The Crock Pot…a busy mama's friend!

Today is the first of October, can you believe it? Most of our kids have been in school for nearly a month now, have you gotten used to the school year routine? Is dinner still a struggling point in your day?

One of the best time saving tools for any busy family is a crock pot! I love that I can start dinner before I leave the house and most, if not all, of dinner is ready when I get home. It’s like having your own personal chef…well, almost. You do still have to decide what you will have for dinner and put it into the crock pot, but the work is done for you while you are busy with your day.

Most anything can be made in a crock pot from soups and stews to casseroles and roasts. I love cooking a whole chicken in mine and then shredding the meat up for sandwiches or tacos later in the week.

Another great use for your crock pot that not only saves you time but money as well is to cook dry beans in it. Quite often, I’ll soak my dry beans during the day and then cook the beans at night. When you get up in the morning they are ready to be used in whatever you need them for. Dry beans are an awesome budget stretcher and using your crock pot makes it a time saver too!

So much can be done in your crock pot and you don’t have to use a “crock pot” recipe to save yourself time. Just about any soup you would normally make on the stove, you can have your crock pot cook for you. A few tips to get you started: dairy products are best added in the last few minutes, noodles will tend to get mushy if cooked all day and meat will not “brown” in a crock pot so you may want to sear your meat first.

Cooking with your crock pot is an easy and time saving way to feed your family. I use mine at least once a week but sometimes more than that if I’ve got a really full schedule. Even if all you use yours for is to cook dry beans, you’ll save yourself time and money. In these tough times, saving time and money is so necessary. Learn to use the tools you have and try something new from time to time.