Did you purchase a crock pot recently? Have you seen it around? Alright, I'm one of the guilty ones who filed my crock pot under "long lost kitchen appliances" a few years back and have forgotten about it. Until recently, when my budget took a hit and I had to put in more hours at work. So, out it came, all shined up and ready to use and my family loves having actual meals on the table again.
If you have forgotten exactly when you bought your crock pot, or it has a pattern or color that's reminiscent of the 70's, 80's, or 90's, it's best to buy a new one. You'll be doing yourself a favor spending the $30 to $50, what with all the new energy efficient models available. There are also some really great, new features like temperature settings, warming cycles, and secure leak-proof lids. Although, the best feature of all is that a crock pot saves you both time and money. That's great to know, but how do they do that?
Money Saving: If you've got a pot roast in the oven, you've got your oven heating for a long time. Let's just figure your pot roast is going to cook for 3 hours. That's 3 hours in a roughly 2500 watt appliance, which calculates at about 10 kWh for your pot roast. Now, put that same pot roast in your crock pot, cook it for 6 hours, and you've used 1.2 kWh to cook the same meal. That's because your crock pot uses about 200 watts instead of 2500. Why heat up a big oven, or have a burner on radiating heat for long hours when you've got a little personal-sized oven all ready - your crock pot. Look at the online energy consumption calculators and check out your own appliances to see if this doesn't make sense.
Crock pots are the perfect home for inexpensive cuts of meat. You're going to cook using low heat and a long, slow cooking method. This method best suits meat that is more sinewy with more connective tissue because it breaks down all the tough stuff. You'll be cooking in liquid, too, which tenderizes the budget cuts, which you'll find becomes fork-tender. As a matter of fact, the more tender meat cuts don't work that well in crock pot recipes as they just break down too much. Try budget cuts like brisket, rump roasts, round steak, pork shoulders, and the like, for some surprisingly delicious and tender meals.
Are you spending money on fast food? How many times have you rushed through the convenience store, spending money you didn't have on bad food? Here's where your crock pot can save you money with a little planning. Get your meal planned, shop, and prepare everything ahead of time. Now, when everybody gets home after school and work, and all that evening chaos begins, at least you know you have dinner bubbling away in the crock pot. No more quick, and expensive, stops for fast food.
If your air conditioner is running, you really don't want to start that oven, or even have a burner going on your stove top for any length of time. I know you're thinking, well, it's hot out so why not just eat salads and sandwiches? But, if you live in a part of the country where the summer heat lasts sometimes for seven or eight months out of the year, you and your family can really get hungry for a nice pot roast or hearty soup. And when it's hot and steamy outside, and the air conditioner is just barely keeping you comfortable, you don't want to stress it, or yourselves, out by adding more heat to your kitchen. Your little crock pot just won't crank out that much additional heat.
Time Saving: How often have you made a one-pot meal on top of the stove, like a creamy soup, or thick spaghetti sauce, and you found yourself constantly checking it so it wasn't boiling over or burning to the bottom of the pot? If you're stirring a pot you are not saving time. And if you put a dish in the oven for a long time, like a pot roast, it doesn't need to be watched, but you sure aren't saving money. We don't want to sacrifice money for time savers... we want both.
Another time saver is getting my family involved with some of the cooking tasks. I can have my children in the kitchen with me, washing vegetables, peeling potatoes, and putting ingredients right in the crock pot for me because there is little danger of getting a burn since the crock pot is not turned on until everything is inside and ready to go. And, since most of my favorite crock pot recipes are three, four, or five ingredients, it's easy to ask my husband to start dinner on some of those busy mornings.
If you've been running to the grocery store several times a week to hurry up and get something for dinner, you've been wasting a lot of your very precious time. Wouldn't it be nice to pick up the kids from swim lessons and be able to go right home without that frantic stop for food? I keep several of my favorite crock pot recipes in my purse, so all I have to do is make one planned stop at the grocery store, buy the ingredients I need for a couple meals, and my shopping is done for the week. I even have time now to clean all my vegetables when I get home so they're all ready when I put my planned crock pot dinners together. Now, we're really saving time!
Money and Time Saving: By doubling your crock pot recipes, you'll have leftovers for lunches or be able to put the extra meal in the freezer for later. Not only is it convenient to have your lunch all ready, but it is also a money saver; no more money spent eating out at work. Having a freezer full of meals is a great time saver, too. Who doesn't love finding a meal all ready to just heat up and go? The money saved by using your crock pot just once to produce two meals just makes sense to me.
Now that you've seen the time and money saving reasons to use your crock pot, I challenge you to give your crock pot a second chance. Get your crock pot out again, or treat yourself to one of the new models, and browse through some recipes. It's time you started cooking and saving time and money all at the same time!
If you have forgotten exactly when you bought your crock pot, or it has a pattern or color that's reminiscent of the 70's, 80's, or 90's, it's best to buy a new one. You'll be doing yourself a favor spending the $30 to $50, what with all the new energy efficient models available. There are also some really great, new features like temperature settings, warming cycles, and secure leak-proof lids. Although, the best feature of all is that a crock pot saves you both time and money. That's great to know, but how do they do that?
Money Saving: If you've got a pot roast in the oven, you've got your oven heating for a long time. Let's just figure your pot roast is going to cook for 3 hours. That's 3 hours in a roughly 2500 watt appliance, which calculates at about 10 kWh for your pot roast. Now, put that same pot roast in your crock pot, cook it for 6 hours, and you've used 1.2 kWh to cook the same meal. That's because your crock pot uses about 200 watts instead of 2500. Why heat up a big oven, or have a burner on radiating heat for long hours when you've got a little personal-sized oven all ready - your crock pot. Look at the online energy consumption calculators and check out your own appliances to see if this doesn't make sense.
Crock pots are the perfect home for inexpensive cuts of meat. You're going to cook using low heat and a long, slow cooking method. This method best suits meat that is more sinewy with more connective tissue because it breaks down all the tough stuff. You'll be cooking in liquid, too, which tenderizes the budget cuts, which you'll find becomes fork-tender. As a matter of fact, the more tender meat cuts don't work that well in crock pot recipes as they just break down too much. Try budget cuts like brisket, rump roasts, round steak, pork shoulders, and the like, for some surprisingly delicious and tender meals.
Are you spending money on fast food? How many times have you rushed through the convenience store, spending money you didn't have on bad food? Here's where your crock pot can save you money with a little planning. Get your meal planned, shop, and prepare everything ahead of time. Now, when everybody gets home after school and work, and all that evening chaos begins, at least you know you have dinner bubbling away in the crock pot. No more quick, and expensive, stops for fast food.
If your air conditioner is running, you really don't want to start that oven, or even have a burner going on your stove top for any length of time. I know you're thinking, well, it's hot out so why not just eat salads and sandwiches? But, if you live in a part of the country where the summer heat lasts sometimes for seven or eight months out of the year, you and your family can really get hungry for a nice pot roast or hearty soup. And when it's hot and steamy outside, and the air conditioner is just barely keeping you comfortable, you don't want to stress it, or yourselves, out by adding more heat to your kitchen. Your little crock pot just won't crank out that much additional heat.
Time Saving: How often have you made a one-pot meal on top of the stove, like a creamy soup, or thick spaghetti sauce, and you found yourself constantly checking it so it wasn't boiling over or burning to the bottom of the pot? If you're stirring a pot you are not saving time. And if you put a dish in the oven for a long time, like a pot roast, it doesn't need to be watched, but you sure aren't saving money. We don't want to sacrifice money for time savers... we want both.
Another time saver is getting my family involved with some of the cooking tasks. I can have my children in the kitchen with me, washing vegetables, peeling potatoes, and putting ingredients right in the crock pot for me because there is little danger of getting a burn since the crock pot is not turned on until everything is inside and ready to go. And, since most of my favorite crock pot recipes are three, four, or five ingredients, it's easy to ask my husband to start dinner on some of those busy mornings.
If you've been running to the grocery store several times a week to hurry up and get something for dinner, you've been wasting a lot of your very precious time. Wouldn't it be nice to pick up the kids from swim lessons and be able to go right home without that frantic stop for food? I keep several of my favorite crock pot recipes in my purse, so all I have to do is make one planned stop at the grocery store, buy the ingredients I need for a couple meals, and my shopping is done for the week. I even have time now to clean all my vegetables when I get home so they're all ready when I put my planned crock pot dinners together. Now, we're really saving time!
Money and Time Saving: By doubling your crock pot recipes, you'll have leftovers for lunches or be able to put the extra meal in the freezer for later. Not only is it convenient to have your lunch all ready, but it is also a money saver; no more money spent eating out at work. Having a freezer full of meals is a great time saver, too. Who doesn't love finding a meal all ready to just heat up and go? The money saved by using your crock pot just once to produce two meals just makes sense to me.
Now that you've seen the time and money saving reasons to use your crock pot, I challenge you to give your crock pot a second chance. Get your crock pot out again, or treat yourself to one of the new models, and browse through some recipes. It's time you started cooking and saving time and money all at the same time!
About the Author:
A crockpot is perfect for cooking chicken. You won't believe how tender these dishes turn out. Take this crockpot salsa chicken or this figure-friendly crockpot diet coke chicken for example. Once you try either one of these recipes, they are sure to make a regular appearance on your meal plan.
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