Crock Pot Sundays

Last week while I was in Utah, Lisa and I started reminiscing about our Sunday meals that have evolved into fabulous hospital productions. Since we both want to try to "keep the Sabbath Day Holy" (Exodus 20:8) and not go out to eat on Sunday, and since she lives 15 miles from the facility where Michael is, we began a tradition of making a crock pot dinner and bringing it to the hospital and having dinner there before my plane leaves Sunday evening. It has evolved into some mighty fine Sunday meals that have the nurses and other staff members drooling when they walk by.  Frankly, I have never tried so many things in the crock pot but we have found that nearly anything that can be made in the oven can be made in the crock pot.  For instance, we have made:

• shepherds pie
• pot roast with carrots and potatoes
• "funeral potatoes"  (add cubes of ham and you have a complete casserole)
• lasagna
• tortilla soup
• pork chops
• bacon-wrapped chicken with sour cream sauce
• meat loaf
• enchiladas
• pork roast
• shredded pork street tacos
• barbecue chicken
• cornish game hens
• tortilla casserole
• turkey*
• chicken and stuffing casserole
• chili
• spaghetti

We have learned that you can layer items in the crock  pot.  For example, we had wrapped baked potatoes in foil and placed them on top of the meat.  We have added vegetables on the very top layer to steam. You can even wrap some rolls up in foil and set time in the crock pot as well to heat up the last 30 minutes. The possibilities are endless!!!

Word of caution...we had one crock pot disaster:  I cooked a ham the same way you would cook a pot roast...with potatoes and carrots.  BLEH!!!  the ham turned orange and the carrots tasted like ham.  It was nearly inedible.

As time has gone on, we have added a card table and chairs so we don't have to eat on our laps (we just keep it down in Mike's room).  We have made home made ice cream. A few times, we have brought a panini maker in and made some yummy paninis.  And my dear aunt, who lives in Provo, often invites us over to have Sunday dinner with her family.  You can see we don't go hungry!

I  guess we figure that if that is Michael's "home" for now, we will make it as homey as possible.  Too bad he can't join in and eat with us (although we do share some of it with him occasionally) but I think he loves that we are there with him and including him in our Sunday dinners.

* Addendum:  Lisa wanted it noted that it wasn't just a turkey breast...it was a full blown Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing that we made in the crock pot.  Yes, we brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner to the hospital one year complete with martinellis and pumpkin pie.