Chinese Chicken Soup Recipe

Crock Pots Save You Money on Your Food Bill

Save time, money and energy with this inexpensive kitchen tool

Find out all the ways Crock pots save you money on your food bill. Crock pots were invented in the 1970's, mainly as a time-saving device. Today, however, saving money on food is important and so is serving a nutritious meal to your family. With a little planning, any meal you cook in your oven can be turned into a crock pot dinner.

Crock pots can offer you a very easy way to economize on your food budget. With food prices going up, we could all use a little help with saving money.

When the crock pot was invented in the 1970s, it was mainly considered a time-saving gadget for busy moms who had returned to the work force. These days though, crock pots provide a savings of time and money, plus it can also help you economize on using expensive energy since you arent using your oven.

Its easy to add all the ingredients for your dinner to the crock pot in the evening, then simply turn it on in the morning before you head out the door. When you come home from work after a busy, hectic day, a delicious, nutritious dinner is waiting to be dished up.

How Crock Pot Cooking Save You Money

* Crock pots allow you to purchase less expensive cuts of meat For instance, buy a whole chicken instead of a cut up chicken, which costs more. Its easy to cook up an entire chicken in the crock pot. Also, you can buy cheaper cuts of beef, which are sometimes tougher than more pricey versions. Any cut of meat will become tender and moist after being cooked for several hours in your slow cooker.

* Pork Tenderloin can be expensive but a pork shoulder costs less and is easy to prepare in a crock pot.

* How about simple barbecue sandwiches? Using ready made shredded meat can add up on your food bill but barbecue is simple to prepare in a crock pot. Just cook the meat until done, allow it to cool enough to handle and shred it up, using a fork. Add some tasty barbecue sauce of your choice, put on a bun and your dinner is ready. Tip: Cook up your meat on Sunday, then on Monday it will be ready to shred into sandwiches.

* Save money by using fresh veggies over of canned and frozen. While canned and frozen veggies are convenient, buying fresh vegetables in season offers more nutrients and saves money too. Cooking your fresh vegetables in the slow cooker is easy simply toss them in with your meat and youll have a delicious blend of flavors in one pot.

* Freeze your left overs for future meals. Using your crock pot, its easy to make a double recipe and freeze the extra. You get two dinners for the energy and time you spent cooking one.

* Save money on your energy bill with the crock pot. Your slow cooker uses much less energy than your oven.

* Pass up expensive fast food on the way home from work. You no longer have to decide Whats for dinner? on the way home. Youll know your dinner is already prepared and waiting. This will keep you from spending hard earned dollars on fast food. Rushing home from work in the evening with a hungry family to feed makes a crock pot dinner a terrific time saver and you can be assured your family is getting much better nutrition than picking up a pizza or fried chicken night after night.

Wouldnt it be nice to walk into the house after a long, tiring day at work, to smell a fragrant home cooked beef stew, just ready to be dished up? Crock pots come in all sizes and price ranges so it's easy to select just the right one for your family, no matter how many youre feeding.

With a little thought and planning, any meal you can cook in the oven can be turned into a delicious crock pot recipe.

Ingredients

1 package 16 Bean Soup
3 bay leaves

Directions:

Put the first 5 ingredients into your crock pot or slow cooker, making sure water covers everything by one to two inches.

Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or until beans are softened.

Add the rest of your ingredients and lower temperature to low. Cook another 3 to 4 hours.

Serve over rice.

If you want to cook this recipe during the day while you're at work, turn it on high for an hour while you're setting ready for work, then turn to low and allow to cook for 8 to 10 hours.

Here's another delicious Crock Pot Recipe for Easy Lasagna