The framework for our menu plan has been working very well, but I felt like we didn't have quite enough options for our super-stinking-busy Wednesday 'emergency dinner' theme night.  After all, switching between pre-packaged egg rolls and carry-out pizza was going to get old pretty quick.  Also see: extra, unnecessary calories and feeling crappy afterwards.

And then, eureka.  Crockpot meals finally occurred to me.  Granted, I've never used a crockpot before, and it seems like the vegetarian options are a little limited, but a little digging and a bit of pinteresting has yielded at least a handful of promising options.  

I am not a big fan of unitaskers, so I own very few kitchen gadgets.  The crockpot has always struck me as one of those giant counter hogs that wouldn't get much use, and I have a perfectly good set of pans already, but...

Did you know crockpots are relatively inexpensive?  Even if this little experiment doesn't work, I wouldn't be out that much Money (especially if I make use of one of those ubiquitous 20% off coupons that come in the mail every few days from a certain Big Box store), but...

I don't enjoy Spending Money on things that take up space.  I can spend money on a vacation like no one's business, and I have no qualms about spending money on an evening out with The Musician or The Girlfriends, but...

My mother has a crockpot.  To quell my qualms, I shall borrow hers for a couple weeks and try a Recipe or two, and then, if I think slow-cookers are really all they're cracked up to be, I'll shell out the whopping $20 it'll take to buy one.  

I can't wait to report back on this little experiment.

There are a couple of new-to-us recipes on the menu for this week.  The slow-cooker recipe for Wednesday is obviously one of them, as is Tuesday's Chickpea Curry.  The mushroom-gruyere toast for Friday is new as well (it looks sooooo yummy, and since the hooligans don't like mushrooms, there'll be more for me).

Thursday's pasta torte is an old family favorite, and it disappears so quickly, I'll probably double the recipe so that we will have leftovers available for lunches.  Friday's French Onion Soup is one that always makes The Musician happy.

As always, Sunday will be Every Man for Himself due to the long-standing labor laws in our household.