Using a slow cooker or a crock pot is a great way to almost instantly stretch your food dollars. Having a meal ready for you each evening means that you won’t be eating out. Using basic ingredients and tougher cuts of meat will also reduce your food bill. A slow cooker also uses less electricity than does a standard home oven.
I can’t say enough good things about using a slow cooker. Here are some tips on maximizing your savings with a slow cooker and how to get started.
Finding a slow cooker
There are a couple of ways to find a good slow cooker. You can watch for the sales, typically around the holidays or in January and purchase a new crockpot. The other way is to shop at the thrift stores and yard sales. Slow cookers are often given as wedding gifts and just as equally dismissed, you you can often find slow cookers that are either brand new in the box or only used a few times. Expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $20, depending on size, condition and brand. Purchase more than one, so you will have different sizes to work with.
Recipes
Next, find some good recipes to use. Eventually you will learn how to convert almost any standard dinner recipe for the slow cooker. But for now, following a recipe might be easiest. Check recipes online, to find a wealth of free ones, or check out some books from the library. My favorite slow cooker recipe book is called, “Fix It and Forget It.” I suggest you check this book out at the library or even purchase it. it will be worth the investment.
Cooking ahead
Many recipes will allow you to assemble the meal the night before. Place the crock in the refrigerator (it should be separate from the heating unit) overnight. Then, in the morning, simply place the crock into the heating unit and turn it on.
You can also assemble some slow cooker meals and freeze the ingredients. Just take one of your assemblies out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Again, just place the meal in the crockpot in the morning and turn it on.