Crockpot Cooking Ideas For Cold Weather - Plan A Week Of Hearty Meals To Stay Cozy And Warm

If getting from your car to your door seems like a march through the tundra during cold winter days, a trip to the grocery store may be excruciating to think about. You may be entertaining thoughts of staying in your nice warm car and driving through a fast food place for dinner instead. But, that sort of impulse can really defeat a grocery budget, even though the nice warm car is tempting.

How can you feed your family a nice hot meal without suffering those icy cold trips? By planning one shopping day with one goal in mind - creating enough crockpot meals for a week. Let's see how this can be accomplished.

Start by gathering together your favorite crockpot recipes, picking a variety of dishes so your family doesn't get tired of the same old food. Make a grocery list that includes everything you need for the week based on the recipes you've chosen. Check your pantry for the standard supplies, too. Now do all your shopping for the week.

When you get home, carefully wrap and freeze the meat for the meals later in the week, chop up all your veggies for each meal and seal in containers. You are well on your way to a week of cozy meals without having to venture out in the cold.

Here we go.

Summertime Crockpot Recipes

Summertime crock pot recipes, you may ask? But the crock pot is only used for "cold-weather meals" such as stews, roasts, and other hearty stick-to-your-ribs type meals. Wrong! The crock pot has truly received a seasonal stereotype and sits in many kitchen cupboards all summer long. Bring it back to your kitchen counter during the summer; there are so many benefits and fabulous light summertime meals that can be prepared in the crock pot!

Most people already know how wonderful crockpot cooking is; throw a few ingredients in a pot, turn it on, and come back eight hours later to a wonderful home cooked meal. We also know that cheaper cuts of meat turn out tender and juicy because they're cooked with moist heat over long periods of time. Crock pot cooking is perfect for the busy homemaker, the office mom, the busy dad, the work-at-home mom, anyone who has anything to do during the day and is tired by dinnertime, not wanting to spend countless hours preparing dinner for their family. But crock pot cooking is also perfect for the summertime.

10 Summer Slow Cooker Recipes

10 summer slow cooker recipes | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Sandwich filling, side dish, and main dish recipes for the slow cooker that will keep you and your home cool this summer.
Publish Date: 06/21/2010 13:50
http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating-recipes/blogs/10-summer-slow-cooker-recipes

Slow Cooker Tips - 6 Easy Ways to Maximize Flavor and Get the Most From Your Crock Pot

If you are trying to get away from today's preservative-laden fast food and convenience foods, it's time to rediscover your slow cooker.

Slow cookers aren't just for grandmothers. On a busy day, who doesn't love to come home in the evening to a hot already-prepared meal? Whether it's a succulent pot roast, savory tender chicken or a simple casserole, slow cookers create amazing aromas and even better meals - and many slow cooker recipes make enough food to feed your entire family (and then some).

The best thing about a slow cooker, of course, is that it frees you to do other things while the food is cooking. You can place all of the ingredients into your crock pot or other slow cooker, and your food will be ready and waiting when you arrive home.

Slow cooker recipes abound these days (especially on the Internet) and, to find them, all you need to do is search for the name of the traditional dish followed by +"slow cooker recipe." But there are a few easy tips that will help you maximize flavor and ensure a mouth-watering meal, every time.

Here are six tips for creating delicious home-cooked meals in your crock pot.

1. Use a recipe specifically created for slow cookers. If you are dying to convert a traditional recipe to a crock pot recipe, there are some rules to follow. For example, unless you're making soup, you'll typically want to decrease the amount of liquid you add. Because a slow cooker retains moisture, you can sometimes end up with more liquid at the end of the cooking time than you had when you started and this can dilute the flavors of your dish.

2. Caramelize onions and brown meat beforehand. Many recipes call for you to put all of the ingredients into the crock pot raw - and that's perfectly fine to do. In fact, that's going to be the most efficient way to go, if you are using your slow cooker as the ultimate time saving device that it is. But you can dramatically enhance the flavor of your final dish by browning your meat or chicken and sauteing your onions before you add them to the pot. This step also reduces some of the fat content of your recipe.

3. Less expensive cuts of meat work just fine. When you are slow cooking, you can choose the cheaper cuts, such as chuck steak. Because the meat is cooked slowly over time, these less expensive cuts will melt in your mouth by the time they are finished.

4. Cut your vegetables into small pieces. Unless you like your vegetables quite crispy, cut them into smaller pieces. Put potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables on the bottom or against the sides of the pot. (This will ensure that they get maximum heat.) Again, you can also saute onions before adding them, if you find you prefer this taste.

5. Experiment with fresh herbs. Few things add more savory flavor to a meal than fresh herbs. Use fresh herbs in the place of dried herbs in your recipes, and add additional fresh herbs to taste. Fresh basil often complements Italian dishes. Rosemary and thyme taste delightful with pot roast. Experiment and find what works for you and your taste buds.

6. Try to avoid opening the lid. When you open the lid of a crock pot, you let out the steam and moisture, and this will change your cooking time (by as much as 20 minutes). It's important to follow the recipe closely, add each ingredient when the recipe calls for it - and then leave your slow cooker alone!

Jamie Jefferson writes for Susies-Coupons.com and Momscape.com, where you can find cooking coupons and WalMart coupons.