I don’t know what I would do without my crock pot on cold winter days. It makes everything so much easier. From homemade chicken soup to chili, there’s a crock pot recipe for most things I have in my freezer. I’ve even seen recipes for crock pot cobblers, but I haven’t tried one yet.
My crock pot is my best friend on days like these. If you don’t have one and you cook at home, I encourage you to buy one. They come in a variety of sizes and price ranges. There are even programmable models, but I prefer the old fashioned ones that just have High, Medium, Low, and Warm.
We’re in the middle of some serious arctic air here in the Ozarks, and I always feel the need to make savory dishes on days like this. I also have an uncanny urge to bake when it snows. I guess my brain is hard wired to produce hot comfort food when everyone is forced to stay indoors.
When I woke up to a snow covered world yesterday morning, I knew I would be putting my crock pot to work for supper. I had some lovely pork chops in the freezer just begging to be cooked. I decided to make smothered ranch pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a salad. The pork chops make their own gravy with the recipe I used, which is a great bonus. I toasted some of the bread that I made on Saturday, and we had a great meal.
I also made peanut butter cookies, which are my husband’s favorite food. He worked hard shoveling our sidewalk and driveway. When he came into the house after clearing a path for us through the snow, I presented him with a warm peanut butter cookie. His face lighting up in pure bliss was all the thanks I needed. I sent a bag of my cookies with him for my mother-in-law when he went to her house to shovel her sidewalk and driveway. I wanted to share the love with her, too.
While you’re huddled in the house with your family wondering what you’re going to feed everyone, you may want to dust off your crock pot. Throw some wholesome food in there, turn it on, and let it do its thing while you relax in front of the fire, sip some hot chocolate, and read a good book. You can also throw your ingredients in your crock pot before you go to work and have a nice meal ready when you get home. I prefer to think about reading a book in front of the fire, personally.
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