Crock-Potting!

Change.
Isn't that what life is?
Changing directions, changing course, changing lanes.

I resist change.  It panics me.  It drives me to the brink of sanity.  It takes time and effort and preparation for me to change.

I like order.  I like routine.  I like my life as it is, thank you very much.

So what now?

I'm changing course.  As you can see from the date of my last entry, I haven't written a blog in a while.  It isn't that I haven't been cooking.  (Though I haven't cooked much.)  It's more that I've been changing.

I started an intense 14-week certification class at the beginning of January.  It takes up a lot of my free time.  It takes up a lot of my evenings.  It takes up all of Sunday, my cooking day.  I figure, I hope, it will be worth it in the end.

You see, I want a job.  A good job.  A good-paying job.  I want a job that will enable me to live where I want and how I want.  I want a paycheck that will enable me to feed myself and the pup.  I do not want to rely on anyone else for the rest of my life.  Ever.  I want to know that I can be self-supporting, no matter what life throws at me.

And unfortunately, in today's economy, a liberal arts degree in English is not the way to achieve that goal.

So I rummaged through my skill-set, did some research, wrote everything out, along with my goals - short and long-term, and found a path that will work.  If I work it.

So I'm working it.

In the past two weeks, I have realized that this is also going to require a change in my cooking habits.  I cannot afford the time it takes to prepare, eat, and clean up a meal after work anymore.  And while Fruity Pebbles are a good dinner once in a while, they are not for every night.  I want/need to go to yoga three days a week.  That is another time-consuming, but important element.  What's a girl to do?

Crock pot!  I am changing my direction to the crock pot.

I have a very nice crock pot.  It sits so far up in the pantry I cannot reach it on my own.  I also received a crock pot cookbook for Christmas (it's as if someone knew this day would come...).  Last week, I asked my roommate to get it off the shelf.  I made my first meal, chicken and dumplings.  And it was good!  There was only about a half hour prep work, and I plugged it in, and like magic, I had a meal ready for me when I got home!

I read through my crock pot cookbook and some sites last week.  I found some good recipes.  I found myself noticing that a lot of ingredients are standard in the crock pot.  Cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, etc.  Veggies.  Also, you need meat.  Chicken, beef, ham.  I went to the grocery last week and spent some money.  I bought these standards.  I will be able to eat good and well for a couple weeks.  The reality is, as much as I spent, I will certainly save money in the long run cooking this way!  I am pretty good at responsible shopping.  This is just a different angle on the whole thing.

This is all very exciting!  I am changing.  I am still sane.  I have resisted only a little.  I know what I am doing is good for me and my future.  These things keep me motivated.

If you have any good, interesting recipes for the crock pot, please send them my way.  I am excited for this new time in my life and grateful to have the resources to accomplish my goals.