it’s confession time.
are you ready?
i’m not always crazy about cooking dinner.
oh, you too?
you see, we have a rule in this house. you either cook or you wash dishes. i’d rather cook than wash dirty dishes any day so my husband so graciously takes cleaning duty every night.
it’s not that i hate cooking; sometimes it is a wonderful creative outlet for me. it’s just that after work, going to the gym & dealing with the not-so-glamorous parts of my life all day, i’m a walking zombie come dinner time.
queue the crockpot.
bless the crockpot.
i used to have this weird guilt thing about my crockpot. i thought that if i made dinner in our crockpot, i was actually cheating & the meal wouldn’t be as delicious or complete.
well, i’m here to tell you today that i believe in The Crockpot & it’s time saving graces. i’ve made some delicious meals from our crockpot & this week’s dinners are no different.
i thought i’d share my meal plan with you this week just in case you’re suffering from the cooking blues & need some inspiration…
side note: i don’t always cook a week of crockpot meals. this week just happens to be a busy one so i am relying on my crockpot to make meals ahead of time. i do actually make dinner in the pm hours every once in awhile, hah!
monday: crockpot pinto beans & homemade cornbread – simply add dried pintos to your crockpot & cover them with a generous amount of water. cook on low for 7-9 hours. you’ll come home to a pipping hot southern dinner around 5 pm! add toppings, such as cheese, to your pintos & enjoy with cornbread & sautéed veggies.
wednesday: crockpot enchiladas – i use the recipe from simply in season (buy this cookbook if you don’t already have it!), but this recipe from skinnytaste is similar (substitute flour tortillas for corn tortillas if you’re gluten free)
thursday: crockpot tomato bisque soup with garden fresh salad
friday – saturday: i will be out of town so leftovers will be plentiful for luke. the benefit of crockpot meals is that there are almost always leftovers.
sunday: family dinner night!
supplemental reading: details on how i meal plan & how i save money on our food budget
printables: my meal planning printable comes from here & my grocery list printable comes from here.
do you use the crockpot regularly? what are some of your favorite crockpot meals? please share!
love,
natalie
p.s. don’t forget! registration opens TOMORROW for the holiday craft party! you can find more details about the workshop & how to register here.