Crock Pots

Do you ever get so busy doing everyday errands and forget all about dinner? Okay, so since I’ve been unemployed I haven’t, but while working I ran into this dilemma all the time. Those nights usually relied on fast food.

Having a little foresight will help, especially on days you know that you have more things scheduled than are physically possible to accomplish in one day (like me, today for instance, and yet here I am blogging) will help you throw something together quickly in the beginning of the day and forget about it until that night when it is time for supper. A few minutes of prep work while downing your morning coffee is usually all it will take to whip up a fantastic meal that will be ready on your terms. And for those of you who don’t like leaving appliances plugged in while you are out of the house, let me ask if you also unplug your refrigerator before going grocery shopping and picking up the kids from soccer practice? No? Same concept.

There are many dishes that take to slow cooking. For instance, chili is a classic example. Dump everything into the pot, turn it low, and give it a quick stir before serving. Others will take a few minutes prep after they are done cooking, like pulled pork will need to be pulled, but if it is anything like my pulled pork, it has to cook for 32 hours, pulled, then cooked for 2 hours more. I’m difficult like that.

The best part about slow cooking is that flavors usually get better the longer it cooks, so if you know the next day is going to be hectic, even the morning, throw it all in the crock pot the night before. Of course, this probably means you will be having dreams of the wonderful Moroccan dish, Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots. But isn’t that a small price to pay for convenience?