Miracle Worker, a.k.a. the Crock Pot.
Before Alice was born, I spent a lot more time in the kitchen. Cooking. Baking. Even cleaning! But now, with a baby, comes much less free time (what did I do with all that time before?!) And, with what free time I do I have, I spend it running or blogging or photo-taking or sleeping. We still manage to eat most of our meals from home, they've just been very simple and have included a lot of salads and wraps and omelets. Kind of boring. And we're both ready for some new menu items.
With the cooler temperatures and changing leaves, I am itching to cook again. Stews, sauces, and casseroles just sound so delicious this time of year! Unfortunately, Alice's most needy time of day happens right about when it is time to cook dinner, making intricate or lengthy recipes a bit difficult to execute. Enter the crock pot! Maybe most of you reading this yawn when I mention this awesome cooking aide as you may have been using one for years (or decades, even!) but I just got on the crock pot bandwagon and I am definitely not getting off. I have only made one dish so far but it was a smashing success.
Coffee-Braised Brisket with Carrots and Potatoes.
Yep. It was unbelievable. Tender meat. Soft vegetables. Rich broth. And it took less than 10 minutes to prepare. Since it needed eight hours to cook, I was able to put it all together while Alice was content and then, by 7PM, she was in bed and my husband and I were enjoying a delicious dinner together. And it didn't come in the form of a wrap or a salad or an omelet!
This recipe turned out perfectly and I wouldn't change a thing. I did, however, have a much bigger piece of brisket so, in order to fit in in my crock pot, I trimmed about a quarter off and froze that piece to use another day. And that piece will most definitely be cooked in my crock pot sometime in the near future.
Do you have any favorite crock pot recipes? I feel like the possibilities are endless! RealSimple.com is loaded with what looks like amazing crock pot recipes. And I am sure there are a bunch of cookbooks dedicated soley to the art of the crock pot. That is, if you consider putting a bunch of stuff in a pot, pressing 'On' and walking away art.
i had a crock pot gifted to me when i left for college and it is with sadness that i inform you that i have never used it. not once. i didn't even plug it in. ever. BUT we're thinking about getting another one so i hope to have some recipes soon!
ReplyDeleteI still have the original crock pot that was given to us as a wedding present when I married your dad in 1977. Still works great. It is brow, with yellow flowers on it. Kind of retro.
ReplyDeleteI use it for roasting pork for pulled pork sandwiches. My husband makes a great stew too. I use the crock pot in spurts where I use it a ton, then forget about it for a couple of months, then bring it out again. It really can be a time saver.
Miss you "3", xoxo Mom
PS: I can spell, I just can't proof read. It's brown with yellow flowers.
ReplyDeletePSS: Love your new cover photo with the pumpkins. Great!
We had a crockpot while we were in Canada for the winter. It was perfect because you could put it on before you went skiing & have lovely stew when you got home. We just cooked classic beef stew with a tin of tomatoes, 250g stewing beef, a carrot, a stick of celery, a potato and a zucchini. And maybe a little bit of paprika or something like that. YUM.
ReplyDeleteAlso there is a recipe floating about on the interwebs for crock pot/slow cooker enchiladas. I think I have to try that next winter.
I consider any cooking art. Enjoy creating :)
I pulled mine out of the closet at the start of September. I'm an advisor at a university so that sparks my busy season and I needed to get some simple meals for the family! We've already had beef stew and vegetable bean soup made in it. Mmmm! :)
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