Children are natural sorters. They look at collections and organize them into categories or order them by size, shape, or color. Chuck gave our niece a basket of toy food. She organized it by color, in rainbow order.
Rainbow Menu!
Maybe her mother will let her sort and organize the refrigerator. Or maybe not.
Why attempt crock pot experiments? Because I can. Because being on break for a week lets me monitor recipes as they cook. Because I teach full time and need to provide a decent supper without much prep time (pun intended). And really, why not?
Sunday’s experiment: Overnight Oatmeal from the cookbook Fix it and Forget it
Monday’s experiment: Breakfast Bake from the cookbook Fix it and Forget it
Crock pot size: 3 quart, 5-6 hours on low
Results: delicious. I cut the recipe in half. A full batch might require a larger crock. The full batch might take longer. This has potential for an overnight bake.
Modifications: I might stretch this with a little more milk and a diced slice of bread. A handful of diced bacon was a good addition. I added thyme and oregano – maybe a little too much oregano.
Wednesday’s experiment: thaw and warm a soup from the freezer.
Crock pot size: I started with the 3 quart and then realized I only needed the smaller size, slightly more than one quart. Details below.
Results: about an hour into the process, I realized I’d overestimated the volume and moved the soup into a smaller crock. The smaller crock is more like the Little Dipper: no heat settings, just plugged in (on) or unplugged (off). Since the soup was already fully cooked, low heat and small crock were enough.
Modifications, general thoughts: I have a freezer full of soups and broths. This is an option that could carry us through a winter, including staff meetings, conference nights, and even help the family cope when I have to travel for standardized testing.
Readers, beyond the standard soups and chilis, how do you use your slow cooker? Do you own more than one?