Crock Pot Cooking – Tips for using

I, like many others, love to cook with the crock pot.  Why wouldn’t you?  Throw everything in, turn it on, go about your business and when you get home, you have dinner all ready made for you…Nothing is better than that, but you need to know the best way to use your crock pot to get the best results.

If you have a favorite recipe, you can still make it in the crockpot…you just need to know how long to cook it, so here’s some tips:

Old recipe says cook it / Crock pot cooking time would be:

• 15 to 30 minutes / 4-6 hours LOW and 1 1/2-2 hours HIGH
• 35 to 45 minutes / 6-10 hours LOW and 3-4 hours HIGH
• 50 minutes to 3 hours / 8-18 hours LOW and 4-6 hours HIGH

You also need to cut back on the liquid…if the recipe calls for 1 cup of water use only a 1/2 cup, etc.  I always try to cut back on the water and not any other liquid in the recipe if I can keep from it.

Add any dairy products in the last 30 minutes of cooking…sour cream, cream cheese, etc. doesn’t always cook right if cooked slow for that long.

Creamed soups can be cooked for the length of the recipe.  But milk should be added in the last 15 minutes.

Don’t overfill your crock pot.  You only want your crock pot filled about 1/2 to 3/4 fulls for even cooking.

There is some debate over this, but I prefer NOT to cook my pasta in the crockpot.  Some recipes say you can, but I always keep the pasta out and cook it on the stove and then add it.  Sometimes, I will put it in the crock pot for the last 1 1/2 to 2 hours of cooking, but I never cook my pasta all day in the crock pot.

These are just simple tips to help you enjoy your crock pot more.  You really can get addicted to crockpot cooking.  It can be a great help in the kitchen.