How to make YT with only a crockpot on?

Senior Member Joined: Jun 24 2010 Posts: 158

My DH doesn't want me to have a burner on during the whole YT for safety. So I am just using the crockpot. What kind of menu or foods should I do? I have a picky DD who is 10 months so I have to think about her as well. The crockpot is fleishig. TIA!

Gold Member Joined: Jul 07 2009 Posts: 1738

can you leave your hotplate on a timer? I often do that.
cook as much as you can in advance

your m"s seuda will need to be cooked beforehand or have things that can be eaten cold/at room temp
I'm not a crockpot pro so I'm sure others will be more helpful but you can put up a meat the night before to have ready for the next morning. similarly after the morning seuda put s/t in the crockpot for that evening's meal

good luck coming up w/ a menu

You can serve some cold or room temperature dishes, and some you can warm in your crock.

Friday night you can do challah, dips, fish, soup heated to boiling before shabbos and then placed on top of the hot crockpot of cholent, then chicken cutlets, potato salad, and sauteed veggies all at room temperature.

Shabbos day you can have challah, dips, fish, salad, egg salad, hot cholent from crockpot.

Motzei Shabbos there isn't much time to even use your crock as a heating element. Serve a cold soup like zucchini, grilled chicken over sesame noodles, more cooked veggies.

Clean out the crock, fill it halfway with water, and put it back to heat through. Then when you need to rewarm, place each dish into a separate crockpot liner bag. Knot well. Place in crockpot over hot water. Cover. Let heat through. Serve.

Make a cold dairy day meal of cheese blintzes, pickled salmon, cold strawberry soup, cheese salad, cheese pasta salad, cheesecake.

The rest of meals you can warm some of your foods in separate knotted crockpot liner bags, all sitting in the hot water within the crockpot.
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Really Awesome Mom!

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48223

crockpots take a long time to warm up your food. how are you going to handle the night meals, specifically the 2nd and third ? are you going to eat the same thing during the night as during the day ?

CM, if the water is already boiling in the crockpot ahead of time, it actually takes quite fast for the bags of food submerged in the liquid to heat up

Senior Member Joined: Nov 09 2010 Posts: 128

Here's what I'd do (and might end up doing).
Fri night meal - cook as usual
Shabbos lunch - cholent in crockpot, kugel heated on lid, salads or cold cooked veggies.
First Night (m's) - cold food cooked before shabbos- ours will be milchigs, but you could also do fleishig. If you have a hot water urn, you can make the 5-min couscous in a bowl with a lid. Add a little soup mix or other seasonings to the dry couscous with the oil, and pour on the hot water, cover, fluff before serving.
First day lunch - pot roast in crockpot, with potatoes and other root veg (sweet potatoes, parsnips, etc). If your crockpot is on low, put it in after candlelighting on m's. Use liquid with a good flavour, like red wine, duck sauce, or cranberry sauce, with a generous amount of spices/herbs. Kugels and veggies can be heated on the crockpot lid.
Second night - same as the first!
Second day lunch - another pot roast, if your family likes that (mine does!), or chicken and veggies, or meatballs and rice.

If you are eating a late lunch, depending on how early you get up you could start cooking in the morning. When y't starts very late, like it does for shavuos, I'm sometimes too tired m's to scrub the pot and start again. So, I just get up early and put the food in at around 7 or 8am, to eat at 1ish. If dh goes to hashkama, and then sleeps a little, this works well for first day.

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48223

Senior Member Joined: Jun 24 2010 Posts: 158

Yes, I realize that I will have to do some scrubbing. Smile

I just got an appliance timer so hopefully it will work. Thank you for your responses!

Senior Member Joined: Jun 24 2010 Posts: 158