One of the bigger challenges in our household is time management. I work a traditional 9-5 job (although I am fortunate enough to be working at home) and my wife works overnights as a nurse. My kids have busy schedules of their own but don’t drive yet, so between the four of us, our various needs, and the needs of the household and animals, we have a logistically complicated schedule, which often impacts our meal planning. This often forces us to take our carefully made plans and reinvent or reimagine them.

Tonight, for example, we planned spaghetti and meatballs. But my wife has to leave home at 5 for a mandatory work meeting before her shift. I could just have her pack a sandwich or stop at some fast food joint, but man, as a husband I really like to see her having a home-cooked meal before she has to go in to the pit for a long shift.

So we’re trying something new. Instead of fresh-cooking the meatballs, I’m putting them in the slow cooker. They enjoyed a brief browning in the pan during my lunch break, and now they’re chilling in the crock pot, slowly cooking through until it’s time for her to go to work.

Will it work? Who knows! It seems like this will work well, but there is always potential for disaster. The meatballs could dissolve, the fats could spoil the sauce or affect the texture, or they could fail to cook to completion. But the only way to know for sure is to try. So for now, the meatballs sit, stewing away in the sauce and awaiting their joyous union with spaghetti later in the day. We’ll see how it goes.