Crock Pot Overstock

Yesterday afternoon, my new crock pot arrived by UPS. I was very happy. That brings my total up to three. The problem is, I rarely do crock pot cooking. Sigh.

To be fair, I brought one of the crock pots into my marriage. My first marriage. That means it’s older than 1977. It still works just fine, despite its orange and brown pre-disco era appearance. That’s, of course, because I rarely use it.

Then, sometime in the last couple of years, I decided I needed to get a newer, fancier crock pot to sit unused in my pantry. That one has an automatic shut off, and a cool, stainless steel exterior. The problem is, it’s large enough to cook a meal for an entire New England township. My husband and I hardly qualify.

So, I got on Amazon the other day and ordered a three-and-a-half quart crock pot – the perfect size to cook a meal for my husband and me. Which, of course, I won’t. At least not very often.

Perhaps part of the problem is I like getting deliveries. Remember the movie The Music Man? "Oh ho the Wells Fargo wagon is a'comin' down the street, oh please let it be for me!"

I think crock pots are wonderful. That’s why I own three of them. I especially think they are an excellent tool for working families. Coming home from work and having dinner mostly ready is awesome. Throw some biscuits in the oven, and you’re good to go.

And what can I say about those wonderful slow cooker liners that they now sell? Now you don’t even have to spend a lot of time scrubbing out that crock pot. They should have thought of that a long time ago.

I must confess that I didn’t use the crock pot(s) much even when I was working. The reason? My husband, who works from a home office, didn’t like the smell of a pot roast cooking all day long. By the time I got home, he was so sick of the smell that he didn’t even want to eat the crock pot’s contents. I can see his point. Coming home to the smell of a pot roast tender enough to cut with a fork nestled amidst carrots, celery and potatoes is one thing. Smelling it all day is another.

Now, however, I take my granddaughter to piano lessons every Thursday from 5 to 5:45 p.m. Since I don’t get home until almost 6:30, the crock pot is coming in handy. Since I am home most of the day, I can turn it on in the afternoon on high, and my husband doesn’t have to smell cooking meat all day long – only for a few hours. So I can come home after delivering my granddaughter to her mother and father and not have to worry about fixing dinner. And the size is simply perfect for the two of us.

I wonder if they make them smaller. Perhaps I should check Amazon…….