Easy Tips for Great Crock Pot and Slow Cooking Meals

The beauty of slow cooker or crock pot cooking rests in the versatility and flexibility the process provides for a time stressed cook.

When a meal can be cooked up in and then served from one pot after limited preparation, the time saved by not having to start a meal, juggle pots, pans and serving dishes is obvious. Just coming through the door to the sight and smells of a meal already prepared and ready to go on the table, is a major stress reliever.

If one doesn't already have a slow cooker, the first consideration centers on size. Small versions are often used for appetizers, dips, and salsas. Generally these are 16 oz. or quart size and are perfect for serving during brunch or potluck dining events or cooking for one.

A large family may be best served with a 5 qt. or even a 7 qt. model. The type of cooking one does is also a consideration. If the cook plans on slow cooking a full rack of fall off the bone baby back ribs in the crock pot, they are going to have to spring for the larger version.

Another consideration is whether the cook wants to be able to set or control the temperature or just go with a push button model that cooks with preset low or high temperature settings and sometimes a warmer setting. If the "low" setting is too low and the lid is not on properly, the cooking temperature can drop below the safe level for cooking some foods.

Finally, the question of heating elements needs to be considered. Crock pots can come with bottom, side elements or both. Pots with side elements often require more liquid in recipes to avoid the risk of drying up over long cooking times.

If a person really enjoys mixing things up and experimenting with recipes, one pot/slow cooking provides a great number of possibilities and even chances to have some fun. The real strength of the crock pot in the kitchen is for slow cooking leaner and cheaper cuts of meat. The moist, long, slow cooking provides a very tender meat with fat that is either dissolved or very easy to remove.

There are some do's and don'ts in crock pot cooking. Some meals require ingredients to be added in stages. For example, a stew may require the meat to be cook for a few hours before firm vegetables are added and then softer veggies can be added as cooking is finalized.

Rule of thumb, add things like spices, herbs and seasonings at the beginning of the cooking cycle and things like frozen vegetables and seafood at the end. Since ingredients are generally thoroughly cooked over a long period of time, a lot of stirring is not recommended or the food breaks apart or worse, turns to mush.

Crock pots are so versatile that they can even be used for creating desserts and breads. Interestingly enough this is one area where care must be taken during preparation. This is particularly true if these recipes are going to be left unattended while they cook. An over beaten or whipped dessert can raise the lid straight off of the crock pot and create quite a mess. This is certainly not what one needs to come home to after a long day at work.

A crock pot can deliver menus as classic as pot roast and vegetables, as simple as a cream cheese layer dip, or as complex and spicy as paella. It can also keep your garlic mashed potatoes warm on your Thanksgiving serving table. The crock pot is a very veritable cooking tool and stress reliever for the busy cook.