In anticipation of the coming unemployment in my future, my partner has gone Crockpot crazy. Two crockpots going and a large pot sitting on the stove has transformed the kitchen into a tv show of sorts with one woman cutting, stirring, browning and spicing with expertise. I wait on the outside of the kitchen and wait to be called for the taste tests and to eat the left over carrots and celery.
What was being prepared was freezer full of chicken/vegetable soup, beef/cabbage soup and spaghetti sauce with chicken. In the past during some of the former lean days, shortly after my bankruptcy and living in a 400 square ft studio, we ate a lot of soup and bread along with pasta to get through. And just like it is always good to have an emergency fund of money, it is good to have an emergency stash of food to rely on when variety is a luxury.
Over the course of most of the afternoon and into the early evening the cooking produced 11 jars of spaghetti sauce, 7 jars of chicken/vegetable soup and 5 bags of beef/cabbage soup
The next involved me in the process as it was found that the brand new Crockpot we bought had a fracture that went from the pot lip down the inside and down the outside to the almost the bottom. It was determined that the pot may not have held up well with the heat and had an existing issue that wasn't noticed when it came out of the box last Christmas. (no receipt/box to return to store)
It was my duty to take down the model # info, date made (numbers on the prongs of the plugin) and take a few pictures for evidence. The first thing I will try is the most convenient, their customer service number and the online 'contact us' form, I wrote out the facts of the issue and what I wanted them to do for my satisfaction, no drama. Of which I took screen shots of the contact form for my own records and since it is the weekend, I won't worry until Tuesday for a response. If no response comes next week, I will start locating Crockpots twitter account, facebook page or executive escalations to take my grievance to.
Update: I heard back from Crockpot with positive results and I learned something new.
Overall, it was a tasty day for one of us and a productive day for the other. Preparing ahead with any emergency stash is a great way to cut down on the stress of the unknown that the future may hold. And if things look up... all the better!
Thanks for sharing, I love reading you should post more often...
Most often the cracks in the crock are due to rapid temperature changes. Usually putting cold water in it when it's still hot.
@Bill
That was a first thought as well, but warm water was put into the soup so it would heat up faster
Crock-pot heaven! I found it really saved me as a single parent when my son was little ...a few veggies a cheap cut of meat ...viola dinner for a few days!
ITs especially nice to come home to warm dinner already cooked on those dog-tired days!
Awesome Idea!
Just wish I had much more storage room!
You have really great taste on catch article titles, even when you are not interested in this topic you push to read it
Dawn,
Did you put all the jars in the freezer including the spaghetti?
My girlfriend will eat frozen home cooked meals but won't touch anything home canned. Don't know how to get her past this.
Sending you good thoughts,
Gina
@Anon
I have to agree that it does save on expenses for food and a warm soup is wonderful when the rain/snow is falling outside!
@Shawna
Yea I can understand that, we have an upright 13cuft freezer that has been worth it WEIGHT in savings.
@Anon2
Thank you... now I have an expectation to live up to {wink}
@Gina
Everything is in the freezer including the spaghetti and it doesn't take long to defrost - just pull it out the day before.
Does she eat leftovers? That is kind of the same thing... Sits in the frig waiting to be eaten.. canned food sits in the freezer waiting to be eaten.