Crock Pot Meals

Whether you are a busy working wife, or a stay at home mother with several children hanging onto your legs, just about everyone can use some simplicity in their life. A crock pot is a wonderful tool towards that end. It will help you make an easy breakfast, lunch or dinner. It will help you cook different foods to put in your freezer for easy meals later, with minimum work in itself.

Whatever your life is like, a crock pot will help you out. You can find many recipes for breakfast on-line. There are simple ones, like putting apples, granola cinnamon, honey and butter together for a breakfast that tastes like apple crisp. Ham and tater tots, along with some peppers, onion and cheese will make a heartier breakfast. Put the ingredients together the night before, set your crock pot on low, and wake up in the morning to a breakfast all ready to eat. Just add orange juice or milk, feed your family and start your day off stress free.

Put frozen chicken breasts into the crock pot before you leave for church in the morning. Add some rice and a can of cream of chicken or mushroom soup, or leave the soup out, and add vegetables like onions and green pepper and your favorite seasonings. Turn the heat on low, and leave for church, knowing you will have a delicious lunch waiting when you arrive home. A simple salad and some bread will make a meal nice enough to bring company home to. If there is still some of this chicken dish left in your crock pot after you have eaten your lunch, add some water, maybe a little more rice and seasonings, turn the pot on low, and you will have a wonderful soup for dinner that night.

Put some pinto beans in the crock pot to soak overnight, then in the morning, add onions, salt, pepper, and some garlic, a small amount of brown sugar if you like, and turn the crock pot on low. That night, you will only need to add cornbread or rice to have a meal in itself, or serve the beans as a side dish with meat and baked potatoes. If you have leftover beans, add some rotel tomatoes and soy sauce, heat on low again to heat back up, then put in tortillas for burritos. You can also freeze the left overs for a side dish on another day.

If your church or club has potluck meals on a regular basis, your crock pot will come in very handy to make a dish that will be warm and ready to eat when it's time to have the meal. One favorite I have found can be made totally from scratch or totally from cans. Put a layer of torn tortillas (corn or flour) in the bottom of the crock pot. Put a layer of beans on top of that (homemade, Ranch style, or refried), then a layer of either chili or taco meat. Top that with grated cheese, and repeat the layers until you reach the top of the crock pot. Cook on low until you are ready to serve. This is especially a hit with teenage boys and grown men! A side dish for a potluck dinner is even simpler, just fill the crock pot with corn, beans, rice, or whatever other hot side dish you are asked to bring, and turn your crock pot to the keep warm or low setting.

You can even make desserts in your Crockpot. Canned fruit with cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and butter is very good. You can find recipes for brownies, puddings, and even apple and peach butters on the Internet.

If you are a herbalist, you can make tinctures in your Crockpot. Put the herbs in a glass jar and pour vinegar, vodka, glycerin, or whatever medium you use, to within an inch of the top. Place the jar on a towel in the crock pot, you may need to add some water, and leave it on warm or low for however many days your recipe calls for to leach out the properties of the herbs.

Your crock pot has many uses, whether it's for food or medicine. Put it to use for your family!