Renovating Tips

When people imagine gourmet chefs, they think of pans, knives, stoves, and a lot of fire. Not too many of them imagine a crock pot. You might think that the crock pot is a joke of a cooking utensil, that when compared to the microwave, the oven, or the stove, that it’s practically useless. But this is just not so– let me show you a few things that you can cook better with a crock pot.

Making Chili

Chili is the perfect dish to cook when you’re camping or when the weather is so cold that you’re wondering just when it’s going to end. It’s easy to make, too. All you need is some ground beef– throw that in the bottom of the pan and cook it up, leaving the juice for added flavor when you add the beans and the other ingredients. Just stir the ingredients together and let them simmer for a while, and you’ve got a tasty pot of chili big enough for the whole family.

Making Shredded Pork

It can be tough to shred pork that isn’t very tender, but when you cook pork using a crock pot it will be so succulent and juicy that it will seem to fall apart at a glance. You can easily make tamales, tacos, burritos, sloppy joes or sandwiches from pork this tender.

All you have to do is buy some pork and place it in the crock pot with your favorite seasonings. Once you let it cook for a good long time, the pork will be ready for shredding. The meat will be so soft that you can pull it apart with your fingers or even a fork. You won’t have to spend hours cutting it because it will be so juicy that it will quickly fall apart.

Making Spaghetti and Pasta

The sauce is actually the best to cook in the crock pot, because you should boil the pasta in another pot on the stove as usual. But either while the pasta is boiling or before, you can get the sauce ready.

Cook the ground beef in the crock pot and then add the tomato sauce or pasta sauce that you have pre-prepared. You might also want to add some other ingredients into the mix–olives, stewed tomatoes, and spices all make great additions to pasta sauce. Make sure you drain the pasta before you add it to the sauce and stir it around until its nice and warm.

Making Chorizo

Another easy meal to prepare with even a small crock pot! Just get some chorizo and mix it in the pot with some eggs, and cook it like you would cook a pack of ground beef, stirring slowly until everything is cooked through. Once its done sprinkle some shredded cheddar on the top and let it melt by replacing the lid. When its finished, you can scoop some out and eat it with flour tortillas–delicious!

I know a large crock pot can take up a lot of space, and maybe its been laying around gathering dust in your apartment for some time now. But don’t throw it away without at least giving it a chance to prove itself! Try a few of the recipes that I mentioned, and you might be surprised. You might decide that you’re a crock pot chef after all.

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