Crock pot pot roast - a must to try.

If you are not a vegetarian, crock pot pot roast is also very popular also and it is easy they are easy and quick to prepare. Slow cooker recipes are in general healthy recipes, since you are not frying any food. Roast are also cheaper to prepare in the slow cooker, as you do not need to buy an expensive cut of meat. After long hours of cooking, even the toughest cut of meat will become tenderized.

The slow cooker has normally two setting, low and high. I suggest you cook the meat in the low setting, so that it gets tenderized.

If you are thinking of getting a slow cooker I would suggest you get a rival one, with a removable stoneware dish. Get at least a 3 1/2 quart size with oval shape dish. In this way you can cook larger meat cuts.
The removable dish will make the cleaning process easy. Just remove the dish and wash it. Do not ever submerge the heating unit, because it will get damaged.

Here is a delicious and easy recipe for you to try it out.

You will need 3 baking potatoes, cut in quarters, 1 onion sliced, 2 carrots sliced, 2 stalks celery sliced, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp dried rosemary, 1 beef chunk roast (remember, it does not need to be an expensive cut),1/2 cup beef broth.

Trim the excess fat from the roast. Cut the roast into pieces and spice it with salt and pepper. Combine the first 6 ingredients in slow cooker. Add roast on top of veggies and pour the broth over beef. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until beef is tender.
So now, get your meal, reayd, go on about your day, and come home to a delicious supper. Enjoy!

Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes - Chicken stew

Stews and soups are ideal for winter. I live them, set a nice and cozy table and enjoy your meal,while outside is freezing cold. And stews and soups are ideal to be cooked in a slow cooker.
If you have not tried cooking with a slow cooker yet, then I have a question for you. What are you waiting for?

Crock pots are very convenient and easy to use. The meal preparation is also quick. The cooking will take long, but you do not need to be constantly involved as there is no risk of burning the food. The temperature is very low, so the meat will not burn. But the best about a slow cooker is that you can prepare your meal early in the morning or the previous night, then go on about your day, go to work, or drive your kids around, and when you come home late in the afternoon or even early evening, supper will be already cooked for you. It is wonderful, it is like having a kitchen assistant, and you do not need to pay a salary.

There are lots of healthy slow cooker recipes you can find.
I want to share a delicious and healthy recipe with you.

Ingredients

- 6 chicken tights, skin removed
- 1/2 pound of white mushroom, thinly sliced
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (or use 4 if you do not want to add potatoes)
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (or use 4 if you do not want to add sweet potatoes)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 6 large shallots, peeled and halved
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup dry wine (or use white grape juice)
- 1/2 tsp of dried rosemary
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp of white wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients except the vinegar in the slow cooker. Cover and cook. Cooking time: 5 hours in low or until potatoes are tender. Before serving stir in vinegar.

I hope you enjoy it!

Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes - Ratatouille

I just love cooking in the slow cooker. I sometimes use it up to 4 times a week.
The slow cooker is a very useful appliance, easy and convenient to use. Most meals cooked in the slow cooker are healthy and easy to prepare. You can prepare the meal early in the morning. You could also prepare it the night before and leave the dish in the refrigerator. In the morning just take the dish out of the refrigerator and place it in the main unit. Choose your temperature setting between low and high, and forget about it. Your supper will be ready by supper time. You do not need to check it continuously Every time you open the cooker lid, you prolong the cooking time by 25 minutes.
Once you finish supper, then the cleaning is very easy, specially if you have a unit with a removable dish. Do not ever submerge the heating unit
As you can see cooking in the crock pot is so easy that even your husband could do it.
I have found easy and delicious vegetarian slow cooker recipes. Here is a popular one:

- 2 medium eggplants, peeled and chopped
- 2 green peppers, seeded and chopped
- 6 plum size tomatoes chopped
- 2 large zucchini sliced
- 2 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves pressed garlic
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flake
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, except tomato paste, in slow cooker. Pour the tomato paste on top and cover. Cooking time: 3-4 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

You can serve it on brown rice or for my children I usually cook pasta rice as they love it.
I hope you enjoy it!

