Friday, September 12, 2008

Beans and Rice with a Side of Crock Pot Hell

I am a crock pot snob. I know there are plenty of people who swear by the slow cooker, but it just doesn't feel like cooking to me. I guess it seems like cheating. Crock pots, for me, have always been something to keep food warm in during a party (which is why we have two of them), but not something to use to cook a meal. Well, I was looking through some recipes lately and thought I should give the crock pot a chance. I mean, it would be nice to be able to chop veggies up while Josie was taking a morning nap and have that magically turn into dinner by the time Rob came home. So, today I tried it and I felt so good about streamlining my day and all that. I went swimming with the kids at our neighbor's pool in the late afternoon and I knew a hot supper was waiting for us. This is the life. Or so I thought...

Rob came over to join us for the swim after work, but he offered to go put some brown rice on to go with the curry which was cooking. I would bring the kids home in about 20 minutes and it would be timed perfectly. Well, when I walked in the door, I could tell something was wrong. Rob informed me that the curry was not even close to done. It was supposed to cook for 6-8 hours on low, but it had been sitting on "keep warm" for who knows how long and it was definitely not done. Now I don't know if I made this mistake or if one of the kids messed with the setting, but either way we were all hungry and what I had planned for dinner wasn't going to be ready until midnight. Rob was already making some quick rice and beans so all was saved.Pinto beans, kidney beans, kale, onions, over brown rice with nectarines on the side. The kids, especially Parker, went on about the how good the kale was and it was yet another reminder about the simple dishes being the best and renewed my dislike for crock pots, but obviously it isn't the slow cooker's fault. We'll see how the crock pot dish ends up for dinner tomorrow.

2 comments:

Misc said...

I'm ambivalent about my crock pot as well. I use mine only a couple times a year and everything always, without fail, turns out mushy and not pretty.

That curry looks pretty darn good, though...

Jenna said...

I love my crock pot...but I use it mainly for meat dishes. But I do do lentils in there. I rarely have a veggie dish that requires long cook times.