – take a roasting chicken (around 5 lbs), place in crock pot stuffed with an onion (or a lemon) and place chopped potatos carrots and onions around it. Turn on high for 1 hour, then cook on low for 6-8 hours til done. The remaining stock can be skimmed and turned into gravy. Any leftover vegetables and chicken work well in a pot pie or just over noodles the next night.
Much More than a Mom, that recipe sounds great. I’ll have to convince Heather to make it for me. My house has no slow-cooker. Just a tired and lazy mom.
We used it a ton before the (first) baby came and left it on during the day while we were at work. It kicks into a warm-and-hold once the cooking is done but that only works for super hearty meals. Otherwise it might turn to the mush Florabora has seen.
I got some other good recipes from How to Make Love and Dinner at the Same Time: 200 Slow Cooker Recipes to Heat Up the Bedroom Instead of the Kitchen including using the slow cooker for making baby food. Throw a bunch of sliced apples in and wait. Easy!
[...] Between my husband starting our pot roast before going to work and these easy clean-up liner things [meaning that my dinner was ready and on the table at 6pm AND I didn’t have to scrub any pot], it almost makes up for the hour and a half Milo and I spent at the Berkeley Bowl yesterday. Almost. [...]
[...] Crock Pot night — especially good when all you have to do is chuck stuff in the pot and come home to a meal. I made some shlock last week requiring about 16 hours of prep plus two overnights. I took some logical (to me) short cuts and the resultant chili was inedible. Oops. [...]
I love my slow cooker. I would also recommend checking out http://www.savingdinner.com for other great slow cooker recipies as well as freezer meals you can make ahead and then use when needed (similar to the businesses that you can go and make these meals, but so much healthier and less expensive).
Go for it! I used to use my crockpot once in a while but since the first trimester tiredness, I’ve been using my crockpot at least once or twice a week.
I plop in some meat, veggies and a liquid during breakfast and by the time I get home, dinner is nearly set. I just add some noodles, rolls or make sandwiches (slow cooked pulled pork mmmmm) and the whole family is happy.
Plus, the house smells awesome!
Let us know how it goes!
Thanks for the tips and recipes. I have had that crock pot for a while now, given to me by my mom, and I really should use it for the days when I feel too tired to stand and beat at the stove with a ladle for an hour.
Tonight however, I’ll use the grill. Dump that 2 day old thawed in fridge salmon with the stir-fried capsicums from 2 days ago too and throw in some tomatoes.
I’m addicted to crock pot. Try this recipe:
1 – Whole roast
2- One packed of onion soup mix
3 – One can of Coke
4 – cut up vegetables (optional)
Pour all three in the crockpot in the morning. Set it to low. Cook all day…probably 8-10 hours. Voila.
That’s funny Samantha — because I”m a little obsessed with braising meat in soda! I gotta try that.
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I’m a working mom w/ my husband as the stay at home parent. For some reason he’s terrified of leaving a slow cooker to do what it does… cook. So, I’m sending him this link to assure him other mommies do it and it makes everything 10 times easier. Thanks!
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