Rival 3735wn 3 1 2 Quart Slow Cooker - Perhaps you want to consider this one

If you are a single person, you can still prepare meals with the crock pot . If the rival 4 quart slow cooker is too big for you there are smaller ones. The rival 3735wn 3 1 2 quart slow cooker is ideal for a small household. It is not too small and not too big. Remember you might have guests for supper, so I would not buy a smaller size than this one. It has a removable oval stoneware dish, that you can use for different purposes.

If your recipe calls for marinating, then you can use the dish to marinate the meat overnight.
Then you can cook the meal in it, and if you have any leftover you can store the meal in the fridge. Beware that you can not reheat food in the slow cooker. Cleaning is easy, as you can remove the dish. Do not submerge the heating unit in water.

The slow cooker has two settings. A low and a high setting. Low setting will allow you to cook met in 8 to 10 hours. The higher setting will do it faster but it will still take about 5 hours. The low setting is very convenient, when you work outside the house. Just set in the morning, and by the time you return home dinner will be ready. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I personally believe that is the biggest benefit of using a slow cooker. it is like having an assistant cooker. So I urge you to try it. You will not get dissappointed.

Rival 4 quart slow cooker - Which slow cooker is right for you?

If you are going to buy a slow cooker, you have to make sure you get the right one for your family.

There are different models and sizes of slow cookers. Rival is quite a popular band and the rival 4 quart slow cooker is ideal for a small family. If you family is larger you will need a larger crock pot.

In choosing a slow cooker, make sure you buy one with a stoneware dish. These are easier to clean. Also choose the oval shape over the round one. You can fit larger pieces of meat in the oval dish.
The dish has multiple purposes:

1. You can marinate the meat and leave it overnight in the refrigerator in the stoneware dish.
2. You can use it as a serving dish.
3. If you have any left overs you can use the dish to store the left overs in the refrigerator.

Beware, do not take the dish out of the refrigerator and switch it on straight away, and after cooking, let the dish cool down before putting it under cold water.

If you are a person on the move, then I would suggest you get a slow cooker that comes with a timer. They are more expensive but they allow you to program the cooking starting and ending time. This is a great feature, specially if you need to leave very early in the morning or if you are out of town the previous night.

As you can see, slow cookers are so easy to use than even your husband can prepare supper for you. He will not be overwhelmed, and he will not fall asleep and burn the food.

How to use a slow cooker - Benefits of using one

After becoming a mom, decided to spoil myself to a slow cooker. I have vaguely heard about it, but was not sure what it was. So I went and bought myself one, and started using it. I now am addicted to it. I use it all the time since allows me to have meals ready in half an hour .

People believe that a slow cooker is to be used during winter. Yes, they think it is used to cook comfort food during cold winter days. Yes, that is true, but you can use the crock pot throughout the year, and your life will be o much simpler.

Below I list some of the benefits of using one:

1. Slow cookers do not warm up your kitchen. So in summer when it is hot out there, you can actually give a rest to your oven and stove, and get your slow cooker out. It will keep your kitchen cooler.
2. The meal preparation time is shorter. You can actually prepare a meal within 40 minutes. Then you just leave your meal cooking and carry on with your day. When supper time comes, your meal will be ready, without any unnecessary stress.
3. It is so simple to use it, that even your husband can do it for you. So if you need to sleep out of town for one night, just leave the recipe and the slow cooker out. When you return home the following day, and open the door, you will be able to smell the delicious dish that your husband has prepared for you.
4. It is easy to clean and in general you will have only one pot to clean.
5. It uses less electricity than a conventional oven or stove.
6. You can get a crock pot with a timer, to start cooking at a certain time.
7. It has a low and high setting, so if you want to accelerate things you could use the high one.

To summarize, a slow cooker is a great appliance to have in your kitchen. I urge you to get one if you do not have yet, or to put yours to use. I willbe discussing in later posts more tips on how to use a slow cooker