A lot of us have a very efficient and time saving appliance
sitting high on a kitchen shelf collecting dust. What is it?
It's the crock- pot! I have taken mine down from that high
shelf and have actually purchased another one because I have
found them to be so helpful. How are they helpful? Read on.

There are a lot of days that it's very hard for me to get a
meal on the table either because I lack the motivation or
because we are busy. Lacking motivation stems from being tired
at dinnertime; I have had an active day and by 5:00 p.m., I'm
just plain worn out and am not in the mood to cook. Because of
this, we end up eating fast food more often than we should or
we eat a meal that tastes like there was no effort put into it.

I have found a solution to this problem and that is the crock-
pot! In the morning when I am ambitious and creative, I prepare
the basis of our meals by adding meat, liquids, seasonings or
other ingredients to the crock-pot. Then at dinnertime, all I
have to do is prepare side dishes such as heat and serve rolls
and a green salad. Sometimes I even prepare the side dishes
early too so that way I have hardly anything to do at mealtime
when I'm lacking energy. If you have two crock-pots, use them
both at the same time with the main dish in one and a side dish
in the other.

Another benefit of the crock-pot is that it doesn't heat up the
kitchen. This can be valuable in the summer but don't limit it
to summertime cooking. It's an any-season appliance. You'll be
pleased smelling the delicious aroma of your food cooking all
day long in the fall, winter and spring. You can even cook
desserts in them such as apple dumplings.

For those of you that work away from home, the crock-pot is
safe enough to leave turned on low all day. When you get home,
most of your dinner is cooked and ready to eat!

You can buy crock-pots at any retail store for around $30.00
for the average size and more or less for a bigger or smaller
one. But why spend $30.00 when they are abundant in thrift
stores and yard sales? I purchased my second one at a thrift
store for $2.99! If you decide to purchase one at a thrift
store or yard sale, be sure to plug it in and see if it heats
up.

Here is one of my favorite crock-pot meals.

Pork Ribs and Kraut

Brown desired amount of pork spareribs in a frying pan over
medium heat; season with seasoning salt and place in crock-pot.
Stir sauerkraut juice into the pan you browned the ribs in and
stir with a fork to loosen brown bits. Add this juice to the
crock-pot along with desired amount of sauerkraut. Set crock-
pot to low and cook 6-8 hours.

For a side dish to this meal, I make homemade rolls using the
bread machine to make dough, or I just serve plain old bread
and butter. A crusty loaf of French bread would be good too.

Chunky Applesauce

This would make a great side dish to the meal above. Peel and
cut desired amount of apples into 1/2 - 1 inch chunks. Place
the chunks in your crock-pot and add about 1/2 cup water. Set
the crock-pot to low and cook 4-6 hours or until the apple
chunks are very soft. Mash with a potato masher to desired
consistency and add sugar to taste if desired.

If you need crock-pot recipes, I have published an e-cookbook
called 'The Slowcooker E-cookbook' that has 100 scrumptious
recipes for your crockpot in easy-to-print format!  You can
find out how to get this e-cookbook for free here:  
http://homemakersjournal.com/ebooklets.htm

I hope this article brings you the inspiration to dust off your
crock- pot!

About the author: Monica Resinger is the Editor of The
Homemaker's Journal, a jam-packed daily e-mail e-zine that
publishes the collective advice of thousands of homemakers in
all home and garden topics!  Become a part of The Homemaker's
Journal and get or share creative solutions to your homemaking
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