I Love My Crockpot, Too

Thanks to a co-worker/colleague, many times over, Donna, I really really love my crockpot. She clued me in, about a decade ago, what type to get (removable ceramic pot, large enough to start with) and she had me drooling every day she came in to work at our high-stress government-contractor job (writing, editing, proofing gov doc’s). She’d tell me what she threw in the pot that morning and when we left, often 12, 14 hours later, she knew it would be ready when she got back home.

I used it moderately through the years. But I am really enjoying it now. With both a long-time friend, Jane, now deceased, and her middle-aged son (like my own son) gone (deceased 2/1), I am re-discovering my own tastes. When you are a care-giver, no matter what level, you tend to cook for those most in need in the household. You also tend to eat that, whether you like it or not, whether it’s good for you or not, just because you are too tired to make a separate meal for yourself. I suspect this happens with a lot of folks, family-wise, too.

Anyhow, I now keep serving portions of stuff in the upright freezer: stuffed cabbage rolls (see my tip on how to make this really easy, cabbage-wise), chili, chicken soup, pea soup with ham.

This morning, I tossed in a pound of pre-soaked pinto beans. I had soaked a two-pound bag in a strainer-lid pasta pot overnight. It was so easy to drain. I put half in the crock pot and put half in a container in the freezer, marked “pre-soaked pinto beans, 1 lb” and the date. Then I took the ham chunks I had defrosted yesterday. I had frozen them months earlier from a big ham we’d used. I cut them up in bite-size chunks, and tossed them in. Tossed in 2 Tbsp chili powder, a dollop of cilantro, a can of Rotel, a diced bell pepper, and a diced onion. Now it is working its magic. Can’t wait for supper.

I love Rotel these days. I am especially partial to the variety with lime and cilantro, but I love a couple of the other varieties, too. I always get as many as I can when they are on sale for $1 or less.

It is going up to 97, they say, here today. That means that in my neighborhood, it can either be 95 or 102. The crockpot throws off some heat but not as much as an oven (which I don’t have right now) or several pots on a stove.

I’ll probably get 8 to 10 servings out of this, or more. Beans are filling, so I won’t need as much per serving as I do of other foods when I freeze them.

Yep, I really really love my crockpot.