If there is one appliance I love more than the others in my kitchen, it is the Crock Pot. During the fall and winter months, I use it frequently to put together slow-cooked, delicious meals for my family without a lot of preparation. I prepare the meal in the morning before leaving for work, and by the time I come home, the house is filled with an amazing aroma. My Crock Pot not only saves time, but money as well. Here is a look at three of my family’s favorite meals in the Crock Pot that are cheap and easy to make.
Pot Roast with Vegetables
Nothing brings back memories of Sunday dinner at my parents’ house quite like the smell of a cooking pot roast can. This recipe requires about 3 pounds of chuck roast, potatoes and carrots, along with many spices and seasonings that I keep in the house. The meal serves a large crowd and slow-cooks over 10 hours, so it is fine to prepare this meal before work and let the Crock Pot do its job. Another added perk is that we often have a lot of leftovers with this meal, and my family happily eats them for lunch the next day.
Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
A quick and easy favorite of ours is hot roast beef sandwiches. This is an easy meal that requires little prep. This is not a slow cook meal, so I can easily prepare this after work with thinly sliced roast beef and gravy placed upon a kaiser roll with provolone cheese. This is a quick and easy meal that goes over great in the fall and winter months.
Chili
On chilly fall nights, our Crock Pot chili is just the meal to warm us up. We mix together 2 pounds of ground beef with a variety of beans, canned tomatoes, diced onions and a number of spices found in most kitchens. The chili slow cooks for 10 hours, and when everyone is coming home from their busy day, our meal is just finishing up.
My crock pot saves me an average of 60 minutes of cooking time at night and $25 off of my shopping bill. I am able to make a large amount of food easily, so I store several servings for another night of the week. If there is one appliance in my kitchen that saves me money, it is the Crock Pot.
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