Crock Pot Love
Saturday, May 8, 2010 by Amy
So, I bought a crock pot. For a whopping 15 bucks ;) It has been awesome! Rudi had fallen into the habit of taking the girls out to eat 2 days a week when I'm in school, and that's just not good for anyone, our budget included. Everything I've made in it has turned out fabulously. Which brings me to another point...
I see absolutely no validity in the argument that working moms can't make their families nutritious meals, or that fast food is cheaper. It is not cheaper. No way. Just the other day I bought a pork roast for $5, threw in about a pound of potatoes (what's that? Like $1 worth of potatoes?) and a dollar worth of carrots. We had it for dinner twice, so that comes out to about $3.50 per dinner. On RARE occassions that we've eaten fast food it has always come to about $15. Even if had each gotten two things from the dollar menu, it would have been $8. Still not cheaper.
If I can prep the crock pot in the morning (and I am NOT a morning person!) then anyone can. Some recipes have called for more prep than others, like browning ground beef, but still no more than 10 minutes worth of prep, if that. There is no reason why a parent can't prep the pot and have her children turn the pot off and eat when they get home from school, rather than leaving money for fast food.
Tomorrow, we are planning on going to the zoo for Mother's Day. I will prep the pot in the morning, and we'll come home to a nice dinner. It's almost like not having to cook on Mother's Day. Can't beat that!
So, what have I made so far? Let see...beef stew was the first. Chicken corn chili. Pork roast with potatoes and carrots, cabbage beef soup (a HUGE hit with Riley in particular), chicken and dumplings, and cheesy italian tortellini. I'm sure there's more, but that's what I remember.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have to leave for school at 4:30, but only get home around 4 from picking the kids up from school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays Riley has swimming lessons at 6:15, so she needs to eat by 5pm sharp, again after getting home at 4. The crock pot helps a ton in getting everyone food at a precise time. Additionally, since the crock pot I got in 6qts, if I only fill it half-way or less, it doesn't take as long to cook. So, I can go grocery shopping after dropping the kids off at school, and still get everything prepped and cooked by dinner time.
The only downside to the crock pot is that Avery loves helping to cook, and if she helps she is much more likely to eat the food. With the crock pot, I prep it while the girls eat breakfast. If she does get to help, she finds it rather anti-climactic since we just fill the pot and wait 8 hours LOL! Oh well, can't win them all!
I see absolutely no validity in the argument that working moms can't make their families nutritious meals, or that fast food is cheaper. It is not cheaper. No way. Just the other day I bought a pork roast for $5, threw in about a pound of potatoes (what's that? Like $1 worth of potatoes?) and a dollar worth of carrots. We had it for dinner twice, so that comes out to about $3.50 per dinner. On RARE occassions that we've eaten fast food it has always come to about $15. Even if had each gotten two things from the dollar menu, it would have been $8. Still not cheaper.
If I can prep the crock pot in the morning (and I am NOT a morning person!) then anyone can. Some recipes have called for more prep than others, like browning ground beef, but still no more than 10 minutes worth of prep, if that. There is no reason why a parent can't prep the pot and have her children turn the pot off and eat when they get home from school, rather than leaving money for fast food.
Tomorrow, we are planning on going to the zoo for Mother's Day. I will prep the pot in the morning, and we'll come home to a nice dinner. It's almost like not having to cook on Mother's Day. Can't beat that!
So, what have I made so far? Let see...beef stew was the first. Chicken corn chili. Pork roast with potatoes and carrots, cabbage beef soup (a HUGE hit with Riley in particular), chicken and dumplings, and cheesy italian tortellini. I'm sure there's more, but that's what I remember.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have to leave for school at 4:30, but only get home around 4 from picking the kids up from school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays Riley has swimming lessons at 6:15, so she needs to eat by 5pm sharp, again after getting home at 4. The crock pot helps a ton in getting everyone food at a precise time. Additionally, since the crock pot I got in 6qts, if I only fill it half-way or less, it doesn't take as long to cook. So, I can go grocery shopping after dropping the kids off at school, and still get everything prepped and cooked by dinner time.
The only downside to the crock pot is that Avery loves helping to cook, and if she helps she is much more likely to eat the food. With the crock pot, I prep it while the girls eat breakfast. If she does get to help, she finds it rather anti-climactic since we just fill the pot and wait 8 hours LOL! Oh well, can't win them all!
