Crock Pot Blues

It is Early Rotation for our ward at church this year.

I really don't do well with early rotation.  It requires more planning beforehand including making sure the kids get bathed on Saturday evening which leads to crazy bed styled hairdos on all 3 of my children.  I can't realize that the boys don't have clean shirts last minute and stuff them in the wash while I make the dutch puff.  Speaking of dutch puff, we have had fun with our dutch puff Sunday brunches this year, now it will have to be dutch puff lunch at 1:00.  Not the same at all.

Sleep is also a problem.  I don't get up early and neither do my kids.  When I was expecting and on early rotation years I think I could have been classified as semi-inactive with all the days I was late, missed sacrament meeting or slept through the whole block altogether.  Happily (or unhappily) I have been getting up earlier for the last 6 months with classes and babysitting, so, while being at church at 9 am will be difficult it won't be a Herculean task this year. But wait, I can't just arrive at 9 am because our chapel is not big enough for our ward and if you aren't there 30 minutes early you don't get a pew.  I NEED a pew, I can not contain my children unless we are in a box with only one exit.

Some of the bright spots of early church are that Sunday afternoon naps can be in the afternoon and not in the early evening, much more effective.  We can go on family walks when the weather is fine.

There is also the crock pot.  I know it makes more sense to use the crock pot  when you get home from church at 4:00 pm  but that isn't how I roll. I want to use it for when I get up from my nap. It makes sense to me so go with it.

The trouble is my family doesn't like crock pot food.  They (including Moose) object to food being mushed up together in a stew type fashion.  I find this really weird because food where the flavors all cook together is my favorite thing.  I know you can just cook sauces and pour them on other foods but that is NOT my reason for crock pot use.  My goal is to throw all the food into the pot, turn a switch, open it hours later, take that same, SINGLE pot to the table and serve from it .  ONE DISH, savvy?  Besides, if I was going to prepare noodles, rice, meat or what have you separately, why wouldn't I just open a can of sauce which is simpler and faster?

I suppose we could do something else for Sunday dinners.  For a while  (back when were renters and our family numbered only 3 three) we made homemade pizzas on Sundays, but that is too much work and too messy, the opposite of crock pot meals.  I also tried Soup Sundays but the peasants rebelled, apparently, I am the only one who likes soup.

I guess you can say that I am looking for ideas, I want something easy, really  easy, sinfully easy, single dirty dish easy. Savvy?  Frozen lasagna easy but not lasagna because I am the only member of the family that likes lasagna (foods mushed up in layers are still mushed up together) and I have very limited freezer space.