I dont own a crock pot and never have. I have a rice cooker which can use be used for steaming and sauteing, I usually cook everyone on the stove or in the oven. What is the advantage of cooking in a crock pot and what do you cook in your crock pot
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I like it because I can set it and forget it. I throw meat and veggies in there and come back in several hours and it's done. It's nice for days when I'm cleaning or something and don't have time to cook. Oh but I don't leave the house with it on. I don't have specific recipes. I really just throw everything in.
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One of the main reasons I like to use the slow cooker is because it only costs us 25 cents to run it for 8 hours.
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usually chili. just dump in the ingredients and it cooks all day by itself.
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@looch: how do you calculate that? Or do they all cost that little?
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@anonysquire: my husband came up with that figure, it should be more or less the same, but it does also depend on how energy efficient your cooker is...
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I own a crockpot (DH's from grad school days) and the only thing i like to make in there is chili and pulled pork. Everything else just ends up with a weird texture. I want to love it because of the convenience factor, but i just don't.
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I make multiple meals on Sundays, so the crockpot really comes in handy. I usually make my beans, soups, stews, and pulled meat in the crockpot. I prefer certain dishes in the crockpot because the flavors really set well, some meals taste better on the second day and you get that second-day flavor with the crockpot.
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I make chili, roast and veggies, and macaroni and cheese in it regularly.
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Right now, beef stew. I find that beef works better than chicken (since things tend to fall apart cooking that long). I don't eat pork, so can't comment on that.
I like being able to go to work and come home to fully cooked and ready to eat dinner.
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Soups, roast, chicken, meals, etc. Pretty much everything.
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Thanks everyone...
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Chili, stews, short ribs, curries, soups, chicken tacos, pulled pork etc.
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I roast whole chicken (put balled up foil in the bottom to keep the chicken out of the liquid in the bottom), make chili, gumbo, pulled pork, stews, crockpot mashed potatoes, Mac & cheese. I love it! Mine can also brown things, be a pressure cooker, or a rice cooker. I use it almost everyday for something. After dinner, I often throw leftovers in it to make chili or stew for DH's lunch the next day.
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I LOVE my slow cooker, I use it so often: roast, soups, shredded chicken, pork, ect. As long as you figure out your crockpot's settings the meat will come out right. (I just bought a new one after breaking mine, and it fried my pork loin, it's hotter than my last one was!)
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Chili
Thanksgiving Turkey to RAVE reviews
Salsa chicken for pulling in a bunch of thrown together Mexican inspired dinners -
Living in FL it's also really nice not to have the oven on for hours while slow-roasting meats, or having something bubbling on the stovetop for an extended time like chili. It keeps our house cooler and we still get to have the flavor and tenderness that we want.
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I use mine at least once a week. My husband prefers the way meat tastes when it is slow-cooked. I use it to cook chicken breasts and shred to add to tacos, salads, etc. We LOVE chili & soups in the crock pot. Sometimes I even just cook a big pot of potatoes with seasonings. We've never made a crock pot meal we didn't like.
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I've done the following:
Turkey pieces with veggies (I use the stock for soup later. So good!)
Pot roast with veggies
Chili
Salmon wrapped in foil
Pulled porkLike others have said I love that I can just throw it in and have it ready for when I get home, especially when it's pretty much a full meal.
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So many good ideas on here!
Right now, our big ones are roast with veggies, stews, and whole chicken with veggies. We do chili or pork roast occasionally, too, but I've REALLY got new ideas to try now, especially some BBQ pulled pork.
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EVERYTHING. I have a crockpot cookbook by America's Test Kitchen. Roasts, stews, soups, chicken and veggies (chicken in a foil packet, turns out great!), chilis, ribs.....lasagnas...man, the list goes on and on.
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My crockpot is the only way my family gets home-cooked meals during the week. We get home after 5 and the kids go to bed at 6:15... so we need to start eating at 5:30. So once a week I mealplan, shop, and prep freezer meals. Then the night before I pull the next day's dinner out of the freezer into the fridge, and I dump it into the crockpot in the morning. Then when I get home all I have to do is throw a bag of frozen veggies in the microwave. Usually I have rice in the rice cooker or some premade pasta in the fridge.
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@blackbird: i have that cookbook on my christmas list, do you love it? i love all their other books.
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@mrs. bird: @Leialou: Can you share your recipes for mac & cheese? I've never tried it!
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@indi: if you're gonna do pulled pork in the crockpot, you must try this recipe! it's so good! i've tried a bunch that involve a can of soda, or other things, this one has a couple extra steps compared to those, but it's sooo much better! i add BBQ sauce (i like the masterpiece one, DH like sweet baby rays) and a splash of vinegar.
http://www.chow.com/recipes/30356-easy-slow-cooker-pulled-pork -
Check out crockpot365.com, she made all her family's dinners in the crockpot for a whole year and still adds recipes and tips. It might give you some ideas about what is possible (and not...she had a few flops that she talks about, too)!
I've done whole chicken, pot roast, beef stew, and various types of curries. I do leave it on when I'm at work -- prep the ingredients the night before, pull them out of the fridge and dump in the crock in the morning, and run out the door. I just make sure it's set in the middle of the counter, away from anything that could touch it and get overheated or melt. It's awesome to come home and only have to boil up some rice or pasta, usually by the time I've changed clothes and such, we're ready to eat!
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I love crock pot cooking! We use it at least once a week. We usually cook chicken, stews, chili, pork, lasagna. I love that I can prepare dinner in the morning and it's ready by dinner time. On weeknights it's a life saver!
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: how do you do the turkey? Sounds yummy.
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@mrs. bird: Mmm, thanks!
And @Mrsbells:, you really should get one (or ask for one for the holidays). A person can never have too many! *says the girl with 5 crockpots*
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@mrskc: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/76899/slow-cooker-thanksgiving-turkey
I couldn't find the exact recipe I used, but this one is pretty close.
I did not use store bought gravy. I used chicken stock for liquid.
I added Poultry Seasoning.One thing to note, this recipe calls for removing the skin of bone-in turkey. Skin removal was quite possibly the most disgusting thing I have ever done. This recipe is just for the white breast meat, which was perfect for my guests who all say they don't care for turkey and by day two the leftover meat is made into turkey salad. DH missed carving the turkey for all of two seconds.
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Stew
Pork roast
Beef roast with carrots and potatoes
Lasagna
Whole chicken
Chicken and cheesy rice
& the list goes on... -
I don't actually use mine a lot, but these are some of the things I've made in the past month:
Pulled pork
Santa Fe Chicken (Skinny Taste)
Chicken and Dumplings (omg good, The Pioneer Woman)
White chicken chili
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