Slow and Steady Wins the Race

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To say that a baby completely changes your life is an understatement.  And anyone who says that having a baby is easy is a big liar.  It is good though.  O, so good. It challenges you and pushes all kinds of boundaries that you thought you had.  Endless reserves of patience?  Not so much.  A clean, clutter-free abode?  No longer.  Pride in the fact that you never watch TV? Ooo...look "What Not to Wear" is on again.  That makes 7 episodes this week and it's only Tuesday.  Time to blog?  Huh, that was over a month ago already.  Yikes.  So, yeah, to say that things are different at our house goes without saying.  But being a momma is good and there are lots of great moments everyday. 

One of the things that has really been challenging for me is being able to cook and bake.  I love to cook and, before baby, it was my outlet.  I'd come home from work, rest a little by curling up with a book, and then dive into the cathartic and wonderful mode of making dinner.  Unfortunately that time no longer exists.  By that point in the day, Charlotte is most often tired, fussy and overstimulated and wants nothing more that to be held close and told that it will all be okay.  Of course, I can't even count on that by that time of day.

One thing I can count on though is a nice period of time in the morning while she naps.  Which has led me to explore more slow-cooker meals.  I used to poo-poo slow cooker meals as being for lazy people.  I would say to myself, "How hard is it to take 45 minutes to cook a meal?  Seriously."  Uh, yeah.  Now I know.  The good part is that I've discovered some yummy, quick to prep, and interesting meals.  Here's what we've tried so far:

Green Chicken and Rice Soup
Buffalo Chicken Soup
Creamy Crock Pot Meatballs
Pork Roast in the Crock Pot

They were all delicious and I highly recommend it.  The Buffalo Chicken Soup was my favorite of the bunch (put blue cheese sprinkles on anything and I'm a goner) and my husband really liked the Green Chicken and Rice Soup a lot. 

Of course, people with babies aren't the only ones who use a slow cooker.  My friend Melanie uses hers a lot because it makes dinner quick and easy when she gets home from work.  Slow cookers make tender, moist perfect roasts.  They are a staple of church pot lucks. 

There's a reason for that--slow cookers make life easy!  I don't know what took me so long to figure this out...