There’s something special about a Sunday dinner.
Even if it isn’t a specific occasion or there aren’t any guests at the table, there’s something that makes the final meal of the weekend different. It’s cozy and warm. Recently, I’ve decided to embrace this fact by experimenting with a new slow cooker recipe nearly every Sunday.
Since my wife cooks during the week, I’ve started to pick up the slack on the weekends. When we met, I was pretty clueless in the kitchen, so I originally focused on breakfast while dinner would consist of leftovers or something quick and easy. But I began to realize that Sunday allows me the opportunity to create and prepare a meal that is a bit more involved than trying to fit it in during the week. (A few years ago, I decided to make handmade gnocchi on a weeknight and we didn’t eat until almost 9 pm.) I can take my time to chop up vegetables, cube potatoes, dry rub meat, and everything else, all while having my favorite little sous chef by my side.
As part of this new tradition, I’ve managed to borrow recipes and present meals that have drawn rave reviews, like heavenly chicken, chicken pot pie, cowboy casserole, and garlic parmesan chicken and potatoes, which I even made for my parents for Christmas Eve one year.
While others, like the pulled pork sandwiches and lemon garlic chicken, failed to garner any special commendation, they were good enough to be repeat recipes.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the honey garlic chicken thighs, a dish I liked but no one else did, and the loaded slow cooker potatoes, which neither looked nor tasted nearly as good as expected.
Such is life. Our existence is about learning from mistakes and overcoming failure, whether in the macro sense of a relationship or a career, or in the micro of a Sunday dinner. I’ll keep scouring for recipes and experimenting with new meals. Some will work, others will not.
Of course, putting together dinner in the Crock-Pot doesn’t make me a master chef, but it has allowed me to enjoy new and different meals in my home.
There’s no better way to end the weekend.
Christopher Pierznik’s eight books are available in paperback and Kindle. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Medium, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Subscribe to his monthly reading review newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
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