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 tips that will help your crockpot meals turn out perfect every time. First, never overfill the crockpot. Make sure when you are filling it up that the pot is between half and three-quarters full. Too full, and your food will not cook enough. If the pot is too empty, the food will cook too quickly and you will come home to a dinner that is overdone.

If you are using fresh vegetables, put them on the bottom. They will take longer to cook than your meat. This is a bit hard to believe, but it is true. If you are using frozen vegetables, place them on top of your meat, since they will cook faster.

You may want to try browning your meat before placing it in the crockpot. This renders fat and caramelizes the natural sugars in the meat, creating a delicious flavor. If you wish to deglaze the pan afterwards with broth, water, or wine, you can add these tasty drippings to your crockpot so you can enjoy them later. Removing extra fat and skin will also help your meat cook better.

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.

You can even bake breads and cakes in the crockpot! Desserts like apple brown betty, boiled peanuts and many different cakes can easily be made in the crockpot. As you can see, crockpots are even more versatile than most people think.