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Want to get ahead of the week? Have more than one crockpot going in one day and have your meals cooked. You can warm them up through the week when you get home to your family. You can cook your spaghetti sauce all day and have it that night or you can just bag it and put it in the freezer for another time. Beans freeze. You can cook your beans all day long on low and eat them that evening or you can freeze them for another time. Happy Crockpot!
By Jane from Paducah, KY
By
05/14/2010
Slow Cookers are great! Thank you for reminding others how simple and easy they really are and especially with hot weather on the way because they help keep the kitchen heat down :-)
I LOVE my Cucina Pro 3 in 1 because it triples as a slow cooker or deep fryer or steamer and saves so much kitchen space (all parts fit inside) :-)
Oh, I should also maybe mention that I recently found out we shouldn't be calling a Slow Cooker a Crockpot anymore because of the Crock-Pot brand of Slow Cookers :-( They've been threatening and suing people for even placing recipes in books or online with recipes containing a Crockpot title and online sites listed under Crockpot instead of the use of Slow Cooker claiming that using Crockpot is abuse of their trademark :-( I am not sure how far they will take it and personally, if I were them, I would simply feel flattered and leave well enough alone but I guess I am wrong ;-)
Below you can read previous posts and comments about this topic. The discussions on this page has been archived 1 time. Select a discussion and read the feedback here.
(Archived May 13, 2010)That Forgotten Appliance - The Crockpot!
a You're too tired to cook?
b. There's no time to cook an entire meal before going out for various family activities? or
c. You didn't make any other plan this morning?
Get out that crockpot! That wedding gift or Christmas present that you never have used.
Crockpots can cook all day long at a low temperature so foods never burn and at the same time they use very little energy.
It takes just a few minutes in the morning to get started. When you come home in the evening all you have left to do is add a salad or vegetable dish and some bread and dinner's ready!
Crockpot recipes can be very simple. One of my family's favorites is to just put a pork roast in the crockpot, spread a tablespoon or two of barbecue sauce on top and cook on low all day. It always comes out fork-tender and delicious! If you don't care for barbecue sauce, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup poured over the roast is very good also.
Chicken drumsticks are often on sale in bulk at very low prices. Put a few of these in the crockpot and again, pour a little barbecue sauce over or cream of mushroom soup and cook on low all day. Serve over rice. A little bit of leftover spaghetti sauce would also be great.
Sometimes I just cook enough drumsticks for one meal, but most times I like to cook as many as I can get in the pot and freeze meal-size portions for another time.
Did you know that you can bake potatoes right in your crockpot? Just wash potatoes and prick with a fork. Wrap them in foil and cook on low all day. You don't even add any liquid.
A whole chicken can be baked in your crockpot. Wash it inside and out. Sprinkle the inside and out with salt and pepper. Place in crockpot and cook all day on low.
If you plan to make a main dish for supper that calls for cooked chicken, such as chicken spaghetti or tetrazinni, just put cut- up chicken in the crockpot, add a little water and a bay leaf. As always, cook all day on low. When you take it out, the chicken will just fall off the bone.
To make cleanup easy, I always line my crockpot with foil. If your crockpot has a removeable liner, just turn the liner over and shape the foil around the liner. Take the foil off, return the liner to the crockpot and place the shaped foil inside.
Now you have no excuse not to use that crockpot! So get it out and surprise your family tonight with a delicious dinner that tastes as if you worked on it all day!
About The Author: Cyndi Roberts' website, "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" will show you ways to save money everyday. Receive a free e-course on saving money at the supermarket! To learn more, visit http://www.cynroberts.com
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