Saturday, November 1, 2008

Slowcooker Recipes: Easy on Your Schedule and Budget

By Sophia Darby

With today's busy lifestyles we're always on the lookout for quicker and easier ways to prepare meals. Slowcooker recipes don't get a lot of fanfare but they're one of the easiest meals and are often quite easy on the budget as well.

It can be nearly impossible to create mouth-watering meals when you only have a short period of time to cook them in. Today's busy families are often crunched for time between work, activities and household chores. Wouldn't it be nice to have a meal pre-cooked and waiting for you at dinner time? That's exactly what you get when using your slowcooker.

Slowcooker recipes take very little prep time yet the results are both delicious and healthier than prepared food items or fast food that we so often rely when time is of the essence. The beauty of using your slowcooker to prepare you meals is that you prep it when you have time, be that in the morning or the night before, and then simply turn it on to cook all day while you do other things. When it's time for dinner you simply need to serve and enjoy.

Using a slowcooker to prepare your meals not only save time but money as well. Due to the slow cooking process you are able to buy cheaper cuts of meat that would otherwise need hours of marinating in order to turn out tender. Stewing meats generally cost a fraction of the choice cuts yet turn out just as tender and delicious when prepared in the slowcooker. Have trouble with meats such as pork or chicken turning out tough? Slowcooking eliminates that and returns juicy meat every time.

Throwing away used leftovers is like tossing money in the trash can. One of the easiest ways to cut back on your grocery budget is to reuse leftovers whenever possible. Slowcooker recipes allow you to use leftover meats, vegetables and other food staples and turn them into tasty new meals while saving you money at the same time. Turn leftover steak into stew, add leftover veggies at the last minute to reheat and you've just created a cheap but delicious meal. Reuse cooked rice in a stuffed peppers recipe or a homemade soup. This means less prep time and more money in your pocket.

If you find yourself crunched for time or exceeding your grocery budget with expensive meats give slowcooker recipes a try. You'll love not having to rush to prepare dinner everyday and you'll enjoy the savings as well.

Slowcooker Recipe for Beef Stew: 2 pounds fresh stewing beef or leftover roast, cut into 1-inch cubes 4 carrots 3 potatoes 1 garlic clove, minced 1 celery stalk, sliced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. Paprika cup flour tsp. pepper tsp. salt 1 garlic clove, minced 1 cups beef broth 2 tbsp. HP sauce First place your meat into the slowcooker. Now mix together the salt, pepper and flour. Pour the dry mix over the meat and stir to coat thoroughly. Next add the remaining ingredients and Stir together well. Place the lid on your slowcooker and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours or, if rushed, 4 to 6 hours on high heat. Stir well before serving your stew.

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