The benefits of crockpot cooking

Fast food, again?
There are a lot of days that it's very hard for me to get a meal on the table either because I lack the motivation or because we are busy. Lacking motivation stems from being tired at dinnertime. I have had an active day and by 5:00 p.m., I'm just plain worn out and am not in the mood to cook. Because of this, we end up eating fast food more often than we should or we eat a meal that tastes like there was no effort put into it.

Crockpot cooking offers solution
I have found a solution to this problem and that is the crockpot! In the morning when I am ambitious and creative, I prepare the basis of our meals by adding meat, liquids, seasonings or other ingredients to the crockpot. Then at dinnertime, all I have to do is prepare side dishes -- such as heat and serve rolls and a green salad.

Sometimes I even prep the side dishes early, too. That way, I have hardly anything to do at mealtime when I'm lacking energy. If you have two crockpots, use them both at the same time with the main dish in one, and a side dish in the other.

Year round appliance
Another benefit of the crock-pot is that it doesn't heat up the kitchen. This can be valuable in the summer but don't limit it to summertime cooking. It's an any-season appliance. You'll be pleased smelling the delicious aroma of your food cooking all day long in the fall, winter and spring. You can even cook desserts in them such as apple dumplings.

For those of you that work away from home, the crockpot is safe enough to leave turned on low all day. When you get home, most of your dinner is cooked and ready to eat!

You can buy crockpots at any retail store for around $30 for the average size and more or less for a bigger or smaller one. But why spend $30 when they are abundant in thrift stores and yard sales? I purchased my second one at a thrift store for $2.99! If you decide to purchase one at a thrift store or yard sale, be sure to plug it in and see if it heats up.

Here is one of my favorite crockpot meals.

Pork ribs and kraut
Brown desired amount of pork spareribs in a frying pan over medium heat; season with seasoning salt and place in crock-pot. Stir sauerkraut juice into the pan you browned the ribs in and stir with a fork to loosen brown bits. Add this juice to the crock-pot along with desired amount of sauerkraut. Set crock-pot to low and cook six to eight hours.

For a side dish to this meal, I make homemade rolls using the bread machine to make dough, or I just serve plain old bread and butter. A crusty loaf of French bread would be good, too.

Chunky applesauce
This would make a great side dish to the meal above.

Peel and cut desired amount of apples into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks. Place the chunks in your crock-pot and add about 1/2 cup water. Set the crock-pot to low and cook four to six hours, or until the apple chunks are very soft. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency, and add sugar to taste if desired.

Find recipes online
If you need crockpot recipes, the Internet can be a wonderful resource! You can do a search here on SheKnows or on a search engine for "crockpot" or "slow cooker" and that should give you a lengthy list of Web sites to visit to find crockpot recipes. Or you can join a message board or sign up for a related e-mail list, where list members share recipes and other information about crockpot cooking.

Another place to find slow cooker recipes is in books. (Some cookbooks from the 70s have some real gems.) These can be found at thrift stores, yard sales -- or, of course, brand new from bookstores.

Hopefully, you're now inspired to dust off your crockpot! Read more about the benefits -- and get some more great recipes -- in our article Slow cookers: Fix it and forget it.