I don’t know about you, but without my crockpot there are some days when my family would not have a hot meal.  I’ve used my crockpot for a long time, and when I was single it was nice to come home to hot dinner just waiting for me.  Now that I cook for my husband and mom, I especially appreciate the ability to “cook” dinner without having to do more than just throw a few items into the machine.

I have several crockpot cookbooks now, but I tend to shy away from those that require any prep work.  Call me lazy, but I can’t see frying up meat and onions or whatever, and then throwing into the crockpot.  I want to throw it all in, and walk away.  That’s it. 

I’ve come across a few good recipes for this, many of them from right here at b5.  For example:

• 50 Awesome Crockpot Recipes to Keep You Warm and Full
• Crockpot Chicken Creole
• Andouille & Lentil Stew
• and even, Crock Pot Creme Brulee

I created a recipe myself and can direct you to many more free crockpot recipes over at Simply Thrifty.

Lately, I’ve finally discovered that you can cook rice (and pasta) in with your meal as well.  (You guys probably already knew that!  I’m slow sometimes…   I can’t tell you how delighted I was to learn that!  It meant I could truly make a one pot meal right in the good ole slow cooker.

What’s your favorite crockpot meal?  Is there a recipe online you can share?  Or better yet, add it to the comments below!

Image from Morguefile.

Post from: Blisstree

All Hail the Crockpot

I caught this post over at the tree hugging family a couple days ago and it got me thinking.   The title of the post is: 

“I don’t cook.  So I made my eat-in-kitchen a fabulous walk-in closet.”

It’s about an ad that encourages people to use credit to “achieve their dreams” (like turning their kitchen into a walk-in closet.)  Peggy at tree hugging family wrote about this because she encourages people to develop green habits of living.  When I read this post, I instantly thought about a woman I saw on TV that had a fabulous house, massive kitchen, and completely empty cupboards.  She didn’t even have plates or silverware.  Her family ate out three meals a day.

I understand that busy folks sometimes grab fast food.  Last night, for example, I had several appointments during the day and had to work at night to catch up.  As a result, we ordered wings and fries from a restaurant near us.  However, this is a rare event.  Usually I cook dinner for my husband and mother every night.

After reading Peggy’s post I started to wonder if busy parents are able to cook each night or if they eat out.  Or, in the case of most of my friends, do a combination of both.  I enjoy the routine of having dinner every night with my family.  I don’t believe eating out all the time gives us the same kind of bonding time and let’s face it – it’s too darn expensive! 

I’m also not sure eating out saves us that much time.  I challenge myself to find recipes that only take half on hour to cook, or can be done in the crock-pot.  My new favorite is a dinner consisting of tilapia from Aldi (yes, Aldi!), rice, and biscuits.  It takes half on hour from start to finish, is delicious, healthy, and costs a total of less than $2 a person.  I also check out the Busy Family Meals blog here at b5 for easy recipes ideas.

My question today is if you or your partner cooks each night?  If you do, what is your best advice when it comes to making dinner?

Post from: Blisstree

Do You Cook?