Two great appliances in your kitchen arsenal are your crock pot and your freezer. These two things can do a lot to save you money on your food budget. The crock pot can cost less to operate than a conventional oven. And having a full freezer reduces the chances that you will be buying expensive restaurant meals. But when you combine both the crock pot and the freezer, you’ll make the most of your savings. Here are some guidelines to using these appliances together to reduce your food budget and live frugally.
Practice crock pot cooking and freezer cooking at the same time by using your crock pot to cook meat that can then be used in other dishes. For example, you can cook up a good amount of chicken that can then be used as a meal, for chicken salad, in pasta dishes, with a country gravy, for chicken tacos, in green salads, added to sauce, etc. The same thing can be done for beef.
When you cook crock pot meals, choose ones that freeze well and then make extra servings. Using a large crock pot filled with four whole meals is just as easy as a smaller crock pot with one meal. One dish that freezes well is a rice and lentil casserole I make. You can follow the recipe here: Frugal Food: Lentil And Rice Casserole for the Crockpot
Throw fresh meat, such as chicken in a freezer bag with a marinade and then freeze. Or thrown in stew meat and vegetables. Then pull it out of the freezer and empty it into the crock pot for a homemade stew or perfectly marinaded chicken. The point is to let your freezer do some of the prep with marinating and keeping assembled ingredients together.
Use your crock pot to defrost and warm already cooked and frozen meals. There is nothing easier than grabbing something from the freezer, plugging in the crock pot and walking away. And you will save a ton of money over those pre-bought crock pot meals.
Throw some frozen fruit with a bit of sugar and maybe a little butter for a great compote or desert.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don’t miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles:
Three Ways Your Crockpot Saves Money
Incorporating Freezer Cooking into Your Life