“Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.” Michael Scott, “The Office”.
The continued success of the TV show The Office never ceases to amaze me. Talk to millennials and see if they can go more than two minutes without referring to Jim, Pam, Stanley or Kevin’s Chili.
A few years ago some friends and I ran an “Office” bar trivia contest. Millennials—like Generation Z—have wiped the floor with us.
Well, let’s see how they drive a manual transmission car.
But I digress.
If you’re not a millennial, let me give you a brief history of The Office. The show tells the story of the employees of a small paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, run by the aforementioned Scott.
To call Scott incompetent is a gross understatement. He is the embodiment of the “Peter Principle” (see look up) and is known for quotes such as “I am an early riser and a night owl. So I am wise and I have worms.”
Needless to say, Scott employees are less than motivated by their boss’ example. For example, Kevin from Accounting says, “I work hard all day. I like knowing there will be a break. Most days I just sit and wait for the break.”
I was lucky not to have worked anywhere like Dunder-Mifflin in my life. Although I’ve had supervisors I didn’t agree with, none have ever been incompetent. They also didn’t try to motivate us with “clever” slogans like “work smarter” instead of “harder”.
Which makes me weird about the topic of this week’s column. As the semester ends, my calendar gets fuller and fuller. Add in church meetings and night school events and I have very little time to eat dinner.
So I figured the key to a better work-life balance is to “live fast by slowing down.” Trust me, I groaned as much as you did at that cliche statement.
Still, the idea has merit, although it requires a bit of explanation. I don’t mean “slow” like sit back and relax, but like “slow cooker”. The slow cooker – aka the crock pot – allows you to throw dinner together in the morning and have it ready when you get home at 5pm
The other benefit is that there are so many great slow cooker recipes out there. No matter what your taste, there’s a recipe for you. Check out my suggestions below and you will see.
But should you ever feel uninspired when you go to work, just think of these words from Michael Scott: “An office is not made to die for. An office is a place where life is lived to the fullest… An office is a place where dreams come true.”
Truer words were never said.
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
This recipe from the New York Times cooking section is a bit spicy, but it’s delicious over rice. Also, the sour cream can help tame the heat a bit.
ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless chicken thighs
- 1½ cups salsa verde from the jar
- 1 (4 oz.) can chopped mild green chillies
- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3 spring onions (green and white parts), thinly sliced
- 1 small bunch coriander, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- Salt to taste
- lime juice, to taste
- Cooked rice
- sour cream (optional)
Combine the chicken thighs, salsa verde, green chiles, minced garlic, jalapeno, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin in your slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on low until chicken is tender (5-6 hours).
Remove the chicken thighs from the slow cooker. Use two forks to finely shred the meat. Back in the slow cooker. Add the spring onions and cilantro and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and lime juice.
Serve over rice with sour cream (optional).
Root Beer Pulled Pork with Sassy Sauce
This is a favorite recipe around our house when we want something simple and good. Seriously, I know there’s a more traditional way to cook pulled pork, but I don’t care. This recipe from Food Network is awesome. And please make the cheeky sauce. It makes these sandwiches so very good.
ingredients
- 2 pounds roast pork or ribs
- 1 tablespoon seasoning salt
- 1 can (12 oz.) root beer
- 1 bottle of liquid smoke
- 1 cup sassy sauce (recipe follows) or any barbecue sauce
- Hamburger buns
Preparing the pulled pork:
Place your pork in your slow cooker. Sprinkle with the seasoned salt. Pour over the root beer and liquid smoke. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Once the pork is done, remove from the slow cooker and shred with forks. Place in a bowl and add the sassy sauce (or any barbecue sauce you like) and ½ cup juice from the slow cooker. Serve on hamburger buns.
Naughty sauce
ingredients
- 1 cup of ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard in a medium saucepan. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve with pulled pork sandwiches.
Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings
This recipe comes from the Novice Chef blog. It’s a slow cooker that picks up on an old favorite.
ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 liter of chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 12 ounces. condensed milk
For the dumplings:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ cup milk
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Combine the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, chicken broth, thyme, pepper and salt in the slow cooker. Cook 3 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
If not already set to High, set the crockpot to High. Remove the cooked chicken from the slow cooker and shred. Place chicken back into slow cooker.
Make a slurry. Place the cornstarch in a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of the condensed milk. Add more evaporated milk – 1 tablespoon at a time – until you reach 4 tablespoons total. Stir the porridge into the soup. Pour the remaining condensed milk into the soup and stir.
Now prepare the dumplings. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pepper, salt, and thyme. Pour in the milk and butter and stir until a ball of dough forms. If your batter is too dry, you can add an extra tablespoon of milk.
Scoop balls of batter directly onto the surface of your soup. Gently push them down so the soup runs over them.
Place the lid on your slow cooker and let it cook for another hour. Check your dumplings by cutting one in half to make sure it’s cooked through. When they’re done, your dinner is ready. If not, cook for another 15 minutes.