how i'm conquering the crock pot {stupid easy sweet potatoes}

I have been anti-crock pot for as long as I've known what a crock pot even was.

I'm a kitchen purist, so most gadgets don't make my equipment list. If I can't make it with some combination of a solid pot, skillet, cutting board and chef's knife, the recipe is dead to me.

The crock has also seemed burdensome as it relates to storage, and I feel anxiety when too many things clutter my kitchen counters.

And as if those two reasons aren't enough, have we not all seen a piece of meat come out of a crock looking a little underwhelming? I'm not sure crocks value culinary presentation the way I do.

But I'm also a kitchen experimenter, and I decided that while my cabinet space might be at my lifetime peak, now was the time to give the crock a fair shake.

Given my past reservations, I've stepped intentionally into this experiment, using these guidelines:

1. No meat will be cooked, unless it will be later mixed into a soup or sauce, or finished off under a broiler with a nice glaze.


2. No recipes that feed an army. I'm not interested in leftovers for two weeks.


3. No dishes that aren't practical for eating solo. Ideally that means that there are versatile options for a reasonable amount of leftovers.

So far this month, I've attempted five recipes, and all of them are potential repeats (my litmus test for a recipe's success). That's a pretty respectable average for the first four weeks of crocking (that can be a verb, yes?).

This week, I'll post one of these each day, and I'm starting with the simplest, and yet most revolutionizing crock pot recipe:

Stupid Easy Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4-6

4-6 sweet potatoes
olive oil

Wash and dry each potato. Rub each one with olive oil, and wrap individually in aluminum foil. Place potatoes into crock pot (stacking is fine), and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours. (I have a 6-quart crock pot and cooked 5 potatoes easily, and probably could have fit 7-8.)

People, when I discovered these perfect sweet potatoes came out of a crock pot, I felt like if I never had another crock pot success, I'd not care. I ate these all week with fun toppings -- butter and brown sugar; Greek vanilla yogurt and walnuts; honey and pecans -- the possibilities are endless.

Did you know this crock pot secret? Any other stupid easy ones you care to share? Link me up!

And more to come. Stay tuned.