Crockpot Spring Cleaning Challenge, Part II

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

Warm weather is finally upon us and it's time to do a little spring cleaning. A couple years ago I suggested using your crockpot to help reorganize your pantry and it seems like a good time of year to revisit this topic.

Now that I am living in a house, my kitchen space has doubled and I actually have a real pantry (as opposed to using one of the kitchen cabinets in my old apartment). So my wintertime desire to stockpile supplies has increased. I have only lived in the new house a couple of short months, but due to what seemed like a particularly long and cold winter, I felt the compulsive urge to stock up whenever there was a good sale on items such as pasta or canned beans, so I would not have to run out at the last minute for dinner.

Paring things down gives me a great sense of satisfaction. It feels good to reorganize and use up or donate the things that are causing clutter. So the first rule of thumb when doing any major cleaning is to get rid of items you haven’t used in more than a year.

Of course I’m not saying to get rid of any special items such as that bottle of white truffle olive oil you might have lurking on the back shelf of the pantry. But the common items that are past their use by dates are the ones you may want to dispose of. If you have some items that are nearing the end of their shelf life, consider adding them to your next slow cooker meal.

If, like me, you just have a surplus of certain items, one way to use them up is to get creative in your crockpot combinations. So I am again subjecting myself to this challenge, and came up with the following items to use in my slow cooking:

Pasta - Is a natural addition to any soupy dish and is best added in the last half hour of the crockpot cooking time. You can also make pasta the main element of the dish as in the recipe below for Rigatoni Pizza, a surefire family pleaser.

Pepperoni – I’ve got a bunch of pepperoni in the fridge after taking advantage of a buy-one-get-one-free sale. My husband is a pepperoni freak so he will really appreciate the pizza pasta below.

Canned Beans - An excellent source of protein and fiber that you can add to many different recipes. If you have several types you can make a three (or more) bean chili.

Apple Juice – We are positively swimming in apple juice. You can use apple juice as the liquid to cook a delicious slow cooked pork or ham dish.

Sometimes the most inspired meals come from the odds and ends we just happen to have lying around and are able to creatively combine. So while you are getting your house ready for spring, clear out your refrigerator and pantry with your own crockpot spring cleaning challenge!

Serves/Makes: 6

• 1 package (12 ounce size) wide egg noodles
• 1 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 jar (28 ounce size) spaghetti sauce
• 1 jar (4.25 ounce size) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 package (3.5 ounce size) sliced pepperoni, halved
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese