|
A lot of us have a very efficient
and time saving appliance sitting high on a kitchen shelf collecting
dust. What is it? It's the crock-pot! I have taken mine down
from that high shelf and have actually purchased another one
because I have found them to be so helpful. How are they helpful?
Read on.
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.
I have found a solution to this
problem and that is the crock-pot! 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 crock-pot. 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 prepare
the side dishes early too so that way I have hardly anything
to do at mealtime when I'm lacking energy. If you have two crock-pots,
use them both at the same time with the main dish in one and
a side dish in the other.
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 crock-pot 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 crock-pots at any
retail store for around $30.00 for the average size and more
or less for a bigger or smaller one. But why spend $30.00 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 crock-pot
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 6-8 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
4-6 hours or until the apple chunks are very soft. Mash with
a potato masher to desired consistency and add sugar to taste
if desired.
If you need crock-pot recipes,
the Internet can be a wonderful resource! You can do a search
on a search engine for `crock-pot' and that should give you a
lot of websites to visit to look for crock-pot recipes. Or you
can sign up for a crock-pot e-mail list. This is a list that
e-mails you and everyone else on the list messages from other
members that will be recipes or information about rock-pots.
Another place to find crock-pot recipes is in books. These can
be found at thrift stores, yard sales or, brand new from bookstores.
I hope this article brings you
the inspiration to dust off your crock-pot!
Copyright 2001 Monica Resinger.
Monica Resinger is a freelance writer,
auction seller and Editor of Creative Home Ezine.
|
