Crock Pot Cookery
In today’s kitchen, there is a wealth of kitchen appliances, from microwaves to food processors, and beyond. As technology has advanced, cooking has become easier and easier. Modern kitchen utensils save time, energy, and patience, and if our grandparents saw how we prepare our food, they would simply not believe it.
One of the most useful, labor-saving cookery devices has to be the crock pot. The crock pot, otherwise known as a slow cooker, usually has one or two settings. Its main advantage is that it cooks food very slowly. This might at first not sound so great, but in fact it is extremely useful. Unlike other more sophisticated items, the simplicity of this device is the vital ingredient that saves you time. When you want to cook a crock pot meal, the basic rules are very simple – all you need to do is put the food inside, direct it to the appropriate setting, and that’s it. Several hours later, you have a fully cooked meal.
There are many types of meals that you can cook in a slow cooker, and it is also a very healthy way of cooking. For example, how about southern barbecued chicken? That’s very easy. All you need to do is put the meat into some water and cook it on a low setting. Then, several hours later, take out the meat, cut it up, and put it back in again. Add ketchup, spices, vinegar, sugar, and salt, and cook on a high setting for half an hour. And then, voila! You have an instant, delicious meat meal.
Another great use for the crock pot is making soup. How about this for a delicious pea soup? Put split peas, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and hot water into the pot, and then all you need to do is either cook on high for four to five hours or on slow for eight to ten hours. If you want, you may mash the peas for added thickness – or not. But either way, you end up with a healthy, delicious soup that will taste great and involves very little work. Don’t like peas, try pumpkin soup crock pot recipes, basically anything that your imagination can come up with.
But cooking in a slow cooker is not only about stews and soups. You can also make some great desserts in one. For example, how about some baked apples? All you need is some apples, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Core the apples and take off some of the peel around the top, and then put them inside the crock pot. Then mix the cinnamon, sugar, and raisins and pour this mixture inside the apples. Sprinkle a bit more cinnamon on top and dot the apples with butter. Pour half a cup of warm water around the apples and then set the pot to its low setting. Cook for six to eight hours, by which time the apples should be tender. It’s so easy, and guaranteed to taste every bit as good as Grandma’s oven-baked apples.
So if anyone buys you a crock pot for a wedding present, or your partner asks you what would be the most ideal addition to your kitchen, don’t forget about the humble slow cooker. It will definitely prove its worth within a very short time.
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