Works for Me Wednesday: The end of an era . . . . .

Yes, there she sits unceremoniously in my bedroom. She's been a good crock pot. Been making tasty things for our family for 16 1/2 years. BUT, after reading this blog I realized maybe technology had passed the old girl by. The clincher was when I found out that the newer crock pots don't heat up the counter and all surrounding objects in a 2 foot radius. HUH? You mean you can't use the new ones as a secondary heating source for your kitchen? Whod'a thunk?

So after arming myself with this knowledge, I told Tyler it was time for a new crock pot. He then did some research of his own, and while I can't believe he didn't give me the results in a Power Point presentation, he did agree that it was time for a new era in our home. Off to Wal-Mart we ran. The coolest thing about my new crockie is that only the counter directly below it gets warm. No more warm walls, toasters, sugar canisters, etc. AND once the cooking is done, it automatically switches to warm.

So why the sudden need for a new kitchen appliance? Well, I'm changing things up around here in order to make dinner time easier for me. I know I've mentioned in the past that I've used Saving Dinner for meal planning. It really is a great thing, but it's disheartening when some of the recipes aren't as good as you were expecting. Or if they're just downright awful. I finally took matters into my own hands.

I sat down with all my recipes, cookbooks, scraps of paper, etc. and found our most favorite 28 recipes out there. On a side note, after looking at the array of recipes all I can say is wow! Do we love chicken or what? Anyway, I'm in the process of typing up all the recipes complete with a shopping list at the end of the recipes for that week. Then I print them up, put them in plastic page protectors, use tabbed dividers labeled 1-4 an viola! A month long menu plan is born.

This week we're on week 2, and I'm in the process of typing up week 3 and 4. It's taking a *bit* longer than I thought it would, but hey, I only have to do it once. I did a few days of the menu cycle before leaving for Alaska. Now that I'm home, I'm into it full swing and I LOVE it!!!! Tyler said he was so happy to have a homecooked meal when I came home that he didn't care what it was. "It" just happened to be salmon chowder and I think I saw a glisten of a tear in his eye.

I hope this simplifies my dinner planning. So far, everyone seems to like the meals I've chosen. Well, everyone as long as that doesn't include my son. He finds a way to complain about everything I make. Unless it's pizza.

For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips check out Rocks in My Dryer!