Friday, February 6, 2009

Buddy's Friday - Cooking with a crockpot....

Every Friday over at Margaret's Ramblings there is a Buddy's Friday meme, where people can contribute frugal thoughts and articles.

My contribution this week is about cooking with a crockpot/slow cooker. There are many benefits of cooking with a slow cooker.

1. Convenience - pop the ingredients in the slow cooker first thing in the morning, by supper time you have a fully cooked meal, and only the one pot to wash up!!

2. Economical, in a couple of ways.
  • It is cooked on a low wattage, it is a cheap way of cooking.
  • As you are cooking over a long period of time you can use cheaper cuts of meats, as cooking them in a crockpot not only makes the meat tender, but also moist.

3. Great for using in Summer as it doesn't heat up the kitchen, the way using the stove/cooker would.

4. They are not an expensive appliance to buy and they come in many sizes to suit the size of your family. Here in Canada they can be quite cheap to quite expensive, here is the Wal-Mart site for Canada. I have a family size, 6 quart size, and even though there is generally only the two of us I find it great. You can also find them at yard sales, car boot's, garage sales, just make sure they are in good condition.

5. I am a morning person and I find that is when I am more motivated as well, so putting everything together in a crockpot in a morning, means I don't have to think about supper later on in the day when my energy levels are down.

Cooking with a crockpot, what to make? The choices are endless and the recipes out there are also endless. There are sites devoted to crockpot recipes, one of my favourite sites is A Year of Crockpotting where she uses her crockpot to cook everyday.

One of my favourite meals to cook in the crockpot is Crockpot Cola Beef it's a great way of using a cheap cut of beef and it makes the best gravy ever. I love to cook a chicken in the crockpot, I pop a whole chicken in the crockpot before I go to bed, add a cup of water, and whatever seasoning you like to use, next morning you have a fall off the bone chicken, that is so moist and tender. You also have great chicken stock to use whatever way you want to.

When our kids went to University, we bought them a crockpot each and I made up a recipe book which includes numerous recipes. If anyone would like a copy of the recipes, it's a word document, do an extra post with your email address in it, and I will email you them (I will not publish your email address).

Also I must apologise for not visiting your blogs, I am really busy at the moment, so my blog visiting it suffering, I'm sorry.....please forgive me!!

14 comments:

Rinkly Rimes said...

My crockpot bubbles away all winter. I manage to cook several meals at a time and they're even more tender after a spell in the freezer.

Lindsay said...

I love my crockpot and will be zooming over to the sites you recommended.

Anonymous said...

I need to crockpot, maybe I'll ask for one for my Birthday!

MyBulletinBoard said...

The original crockpots that were all one piece drove me nuts. They were soooooo awkward to wash out that I hated using mine. When they came out with the removable crock, we made peace. I love to cook green beans overnight on low. . . . . . . . You must have made good cooks of your kids.

George said...

You've convinced me that we need to use our crockpot a little more often.

Scrappy quilter said...

I love my crockpot. I even use it in the summer. I put it in the porch and let it simmer away. I can't imagine not having one.

Unknown said...

Oh I am a huge fan of the slo-cooker and use mine all the time.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Good Morning Gill.. I have missed you at my blogs--but I do understand, BUSY... When spring gets here and I'm in the yard constantly, how will "I" get my blogging done!!!

I love crockpots. The best thing about them for me was having dinner READY when I'd walk in the house (in the days when I was working). The smell --when I'd open the door--was almost better than the dinner itself.

My favorite crockpot dinner is pot roast and veggies. YUM!!!

Have a wonderful weekend.
Hugs,
Betsy

Cyn said...

Crockpot cooking! Sounds easy, frugal and tasty. Mine has been languishing in the back of the pantry somewhere. Now that you've inspired me, I will go dig it out. I am most interested in the recipes you offer, but don't know how to leave my email addy w/o posting it publicly here. I'm such a rank-beginner! LOL. Sure would love a copy of your recipes. Thanks for the inspiration to return to cooking... love your blog!
hugs,
cyn:)

Bunny said...

Hi Gill! I never used a crockpot until I retired and hated to stop sewing to cook dinner LOL. I bought one and I love it, use it all the time. Did you ever do spareribs in it they are awsome. I cook them one day in the crockpot then drain them and bake them in the oven with more sauce. Yummy.
If you want the recipe email me.

Oh I almost forgot my sewing machines are Husqvarna SE and D1 embroidery computerized machines.

ChaChaneen said...

I don't remember if I told you or not but I did make your Cola Beef and it came out exactly like you said it would. De-li-co-us!

Gill - That British Woman said...

thanks for all your lovely comments....

Gill

fizzycat said...

They sound good . Have to think about getting one.

Vintage Girl said...

I love my crockpot too. I have three different sizes and it's great for main dishes and dessert. Thanks for the link and I'll email you for yours. Blessings, Heather

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