I have a confession...

I have a confession. In fact, if I had a second blog, it would be called "Confessions of a Crock Pot Queen".  Here it goes....
I have not used my stove/oven since last year.  No, my kids have not been thriving on McD's either. In fact, other than new Years Eve, we have not even eaten out this year!  We've eaten nutritional home cooked meals every night...courtesy of my crockpot.  We've eaten Hoppin John Soup (which lasted 2 days), Tangy Porkchops with pasta, Chicken and Rice Casserole, and a crazy soup I threw together with stuff I had on hand in my pantry and freezer that I ended up calling "Southwestern Chicken Stew." (It was totally yummy by the way...yet another beauty of the crockpot. You can throw about anything into it within reason along with some spices and stock and have a delicious soup at the end of the day.)
Now it's not every day you can say a household appliance changed your life, but that's exactly what I'm going to say today.
It all began last Christmas.  I discovered the miracle of the "Amazon.com wish list"  If you have a husband who hates to shop, you MUST check this out if you haven't already. All you do is make a wish list with everything your little heart desires. Then all he has to do is pull up the list and "buy with one click."  Of course, of all the things I put on it last year (jewelry, shoes, clothes, etc,) Gabe chose to buy the crockpot and crockpot cookbook I had put on the list as an after thought. (If not romantic, at least he's practical)...I got some other great things too though). Anyway, little did he know (or did I know when I put it on the list) that this little appliance, and the cookbook "Fix it and Forget it :The BIG cookbook" would literally change the way our household runs.
Before you judge...hear me out. Yes, I know that I am a stay at home mom, so cooking in the evening should be no big deal, right? Wrong. Throw in ball practices, homework, baths, and 3 kids underfoot, and I'm as busy as anyone else at night, which makes preparing a meal quite difficult at times. (not to mention Gabe gets home just in time to eat...but not to help).
Enter, the crockpot. With a little planning and pantry stocking, you can literally prepare the evening's meal in about 5 min.  Now wouldn't it be worth setting the alarm 5 min. earlier if it meant having dinner ready when you got home at night?  Not only is it quick, it is also healthy and economical.  Most of the meals i prepare can be done for less than $4 or $5 total. (Of course I shop sales and mark-down meat too and that helps...) Not only that, most meals will feed us two nights and often Gabe has enough to take for lunch the next day as well!  I wish someone had let me in on this little secret a long time ago, so I just thought I'd share in hopes of making someone else's life a little easier too!  Happy cooking!