Cooking basics: Using a crockpot

Like any cooking technique, there are some actions that will lead to a better product. In my opinion, crockpot cooking is one of the easiest cooking styles to adopt; however, there are some dishes that are difficult to make in a crockpot.

Tips:

• Always cover the crockpot when cooking.
• Almost always, you can cook recipes for longer than what they say, unless stated otherwise.
• If you are pressed for time, feel free to check the temperature of the meat, and if it is of adequate temperature and the veggies are at the desired texture, then eat up!!!
• Generally, I put these on at 6 am, and lately, we've been eating them at 9 pm (Thomas' second job in the evenings shifted supper time).
• I flex my recipes, aka, I don't always do exactly what I have written (some of these recipes are my own concoction and others are adaptations I've made to various recipes)
• Most of the time I don't measure the vegetables I put in - they are come from either our frozen or canned preserves.
• If I have some vegetables and not others, I don't fret about it.
• Feel free to change the meat to whatever you have on hand/feel like eating.
• Another idea, you can always assemble all of the items in the crockpot at night, and then put it in the heating element (turn the heating element on too) in the morning.
• Depending on the size of your crockpot, you likely will need to scale the recipes accordingly...or simply cook them in a pot on the stove.
• You want the crockpot to be at least ½ full when it’s cooking