It happens. It happened to me yesterday.
I woke up a little earlier than normal, headed to the kitchen and pulled my already-sliced eggplant and already-made tofu ricotta from the refrigerator and loaded the crock pot. I made Kathy Hester’s to die for Italian Eggplant Casserole with Cashew-Tofu Ricotta [recipe]. I’ve made this several times and always wish I made it once a week instead of once every 2 months. 😉
I even had a conversation with myself about how it was too early to start the crock pot now, that I should start it right as I walk out the door. And then I said “Don’t Forget.”
Well. I forgot.
Best part was I didn’t realize it until after 3:30 p.m. when I was thinking about what we were having for dinner. Oh shit.
I forgot to start the crock pot.
Immediately I was wondering if I could just throw it in the oven with a tinfoil lid. The pot is stoneware so I was pretty sure everything would be fine as long as I placed it in during the pre-heat. I really didn’t feel like transferring a beautifully layered dish into another container.
When I arrived home, I put the crock pot stoneware with tinfoil lid into the oven and set the temperature to 350° F.
I checked on it around the hour mark and the edges and top looked gorgeous and it smelled delicious, but the center was still a bit undercooked. So, I let it go another 30-40 minutes.
A little more than an hour and a half seemed to be just the ticket. I pulled it out, removed the tinfoil and put it back in the oven under the broiler setting for 3-4 minutes to brown the top.
So, I realized a few things that I appreciated last night. One regarding being vegan – I didn’t feel weird eating from a pot of vegetables that had sat out all day — had there been meat in this I think I would’ve thrown it away. Two – dinner might not have lazily cooked all day but the fact that I could throw my crock pot base in the oven at the last-minute was fantastic! Of course, check with your manufacturer to ensure your pots are oven safe.
As always, the leftovers were tasty and satisfying today—a nice break from peanut butter and jelly.
Has this ever happened to you? First time for me—hopefully the last too. 😉 xo