Food You Can Cook In A Crock Pot

August 2nd, 2010

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When people imagine gourmet chefs, they think of pans, knives, stoves, and a lot of fire. Not too many of them imagine a crock pot. You might think that the crock pot is a joke of a cooking tool, that when compared to the microwave, the oven, or the stove, that it just doesn’t stack up. But this is just not so! Let me show you a few things that you can cook better with a crock pot.

Chili

Chili is the perfect dish to cook when you’re camping or when the weather is so cold that you’re wondering just when it’s going to end. It’s easy to make, too. All you need is some ground beef. Throw it in the bottom of the pan and cook it up, leaving the juice for added flavor when you add the beans and the other ingredients. Just stir the ingredients together and let them simmer for a while, and you’ve got a tasty pot of chili big enough for the whole family.

Making Shredded Pork

The recipes for shredded pork are nearly endless. There are so many things you can use it for: pork sandwiches, sloppy joes, or tamales, just to name a few. You can even sprinkle it on top of a taco.

All you have to do is buy some pork and place it in the crock pot with your favorite seasonings. Once you let it cook for a good long time, the pork will be ready for shredding. The meat will be so soft that you can pull it apart with your fingers or just a fork. It will be so juicy that it will quickly fall apart.

Spaghetti and Pasta

You probably shouldn’t try boiling your pasta in the crock pot, but you can do that in a separate pot on a stove while you use the crock pot to prepare your sauce. Set that pasta and the pot of water aside for now and worry about it later.

First, fry up some ground beef in the bottom of the pot and then add the tomato sauce and any other ingredients you feel fit with your favorite spaghetti. Once it’s simmered to perfection, you can add the pasta, and the crock pot will magically fuse your sauce with the rigatoni, or ravioli, or penne or whatever variety you choose.

Making Chorizo

Another easy meal to prepare with the crock pot! Just get some chorizo and mix it in the pot with some eggs, and cook it like you would cook a pack of ground beef, stirring slowly until everything is cooked through. Once it’s done sprinkle some shredded cheddar on the top and let it melt by replacing the lid. When it’s finished, you can scoop some out and eat it with flour tortillas. It’s delicious!

I know the crock pot can take up a lot of space, and maybe it has been lying around gathering dust in your apartment for some time now. But don’t relegate it to the back of the cupboard or throw it away without at least giving it a chance to prove itself! Try a few of the suggestions that I mentioned, and you might be surprised. You might decide that you’re a crock pot chef after all.

Lots of consumers choose a programmable crock pot from Rival because it’s a popular brand, but a little research will give you a wider range of choices. The best crock pots are the ones that can meet your individual preferences, so be sure to buy what you need and not just what’s on sale.