The Family Wallet

Busy summer schedules make it harder than ever to plan budget-friendly meals for your entire family. You don’t have time to plan and create elaborate meals, but you also don’t want to buy expensive convenience foods that are less nutritious just because they’re easy to prepare. If this dilemma sounds familiar to you, a Crock-Pot might just be your new best friend.

Crock-Pots allow you to create delicious meals without slaving over a hot stove. Instead, you’ll simply place all of the ingredients into your Crock-Pot, set it at a low heat setting, and go on with your day. In six to eight hours, depending upon your ingredients, you’ll have a tasty dish that your family will love. As an added bonus, you won’t have to worry about overheating your home by using the oven or stove.

The list of possible dishes you can create with a Crock-Pot is virtually endless, but here are a few examples to get you started:

Beef Stew – Cubed pieces of beef, potatoes, and a gravy mix are the staples of this traditional Crock-Pot dish. However, that’s just the start; add vegetables and seasonings to suit your family’s tastes, and you’ll have the whole family drooling when scents from your stew start wafting through the kitchen.

Pulled BBQ Sandwiches – A boneless pork roast and your favorite BBQ sauce will make these sandwiches a family favorite for dinner. Simply cook the sauce and roast together until the meat is cooked through. Then pull the meat apart into manageable pieces and use them to fill hamburger or hotdog buns.

Lasagna – If you love lasagna, but hate the work that goes with it, you’ll love the Crock-Pot version of this Italian favorite. Combine ground beef, sauce, noodles and cheese in your Crock-Pot and let it work its magic.

Lemon Chicken – Chicken breasts flavored with sliced lemon, garlic, and black pepper result in a meal that even the pickiest eaters in your family will love. This simple, refreshing dish is easy to make and a pleasure to eat.

Fruit Cobbler – Lest you think that you can only make entrees in your Crock-Pot, here is a simple, tasty dessert dish. You’ll need a box of yellow cake mix, your favorite pie filling (apple, cherry, and berries are great choices) and half of a cup of melted butter. Place the pie filling into your crock pot. Then, after combining the cake mix and butter into a crumbly mix, sprinkle it over the pie filling. After two or three hours, you’ll have a dessert that you can be proud of.

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Filed under: Food Expenses