Update on finding help around the house

[milee]

Thanks so much for the help writing the ad for someone to help with various tasks (housecleaning to boat washing) around the house. I used many of your suggestions and ended up finding a really wonderful person that one of my friends knew was looking for some extra work. She used to be the youth director at a church, stopped doing that because she wanted more time with her family and has been doing caregiving for a lady with dementia. The lady with dementia may be moving to a home and this job came at a good time for her.

She started this week and is not only very sweet, but super organized. She's had some great ideas for things and done a really thorough job. In fact, Monday, she's bringing a special tool to pop out the screens covering the windows so she can scrub the screens. I didn't even know you could do that.

Anyway, so far, so good. Not only is she willing to do pretty much anything, she has good ideas and has offered to do some things that are even more helpful. She did talk me into a higher hourly rate: I wrote the ad for $12 and she asked for $15, which I agreed to. If she keeps being as great as she is now, it's totally worth it to me to pay the $15.

Very happy with that.

The whole Crock Pot experiment is not going quite so well. Meh, you win some, you lose some. We won't starve.

[Peace Of Mind]

That is great news! I'll bet she knows how to cook in a crock pot too.

[Formerly SK]

YAY!!

[milee]

She um, did offer to bring a good Crock Pot recipe. Guess whatever I was making didn't appear to be working all that well.

Which is funny because I'm a really good cook when I cook from scratch, but most of the Crock Pot recipes I've tried have been like mushy casseroles with little flavor dimension. Except the pulled pork w/ginger sauce and the turkey breast with apricot glaze - those were pretty good.

[Deleted]

What are you trying to make in the crock pot?

I'm glad you found someone great!

[milee]

Tried so far (unless otherwise noted, these are from the Stephanie O'Dea 365 crockpot blog):

Chipotle style Barbacoa (not from SOD, but from a website w/restaurant knockoffs) - OK overall but didn't have the spicy depth of Chipotle. Not bad, though.
Steel cut oatmeal w/apples - reasonable.
Rice pudding - blech. Milk curdled and overall flavor was bland.
Baked sweet potatoes wrapped in foil - good, easy way to make sweet potatoes.
Fish chowder - OK flavor, but cooking it for recommended time left fish overcooked and dry. Plus was pretty bland.
Apricot glazed turkey breast (used recipe for apricot chicken) - good taste, but didn't like the soupy texture. Will try next time without as much liquid.
Pulled pork w/ginger glaze (from Clean Eating) - really good and healthy. Keeper.
Peanut butter chicken - blech. Bland and gummy.

The purpose of trying the dang thing is to spend less time in the kitchen so I have more time with the family. The reduced time part has worked well, but I feel like a lot of the time I'm feeding my family slop. Not particularly tasty or (in most cases) healthy.

[Deleted]

Yay!

[wvugurl26]

Glad you found someone helpful!

[TheOtherMe]

Glad you found someone.

I have a teenage boy who does mine. He advertised himself at $8 per hour. I told him it wasn't enough and pay him $10 per hour. He works very hard while he is hear and does a great job.

[resolution]

I am glad you found some help around the house..

My favorite crock pot recipe is white bean chili

1lb ground chicken
3 cups chopped celery
1 16 oz can undrained chopped tomatoes (i usually just chop up 3 tomatoes instead)
1 15 oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 chopped up onion
1 cup chicken broth
4 tsp chili powder
3 cloves garlic minced (or just use a pinch of garlic powder)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pepper

Brown the chicken and toss everything in the slow cooker on low. The recipe says 6 hours but I usually throw it together before work and eat after work, so 12 hours works fine without turning into glop.

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2012 19:01:06 GMT -5 milee said:

She um, did offer to bring a good Crock Pot recipe. Guess whatever I was making didn't appear to be working all that well.

Which is funny because I'm a really good cook when I cook from scratch, but most of the Crock Pot recipes I've tried have been like mushy casseroles with little flavor dimension. Except the pulled pork w/ginger sauce and the turkey breast with apricot glaze - those were pretty good.

milee I have absolutely given up on cooking most things in the crock pot. I hate the texture of most food that comes out of it. I am a decent cook when I cook from scratch, but I cannot get food to do anything but turn to mush in a crock pot. I don't even own one anymore because of it.

ETA: I was able to get soups and curries to turn out like Rukh said, but chicken dishes always turned out tasting like disgusting mush.

[wvugurl26]

I have done soups and pot roasts in mine. I don't think I've tried anything that wouldn't require several hours in the oven or on the stove top.

[Deleted]

the crock pot is great for cooking a turkey breast for hours on end to make pulled turkey BBQ, however, most crock pot recipes include some cream of crap soup. I never use mine except for the turkey bbq and to do meatballs with sauce for holiday parties.

[swamp]

The only thing I've made in the crockpot that requires cream of crap is Swedish meatballs.

I've recently used my crockpot for chili, jambalaya, bean soup, pea soup, turkey soup, spaghetti sauce, and pulled pork.

[Deleted]

Nov 3, 2012 14:26:33 GMT -5 swamp said:

The only thing I've made in the crockpot that requires cream of crap is Swedish meatballs.

I've recently used my crockpot for chili, jambalaya, bean soup, pea soup, turkey soup, spaghetti sauce, and pulled pork.

so pretty simple things that all cook together. I don't do soups or chili because nobody in my house eats them. although I have done turkey soup post thanksgiving. It sounds like the things you listed would be good for milee.

[swamp]

Oh, I forgot, beef stew is another.

I think it was chiver who said she puts checked breasts, black beans ad salsa in the crock pot. I think it sounds great, especially if I use home canned tomatoes, but DH doesn't like black beans.

[Gardening Grandma]

One of the things I've learned about cooking in a crockpot is to add the seasonings the last hour. Otherwise, they seem to just cook out.

[wvugurl26]

Some people just use it while they are home or let it cook while they are sleeping. I would probably go that route as I'm gone at least 11 hours and sometimes 12-13 if I have errands or appointments after work.

[8 Bit WWBG]

I failed crockpottery and gave mine away.

I do have a dutch oven that I've accomplished similar tasks in, however. Its a nice Lodge cast iron deal. I just need to give it a thorough scrubbing. I had cooked some meat dishes in there and the flavor (despite scrubbing and scrubbing) is still present.

[Deleted]

For corningware or enameled ware try soft scrub or Bon Ami.

[milee]

Thanks, guys, for the good recipe ideas and also the true confessions of others who have had trials and tribulations with your Crockpots.

[Happy prose]

Milee...I just made stuffed peppers in the crock pot. It came out great. I did use extra tomato sauce and served it over noodles.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Yay for finding good help!

Chicken and stuffing is a crockpot recipe we often make.

[DVM gone riding]

I like cooking beans, stew, pot roast and soup in the crock pot. I don't think chicken turns out as well. and I agree with the advice of adding seasons latter. I usually put some in at start and again at end--seems to work. I don't have a family so I am often doing things I can latter freeze or put in the fridge and eat all week.

[Deleted]

I'm glad it worked out for you Milee!