Cooking, Part 1 [going back]

I wrote this post up awhile ago, meaning it to be the first installment of a series of posts about cooking, and then promptly forgot to publish it.  So let's go back in time a bit and start with Cooking, Part 1. You've probably noticed that I've been talking about food and cooking a lot lately.  Maybe it's having been away so much and the desire to nest at home that is making my inner (inner inner) chef kick in more than usual.  Getting a healthy and tasty meal on the table (after making breakfast and packing lunches) every single day gets tiring.  I never have all the ingredients I need or the protein defrosted or the time/energy to make everything before the boys start telling me they're hungry.

Many of my working mom friends swear by the slow cooker.  My attempts at slow cooker meals have been so-so.  But I love the idea of it - load it up with ingredients, turn it on and go to work, and come home hours later to a hot meal.  A friend of mine recommended "Slow Cooker Revolution, Volume 2" from America's Test Kitchen. Amazon delivered my copy Saturday night, I picked out a few recipes, bought the ingredients and made the first meal Monday night.

My first foray was roast beef with mushroom gravy.  The picture (see above) looked really tasty.  The recipe was simple...and the result was a success!  Monday nights are salmon night at our house.  BB and DD ate their first dinner of grilled salmon and spinach and then ate a second dinner of roast beef and potatoes!  

If this is an indication of how the other recipes are going to go, I'm impressed.  The thing only took about 3 hours so it's not something you can do in the morning, but if you're organized, you can pop it into the slow cooker right when you get home, prepare sides, and have a hot dinner at a decent time.

Obviously, the slow cooker can't be my daily answer, but if it helps me with dinner once or twice a week, I'll be forever grateful.