Jesse Sartain, Traditional Recipes

Author: J. Wilson

Crockpot cooking is a convenient way of preparing meals for today’s busy families. Meals are simple to prepare, healthy, and the food cooks to perfection all day long. All you have to do is put your food in the crockpot, put the lid on it, turn on the switch to “high” or “low” and you will come home to a ready to eat dinner. This is so much better than any drive-through-window meal!

Crockpot recipes provide nutritious meals with ingredients that are practical and economical as well as wholesome and good. Crockpots, also called slow cookers, are very versatile. They are great for preparing most vegetables and meats, perfect for potluck events, and great for keeping food warm when entertaining.

Basic Crockpot Tips

Cut all meat and vegetables the same size to ensure even cooking. Place vegetables on the bottom of the slow cooker as they tend to take longer to cook. Don’t be tempted to lift the lid and peek at the food as it cooks. Every time you lift the lid, this allows steam to escape, reducing the temperature inside the crockpot by several degrees.

Most crockpot recipes cook an average of seven to nine hours on the low setting. Never put frozen food in the crockpot. Always thaw food overnight in the refrigerator or use the microwave to thaw food before adding it to the crockpot.

Crockpots are simple appliances that are easy to use.

Author:NavneetKaur

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve been invited to a party and realize you don’t have a meal to bring. Not only that, but the party starts in an hour. What should you do?

You have four options:

Don’t go, and miss out on a really fun time. Show up empty-handed and explain red-faced that you forgot. Grab a casserole dish and head to the deli. Order your food and have them put it right into your casserole dish. Yes, I’ve done this. It’s expensive but it works.

If you get asked for the recipe, just wink and say “It’s Grandma’s secret recipe.”

Whip up a big batch of pasta salad for only a few dollars, and have plenty left over to eat for lunch during the week. You will save money and look good showing up at the party with a great dish.

Pasta salad is truly one of the easiest meals to prepare. All you need are noodles and salad dressing. You can use pretty much any salad dressing on the market – the standards like Italian, Ranch, or, if you’re ambitious, your favorite homemade dressing.

Now for the fun part. Cook the noodles, following package directions and then drain. Pour the dressing on while the noodles are warm so they will absorb that entire good oily flavor.

Look around your kitchen to see if you have any of the following ingredients:

Fresh veggies – carrots, broccoli, green onions
Frozen vegetables – frozen peas are wonderful in pasta salad
Cubed or shredded cheese
Garbanzo beans (also known as Chick Peas)
Black Olives

Toss in whatever you can find. It’s an ‘everything goes’ type of recipe. Bring more dressing with you in case you need to add it later, and voila! You’re done.

If you’re feeling fancy, you can bring some cherry tomatoes, parmesan cheese, bacon bits or sunflower seeds as toppings. It’s all good.

The next time you are invited to a party, don’t panic. Just grab these instructions and whip up a meal in minutes. Enjoy!