I love to go to Pot Luck Parties and family gatherings where I take along a dish I have made to contribute to the meal.  The crock pots that have a lock down lid and handles make it easy to move the crock pot meal to your destination.   Slow Cooker Liners are good too as you can tie the contents up and then replace the lid so you wont spill any of the contents.

You can also buy a Crock Pot Travel Bag and this helps with transporting the hot crock pot as well.  There are two sizes so check that your crock pot will fit before buying.  Have you ever dropped a dish while trying to carry it?    I did, and it was one of my favorites that couldn't be replaced so don't let his happen to you.

I love being with family and friends and the crock pot is a great boon for when I am asked to 'take a plate'.  No fuss cooking, a great crock pot meal and no fuss carrying as well.   Making and taking your crock pot meal also helps the hostess/host with one less dish to heat in the oven.  I know my oven would not take more than about 4 casserole size dishes.

Crock pot meals make good choices for when you need to supply a meal so take your crock pot with you.

Tags: crock pot meals, Pot Luck Parties, Slow cooker

The crock pot makes winter cooking easy.  You can prepare cheap easy meals from your slow cooker including soups, stews, desserts and cakes.  Fill the crock pot, turn it on, walk away and come back to delicious crock pot meals.  I cook a lot of soups in winter and all of them are prepared in the slow cooker.  You will be able to make cheap and easy crock pot meals with little preparation.  Soups are great to freeze for later as well, so if you are cooking on a budget soups are great value.

When most people think of crock pot cooking they think of cooking stews only, and they do cook well by slow cooking, but in winter I also cook most of my puddings, cakes and other desserts in the crock pot.  Last winter I also started cooking breakfasts also.  If you are a busy person, then why not get out that crock pot this winter and if you haven't already got one you can buy one at a great price on eBay or Amazon.  Check out the eBay auction on this site for current listings.

We are all cooking on a budget these days and the slow cooker helps you save money as you can use less expensive cuts of meat, use less electricity, cook in bulk and have more home made meals instead of dining out. Cooking in winter is always more pleasant than the hot steamy days of summer so this winter why not try some nutritious and easy crock pot meals.  Cooking on a budget has never been easier.

TO CHECK OUT:    Frugal Mom's Guide to Once a Month Cooking is here!  Not only does it have over 70 mom-tested once a month cooking recipes, but complete step-by-step instructions for doing once a month cooking, and lots of great forms to help you!
Click here for more information.

Tags: cooking on a budget, Crock Pot, crock pot meals, Slow cooker

You have a crowd coming for Christmas or the New Year and you are cooking for them.  How do you make sure this event is a success?

Do your homework!  What kind of foods do they like, what can you make, what can you buy, does anyone have food allergies and what is your budget are some of the questions you need to ask yourself.  Draft up a menu and don't forget snacks, bread and drinks.  Pin that up or put it on the fridge for a few days.  You will probably add or subtract to it in that time.

Now you need a grocery list for each dish on your menu.  Check your recipes so you don't forget anything.  Work out when you are going to buy everything.  Perishables will have to be left until last but other goods can be bought ahead and stored.  Work out how you are going to make all the food and which ones you will buy in.  Don't forget the crock pot recipes here as they can be made a day or two before your dinner/lunch.

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Tags: Cooking, crock pot recipes, Holidays

Cooking at Christmas can be stressful.  I seem to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking.  This year I am determined to prepare as much as I can beforehand so I am free to enjoy myself more.  Crock pot Christmas cooking makes life easier for you.  Also if you cook in your crock pot it frees up room in your oven for other cooking.  You can put your crock pot on in the morning and it cooking slowly during the day.  Cook the dessert in the crock pot and have the oven free for the main meal.

I have two size crock pots and the small one is good for cooking foods such as fondues and dips and even making gifts like chutneys and spiced nuts.  You can even make hot drinks such as cider in your crock pot.  Here is a recipe which I think you will enjoy for your Christmas cooking.

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Tags: Christmas cooking, Crock Pot, Fondue

I love soups and when I am watching my weight they keep me feeling satisfied longer than other meals.  A hot bowl of soup is one of my favorite lunches and also for Sunday night dinners.  With a crock pot you too can be a soup expert.

The base of every great soup is a good meat or vegetable stock.  Also use the best ingredients you can for your soups, and if you can make your own stock with fresh ingredients.

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Tags: Crock Pot, Soup, soup expert

OK, you know by now I love my slow cooker and it saves me time cooking dinner at night because it has been already cooking during the day. But what if you really don't have the extra time to even prepare it properly or even if you just don't want to think about options and recipes?

This is when I get out the recipe base, one like McCormick has developed  for slow cookers.  I tried one called Country Chicken Casserole and I was very happy with the result.  A lovely meal but with very little preparation and fuss.

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Tags: Casserole, Slow cooker, slow cooker recipe bases

When I say portable crock pots I don't mean ones that you can pick up and carry to another location.  You can do that with any crock pot.  What I mean is one you can take on a camping  holiday, or in your RV, or even take on a picnic day or sporting event, anywhere you don't have a regular electrical outlet.

Roadpro have a TRAVEL CROCK POT that plugs into a 12v socket.  This has a 1.5 quart removable stoneware crock, stretch cord and a glass lid.  It sells for under $30.  This is a good option because you probably would have a 12 v socket spare in your truck or RV or  you can plug it into your cigarette lighter/accessory outlet in the car.

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Tags: Camping, crock pots, portable crock pot, Slow cooker

Crock pot dinners have slowly gained popularity with a lot of families in the United States and across the world. Not only is it a great way to help a lot of families save money for meals, it also makes anyone's cooking experience fun and easy. The crock pot was first introduced as an electrical Dutch oven and it has come a long way since then.  Crock pot dinners cook in 4 - 8 hours and can stay heated for hours, depending on the model and cooking settings, without needing a lot of attention.

One of the advantages of the crock pot is that it is very efficient when it comes to the use of energy. You can guarantee that cooking for a crowd can be done cheaply and you wont heat your kitchen up either in summer.  All you need to do is to load it with all the raw ingredients of your crock pot dinner, set and forget. This allows you to save a lot of money and to eat healthier food than buying out.

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Tags: cooking for large families, Crock Pot, Crock pot dinners

Many people say that it's best to cook in a crock pot during the winter months and they are probably right because most people use their slow cookers only for soups and stews.  A roast is also considered to be a winter dish but these meals are a convenience to those of us who work and like to come home to a cooked meal.

Well the crock pot slow cooker is your friend in summer as well.  You can cook breakfasts and still have your roasts and the advantages are that your kitchen wont get hot from the oven and you can still walk away from the cooking and come back to a lovely cooked crock pot meal.

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Tags: cooking with a crock pot, Crock Pot, Slow cooker

It has been in our kitchens and in the kitchens of our moms and grandmothers crock pots are great appliances to have but somehow they have been relegated to the back of the pantry over the past years.  They are now making a come back and are bringing some slow cooking action to more and more kitchens.  Crock pot cooking is easy, time-saving, and economical.  You can get your deliciously healthy crock pot meals to the table without much hassle on your part.

Crock pot cooking is definitely healthier than Chinese take-out or pizza delivery.  You do all your cooking in one pot, cooking all your ingredients slowly and sealing in all the juices and nutrients in your food.  Healthy crock pot meals could include hearty beef stews, healthy vegetarian soup, and pot roast among others.  Your family will surely look forward to mealtimes with your crock pot meals.  It would seem like you spent the whole day cooking, but you didn't, only your crock pot did.

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Tags: crock pot meals, Crockpot, healthy crock pot cooking