It is easy to come home to a hot dinner every night when you use your crockpot. Taking the time to fill up the crockpot in the morning will reward you with a delicious meal in the evening with no fuss. When you get home, just dish everyone up, and have a wonderful meal.

Easy Crockpot Tips

There are a few things to remember when using a crockpot that will make your meals turn out perfectly. The most important one is do not overfill the pot. Never fill it more than three-quarters full. If you fill it all the way to the top, it will not cook properly. At the same time, do not fill it less than half full. By not filling it enough, your food will cook faster than you anticipate and you will come home to food that is overdone.

Fresh vegetables should be placed in the bottom of the crockpot because they take longer to cook than your meat. You may have trouble believing it, but try putting them on top and see what happens. Frozen vegetables should be placed on top of your meat since they do not take long to cook.

If you take the time to brown your meat before putting it in the crockpot, the fat will get rendered a bit and the natural sugars in the meat will caramelize. Your meal will look more appetizing, and you can deglaze the pan afterwards and add the delicious drippings to the crockpot for flavor. It also helps if you remove any skin or excess fat from your meat before you start.

Ingredients that are tender, such as tomatoes, peas, and other soft foods should be added in the last half hour or so of cooking. Dairy should be added only a short time before you serve as well. When you add dairy products, make sure your temperature is on low so they will not curdle. Thickeners like cornstarch can be added during the last hour of cooking. Place the crockpot on high so their thickening qualities are activated. Rice and pasta should be added during the last 45 minutes or so or they will tend to turn to mush.

While cooking, try not to remove the lid. If you need to add more ingredients, add them all at once if possible to reduce losing heat from the crockpot. Every time you lift the lid, add another half hour to your cooking time.

Crockpot Recipes

These easy tips can help make your crockpot useful and versatile. You can make almost anything in the crockpot. Pulled pork with barbecue sauce is easy in the crockpot, as is Asian chicken. Stew and chili are old standbys for the crockpot, as is chicken soup. Vegetable dishes like creamed corn with cream cheese is delicious for a side dish.

Amazingly, you can even bake in your crockpot! Desserts like cakes, sweet breads, and boiled peanuts can be made easily without using your oven. The versatile crockpot is a tool everyone should have in his or her kitchen.