My New Favorite Thing – Crock Pot Timer Delay

So let me just say first of all that I realize that this post is going to make me sound like a total dork. I’m okay with that. It is what it is, and I fully accept the fact that I am, in fact, a dork.

That being said, I have a new favorite thing. Working moms, listen up. Working dads, listen up. Crockpot lovers or haters, come one, come all, and check out this bad boy.

Fabulous right?

Okay so by now you’re asking yourself what the HECK is that? It’s a lamp timer. A GE lamp timer, to be exact.

I love my Crockpot. I really do. But I really hate how so many recipes for the Crockpot require 5-6 hours of cooking. I’m gone for a lot longer during the day, and 5-6 hours just won’t cut it. We leave at about 7am and don’t get home until 6pm – so by the time we’re home and our house smells soooo fabulous, the meat is yucky. Chicken especially. For some reason chicken has this super weird texture when it’s cooked so long in the Crockpot, and I really, REALLY dislike it. I’m very much a texture kinda girl, and if something tastes fabulous but feels weird in my mouth, chances are I won’t like it.

SO because of this dilemma, and because of our current circumstances requiring more thought being put into meals, I decided to start looking for a programmable Crockpot. Now this really irked me for one main reason – my Crockpot is only a few months old, and to get a programmable one I would have to spend another $100, when I have a new one already! So being my usual resourceful self, I thought to myself, what could I do to turn the Crockpot ON at a certain time? Even the programmable ones turn it off at a certain time, instead of ON.

And I thought of a lamp timer. You know the ones that you plug your lamps into to make it look like you’re home when you’re really not? And instead of spending $100 for a programmable Crockpot, I went to Home Depot and got myself a $6 lamp timer.

I asked Tom to help me test it out, to make sure that I was setting it correctly. I don’t know why I asked him, he’s technologically challenged, but he likes to help so hey, why not right? We set the timer and tested it on a fan first. And the day came to make stroganoff using my fabulous new method.

And it worked WONDERFULLY! I set it to come on at 2pm, because I knew we wouldn’t be home until about 7pm, and everything was perfect!

So for all of you Crockpot haters out there, if you hate it because of overcooked meat or veggies, get a $6 lamp timer. No, I’m not getting any kickbacks from GE for this. I have another bone to pick with them about our dishwasher. But I am very proud of the lamp timer that turns my Crockpot on. And if you love your Crockpot already, try this if you need shorter cook times – especially if you’re a working parent!

Happy Tuesday everyone!