Easy Crockpot Meals

Easy crockpot meals are one of the best ways to feed your family a healthy meal during the week.

You can prepare the ingredients the night before. Brown the meat in the morning and enjoy dinner when you walk in the door. What could be simpler than that?

Slow cooking or crockpot cooking is time saving and ideal for cooks just starting out. Easy crockpot meals can be put together with very few ingredients making them a great meal option for when the cupboard is almost bare.

While making easy crockpot meals isn’t rocket science, it’s important you understand the ins and outs of slow cooking in order to make the most of your crockpot cooking experience.

For starters, the term slow cooker and crockpot are pretty much interchangeable so if you come across a good slow cooker recipe book you can use the same recipe to make easy crockpot meals.

My first recommendation is if you don’t have a large crockpot, purchase one. Save your smaller slow cooker for making side dishes like rice and pasta.

I suggest purchasing a large crockpot with a removable liner, that way it will be easy to clean.

To make sure your food cooks properly only fill your slow cooker one half to two thirds full. If your slow cooker is filled to the brim, or if the food and liquid level is lower than half full you may end up with an uncooked or overcooked meal.

Please note also that foods at the bottom of your crockpot or slow cooker will cook faster and will be moister because of the simmering liquid.

For the best crockpot cooking results, remove the skin from poultry and trim excess fat from all meats. I suggest you trim the fat because if you don’t, it will melt during the cooking process and your food will take on a greasy looking appearance. Fatty foods also have a tendency to cook much quicker than non-fatty foods therefore, they aren’t as ideal for slow cooker or crockpot cooking.

To thicken juices and concentrate flavors remove the lid from your crockpot and turn the dial to HIGH for the last half hour.

To learn more about the best cooking temperature for most easy crockpot meals visit Easy Crockpot Meals

There are many advantages to crockpot cooking but one of my favorites is that I don’t have to spend a lot of money on meat. Any inexpensive meats I’ve cooked in my slow cooker have turned out deliciously tender. I believe the reason is because cheaper cuts have less fat and the long cooking times make meat not only moist but tender as well.

• Never place frozen foods in your crockpot or slow cooker. To be on the safe side, all foods should be defrosted before cooking so the food temperature can reach 140 degrees as soon as possible.
• If you plan on cutting up your meat/poultry and vegetables the night before, make sure you store them in separate containers in the refrigerator. Doing this limits bacterial growth and avoids cross-contamination.
• Fully cook your ground meat in a skillet first.
• If you want to add color and flavor to large pieces of meat simply brown first in a skillet prior to placing in your slow cooker or crockpot.

For more tips on making easy crockpot meals and to learn what you should do during the last hour of crockpot cooking visit Easy Crockpot Meals

Free recipes for use in your slow cooker or crockpot can be found by visiting Easy Crockpot Meals.