Crock Pots or slow cookers are great for busy people.  Ive had a crock pot since the 70s and I used all the time then.  It was put away and got moved around the kitchen cupboards for many years but my lime green crock pot has made a revival for the following reasons:

My vintage crock pot

• Crock pot cooking is simple, healthy and a time saver.

• Crock pots are great for busy families and especially for new mothers,  just add all the ingredients in the morning, turn it on, and leave the cooking to happen while you get on with your day.

• There are many easy crock pot recipes including soups, stews and desserts.

• Crock pots use a small amount of electricity so its a money saver too.

• They come in several sizes from small crock pots that cook enough food for one or two people to medium sized crock pots are often best for families of four or five, and the largest crock pots can serve ten people or more.

• Very little clean up required. Now that's a bonus.

An electric crock pot or slow cooker usually consists of a removable porcelain bowl which sits inside an outer container that has electric heating elements and some control buttons and switches.  My vintage one has only two settings, low and high, but the more modern have digital programming and automatic settings. My crock pot is round but they also come in oval which is good for cooking whole meats like chicken.

A crock pot is one of the most convenient appliances in a kitchen.  If you don't have one then you are spending too much time in the kitchen.  Have a look at the great range of crock pot slow cookers and accessories like books and liners at AMAZON.   I am hoping I get a new oval crock pot for Christmas ( hint, hint, family) or at least a new crock pot cook book.

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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In winter my crock pot has a partner.  They are always out together.  They go together like bread and jam and by saying that it's almost correct because it is my BREADMAKER.  They are both such time savers and really if I didn't have the breadmaker then I wouldn't try and make it myself.  You can make bread in the crock pot too but as I have the breadmaker I can do the whole meal at once.

I love to make soups in winter and fresh hot bread is just the ultimate accompaniment.  I can set and forget both of them, but I must admit the bread doesn't take as long to cook unless I set the Programmable Crock Pot for the time the bread will be ready.  I then have both cooked at the same time and ready to serve.  The smells coming out of that kitchen are just hard to explain, especially when its a week day and I return home to a house smelling like heaven.

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I love crock pot dinners as you now and it has surprised me to realize that it has only been in the last few years that slow cooking has become so popular again.

I started cooking in my crock pot in the 1970s, yes I am that old I hear you thinking.  I put it away again but got it out when I found it again when I moved house.  I was working back then as I am now and I am still singing the praise of slow cooking.

In the last 2 years I have noticed in grocery stores the emergence of crock pot/slow cooker mixes.  You add your meat or chicken and one or two other ingredients with the packet mix and you have your crock pot dinner ready to cook.

I have used them once or twice when I was really busy but prefer to work from one of my own recipes as then I know exactly what  is in it that I am serving my family.  Their popularity though tells me that there is a market now that wasn't there or big enough before.

People have discovered the great taste that slow cooking brings to the dish and how simple it is to make.  Another benefit is the small amount of clean up required.  If you are working then you know you want to relax as much as you can when you come home and not be in the kitchen.

How nice it is to know that dinner is cooking itself while you are at work or away from home all day.  I am glad that others are now finding how convenient crock pot dinners are and how great they taste too.

If you haven't joined the crock pot revolution then now is the time!  Crock pot dinners will change the way you cook and how you spend your time when you are home from a hard day's work.

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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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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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.

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Cooking for one person in the crock pot, why would you do it you might ask?  Surely it would be more practice to cook conventionally on the cook top or oven.

Well, the first reason would be that you can, in one session, cook enough meals to have for every say Monday for the next month ie if your recipe serves 4.

Think of the time saved in the kitchen, the washing up you saved yourself and the luxury of having a meal already cooked when you come home for the day.

All you need are the recipes, the ingredients, your crock pot and some freezer containers to make this work.

You will find a lot more recipes as well that cater for cooking for one person as more people don't have the money now to eat out as often as they used to.

Crock pot meals are easy to make and just because you are only cooking for yourself doesn't mean you have to miss out on some good recipes and the other benefits you get from cooking in the crock pot.  It is especially helpful for busy people who just don't have the time to prepare their meals when they come home from work.  The joy of coming home to your home with the great smell of a cooked dinner waiting for you is priceless.

Why not try the crock pot this week and cook one meal and see what an advantage that can be to yourself for the next week.

I don't know about you but I hate cooking in summer if it means the kitchen becomes a hot and unbearable.  I will often cook at night to avoid a hot kitchen until I started cooking with my crock pot.  Unlike a conventional oven it leaves the kitchen cool but you can get a break from salads with great crock pot meals.

The crock pot gives off so much less heat so if you want to keep your kitchen cooler in summer then get out that crock pot you put away last winter.  If you can cook it in the oven or on a cook top you probably can cook it in the crock pot too.  Besides casseroles and soups you can cook roasts and desserts and even cakes and make great crock pot meals.

There are other benefits too like cutting down on electricity not only from cooking but on the air conditioner trying to keep your house cool.  You can plan ahead and start your dinner cooking early in the morning when its cooler and have it ready for the evening.

There are also so many great recipes now for the crock pot including  my own of course.  You can get the vegetarian recipes here on the site by clicking on the image in the top right hand corner or you can get my books on Kindle.  Click on the link here for my Kindle Author Page to see them.

The last reason for using the crock pot in summer is the easy clean up.  Don't spend your precious time cleaning pots and pans when you can have only one pot to clean up.  You have too many more enjoyable things to do in summer than clean.

Get your crock pot out again and start keeping your kitchen cool and enjoy your crock pot meals!

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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