Crock Pot Rescue

The lack of whitespace on my calendar from dawn to dusk this week has been downright scary. Add to that the sheer volume of activity over supper hour (in opposite ends of town, with both children at the same time) the thought of preparing supper is a daunting task, to say the least.

I cannot bear another greasy takeout meal. In addition to the silly cost and health implications of it all, there comes a point where you just can’t bear to look another piece of takeout pizza in the face.

Luckily, I’ve called my slow-cooker into active duty. If you do nothing else this week, pull yours out of storage and contemplate some of these life savers, which, save for installing a personal chef in your kitchen, could not be any lower maintenance. Along with a bagged salad and some crusty bread, you’ve got supper whenever it suits you (and the rest of the crew too).

Garlic Ribs

There is literally nothing easier than this dish. Chop up ribs into single pieces (or one or two if pieces are smaller). Place in slow cooker. Cover with dry garlic rib sauce (or whatever sauce you like). I prefer to use side ribs, just because they are smaller, but back ribs will also do- and one or the other are usually on sale somewhere frequently.

You may need two full jars of sauce to make sure that ribs are well submerged.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Roast Chicken

Cut up celery, onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and place in the rinsed out cavity of a fryer chicken. Season the chicken with pepper, salt and a little poultry seasoning.

Ball up foil (to keep chicken from sticking to the bottom) and place chicken on top. Surround with baby potatoes and roast away. In 6-8 hours on low, your dinner is served.

Maple Ham

Score the outside of a family-sized ham. Place ham in slow cooker. Drizzle maple syrup (at least a cup, maybe more, depending on the size of the ham) over the ham, making sure it is well covered, and that there is some residual syrup lining the bottom of the pot (about a quarter inch or so).

Place on low and cook for 4-6 hours (set to warm after that). Cooking a ham this way makes it incredibly flavourful and super moist.