Planning is going to be CRUCIAL for you as you get busier.... but I'm sure you realize this. If you plan rice as a side for a few meals one week, cook up a big pot on Sunday, portion it out into glass containers and stick it in the fridge. Then you will just need to warm it in the microwave while you are steaming your veggies or making your salad (assuming that the main dish is in the crockpot). Even baked potatoes can be made in the oven over the weekend when you are cooking other things and then warmed up in the microwave during the week.
I've heard from many folks who have great luck with rice cookers, but since I don't use anything with a nonstick surface and I haven't yet found a rice cooker that doesn't have that, I haven't bought one.
It is possible to put frozen meats into your crockpot, but thinking ahead and defrosting things in the fridge overnight would be best.
If your current crockpot does NOT have a "keep warm" setting, I suggest you shop for one that does. That way your dinner doesn't get overcooked or even burned if you are later than expected or if the planned meal doesn't take 12 hours to cook (as most of them don't). It wouldn't be a bad idea to own more than one crockpot.... that way you can make a dinner and a side all at once.
You didn't mention if anyone has any allergies or special dietary needs/restrictions, so I will assume none for now.
Quick starchy sides.....
precooked brown rice (as I mentioned above).
couscous (super quick.... just 5 minutes once the water is boiled). It comes regular, whole wheat, and pearled.
pasta salad (obviously made up ahead).
baked potatoes (baked ahead and warmed).
baked beans (canned is actually pretty good and if they are too sweet you can add additional canned/drained/rinsed beans).
instant mashed potatoes (Idahoan brand is really tasty and doesn't have a ton of unpronounceable ingredients.... plus the individual packets make four servings and can be prepared with just boiling water in a bowl.... no pot to clean!). Not something I recommend eating on a regular basis, but a nice alternative when necessary.
Quick green sides....
prewashed salad greens, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, sliced cucumber.... salad made in 5 minutes or less!!
steamed broccoli.... I can cut up a few heads of broccoli and throw them on to steam and have them ready in under 10 minutes.... even faster if I splurged and bought the already cut broccoli or if I cut it myself over the weekend. Also steamed cauliflower (although I think that takes longer to cook than broccoli), green beans or yellow wax beans. I love my veggies ROASTED, but that definitely takes longer. If by chance you have a programmable oven, you can put the veggies into the oven in the morning (ready to cook) and program your oven to start roasting them 15-20 minutes before you get home. I do that in the fall and winter when it isn't too hot out and I'm not to worried about the veggies getting droopy or icky in the oven all day. Obviously I would never do it with meat.
stir-fried veggies.... they cook quickly but obviously all of the cutting/dicing would have to be done ahead of time.
frozen veggies that boil up quickly are a last resort for us (we really prefer fresh), but I am NOT above using them when necessary. I keep a few bags of broccoli/cauliflower blend in the freezer for when I am desperate....broccoli, cauliflower, beans, peas, carrots, spinach, squash are always available frozen.
"plan-overs".... instead of calling them leftovers I call them PLAN-OVERS. This is for when I make extra veggie one night to have for a second meal later in the week! The leftover sauteed onions and peppers from pierogie night can be tossed into crockpot chicken cacciatore the next night.... or on chicken sausages another night. Leftover steamed broccoli or asparagus can be added to egg pie (aka crustless quiche) another night.
Main dishes....
obviously crockpot dishes or something you can warm in the microwave will be fastest. I'm sure as you start looking around you will find plenty of crockpot recipes to try. Here are a few of my favorites...
Crockpot chicken cacciatore..... place chicken leg quarters (bone-in keeps it much moister than boneless breast and much cheaper) in your crockpot. Top with your favorite spaghetti/marinara sauce. Add sliced onions and peppers, garlic, italian seasonings.... whatever you want. Let cook all day. Spoon out leg quarters onto serving platter. At this point you can debone it before serving it you are serving to small children.... or just serve with the bone. Serve with sauce over the chicken and pasta as a side if desired. Goes great with a green salad.
Easy pulled pork..... place boneless pork tenderloin into crockpot, fat side up (so that it self bastes). I usually sprinkle the roast all over with garlic and whatever else seems handy, but this isn't necessary. I often put just a small bit of water or apple juice in the bottom so that it doesn't stick. Cook all day, until the roast is falling apart (6 hours on high usually does it for me). Remove roast to a cutting board, skim off the fat and discard, then shred the meat with two forks. Put the shredded meat BACK into the crockpot full of liquid (meat juices and fat) and let it sit on warm for about 10 minutes to allow it to reabsorb some of that liquid. It definitely makes the meat moister. Then drain extra liquid and top shredded meat with your favorite BBQ sauce. I usually go lightly on the sauce and put the bottle on the table to allow folks to add more to their taste.... it cuts down on the added sugar in the meal for those watching their sugar. Serve on whole wheat rolls with a green veggie or salad.
