Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Peeves ~ I Let Them Inspire Me!

In the movie Robots, Rodney Copperbottom's mantra is "see a need ~ fill a need".  I repeat that phrase to myself from time to time. 
Occasionally, it is one of my many peeves that ends up becoming a source of inspiration to me.  That was the case when it came to the inspiration of my newest cookbook, The Carpenter's Wife~From Freezer to Crock Pot.  You see, I have always been the kind of person who doesn't let the dust settle under my feet.  It has always been my nature to stay busy doing something.  I don't do well just sitting around...not much of the couch potato sort. 
Even though I love to cook, I do not like wasting a lot of time in the kitchen.  Nor do I like spending a lot of time cleaning up!  I have always said, I would prefer double dishwashers over double ovens, any day!  And I always try to do the dishes immediately after cooking.  The last thing I want to face after enjoying a good meal with my family is trudging to the kitchen to load the dishwasher.  Even worse...waking up the next morning to sink full of dirty dishes. Ughhhh!   NOT a good way to start the day. 
I have also tried the power cooking method:  cooking up several meals in one day to put in the freezer.  Okay...although it was nice to be able to go pick a premade dinner out of the freezer, the prep day I spent organizing ingredients, prepping, cooking, separating into containers, clean-up, etc. was quite a fiasco.  I'm an organized, detail oriented person...and it was almost too much work for one person.
So....I tried to think of a way to streamline it...make it easier...more efficient.  Hello Pinterest!  I cruised several pins that were chock full of recipes that were for freezer to crock pot cooking.  I thought to myself, "now THIS is the way to do it!".  In no time, I set to the task of compiling recipes designed for this way of prep:  from grocery store/pantry, to freezer bag, to crock pot!  Easy, peazy! I found several recipes through Pinterest, had some sent to me from friends, and used several of my own.  I converted all of them to be split into TWO 1 gallon size freezer bags.  That's right...one recipe makes enough for two meals!  All you have to do is assemble your ingredients, fill your freezer bags, put them in your freezer or deep freeze, pick one for dinner,  & plop it into your crock pot to cook! 
The BIG bonus came when I realized there was practically NO clean-up involved.  During prep, you only use your can opener, chopping knife & cutting board.  Throw away packages & cans!  AND...if you use crock pot liners when you cook, you don't even have to clean your crock pot! Dang!  I wish I would've discovered this way of cooking years ago!
So...let me know if you want to streamline your way of cooking.  The Carpenter's Wife~From Freezer to Crock Pot will save you time & energy...give you more time to spend doing something you enjoy.
Now...if I can just come up with an idea to reduce the amount of time I spend doing my hair & make-up in the morning...another peeve! ;-)
Much Love & Happy Cooking, y'all!!!