Investment Cooking - Equipment

I am a huge fan of investment cooking.  I do quite a bit of it as you all well know.  What I am not a fan of is spending a huge amount of time or money on investment cooking.  I do mine on a much smaller scale than most, I imagine.

I know a lot of people like to devote an entire weekend to cooking a month's worth of meals.  I even tried it a couple of times and decided it wasn't right for me but I did take away from the experience some great recipes and ideas for ways to do my own thing.  Through trial and error I was able to figure out a what works best, freezes well and the equipment that makes it all come together.

I use only two appliances - a slow cooker and my bread machine.

I own three slow cookers - small, medium and large - and I use them all, especially when I do my investment cooking.  I love to cook up pots of beans, soups, roasts, sauces, chili, etc.

My bread machine gets a workout regularly making bread, roll and pizza doughs.  Sometimes cinnamon rolls.

For freezer containers I prefer to use plastic because they are flexible and can handle the expansion and contraction involved with hot foods and freezing.  I usually buy mine at the dollar store along with plastic zipper bags in sandwich, quart, gallon and two gallon sizes. 

My favorite utensils are my cutting board, chef's knife, wooden spoons, rubber spatulas and a set of mixing bowls. I have a vintage four cup Pyrex glass measuring cup that I bought at a Salvation Army in Oregon a few years ago that I dearly love and use often as well.

I keep it pretty simple and find that the fewer items I use the easier the task at hand, not to mention the cleanup.  Do you do any type of investment or once a month cooking?  What are some of your favorite tools of the trade?

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