Here is another chicken recipe I've shared here on the DIS before.....
Crockpot Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
(Originally found in "365 Ways to Cook Chicken")
1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds
Salt, pepper,
1 tsp. rosemary
4 medium potatoes, washed and cut into 2" cubes
4 small onions, peeled and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces (or two handfuls of baby carrots)
1 C dry white wine
Place potatoes, onions, and carrots on bottom of crockpot. Place washed/dried chicken on top of veggies and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Pour in the wine and about 1/2 C of water. Cover and cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
**Here are my modifications. I often use less wine or skip it all together and just use chicken stock or water. And I will put more veggies in if I am serving more people... and I really like onion so I use more. Plus I have put in other veggies like parsnips and turnip. And you can add a bit of rosemary on top of the veggies before adding the chicken if you desire.
Don't expect crispy skin on the chicken, like you would get from the oven, but since I don't eat the skin anyhow, I don't care.
I just serve this as a one-pot meal.... nothing else needed.
**Second day suggestion** I have taken the cooking liquid and leftover chicken and veggies, some additional chicken stock and made an excellent chicken soup the next day! Just be careful of overcooking the veggies, since they will already be soft.
****I've made this several times more recently and have a few other changes/suggestions.....
I use a larger chicken.... anywhere from 3-5 pounds, since my crockpot can hold that. I use all stock (fat free chicken or vegetable), no water, no wine. More onion and carrots (about a pound or more of carrots). DH doesn't eat the potato and I don't eat much, so 2-3 potatoes is enough for the kids. And again, it easily feeds 4-5 hungry folks with leftovers. The leftovers make a great soup or stew or you could even make it into a pot pie!
Semi-Crockpot Hamburger soup
1 lb. of lean ground beef, browned, drained (and rinsed if you desire)
2 large potatoes, cubed
3 handfuls of baby carrots
2 medium onions, diced
3 stalks of celery, washed and diced
1 bottle V-8 juice or tomato juice (low sodium if desired)
Place all ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
I call it "semi-crockpot" because you have to brown the meat in advance. But I will buy a large quantity of hamburg on sale and brown it all at once and divide it into 1 lb. containers and put it in the freezer. I haven't tried this recipe using TVP, but I suppose you could. Not sure what TVP would do after cooking all day in the crockpot.
** My modifications.... the original recipe called for using tomato soup and water.... but I don't like the HFCS in the soup (or the calories), so I use the juice. V-8 comes in low sodium or high fiber or spicy, so you could change it up if you want.
The original recipe also called for corn, but I don't want the added starch.
Other non-crockpot main dishes....
Meatloaf..... I will buy 90% lean ground beef when it goes on sale and spend an afternoon making meatloaves for the freezer. I don't have a special recipe for it.... I just wing it.... egg, ketchup, salsa, bread crumbs, oatmeal, tvp, veggies.... whatever is handy. But I will make up to 6-8 large meatloaves in one afternoon, bake them all at once, and then cool and wrap them tightly in foil and freeze them. Then once they are defrosted in the fridge for a couple of days they can be warmed in the microwave or even put in the crockpot on low for a few hours (but watch it because you can dry it out, since it is already cooked). If you are warming in the microwave I would cut the loaf in half so that it warms evenly. Since I only own two loaf pans and I don't want them in the freezer for weeks/months, I line my biggest loaf pan with plastic wrap, pack in the meat mixture, and then turn it out onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan. I can line up 4-5 on the pan at once and bake them together. Then I can just warm it on a plate and don't have an extra pan to wash at dinner that night!! Serve with a side of steamed broccoli and instant mashed potatotes!
Baked potato night ..... precook your potatoes over the weekend, warm in the microwave and serve with shredded cheese, veggies (sauteed onions and peppers, steamed veggies), salsa, sour cream, taco meat or shredded chicken or chili (great use for little bits of leftovers), beans (kidney, black, or refried), sour cream... whatever sounds good to your family!
Anyhow.... you caught me on a RAMBLING kind of day! Best of luck with your new schedule..............P
