I love to cook especially when it means family time; however, with as busy as our lives can get, sometimes cooking is the last thing I want to do.  That is when it is great to have a Crockpot and create some easy Crockpot meals.  Cooking in a crockpot can also save you money as most of the meals are simple to prepare.

While we may think that the Crockpot has been around forever, it actually was invented in the 1970s.  Slow cooking was often done over the open fire back when fireplace cooking was common place, but with the modernization of society, it became a lost art.  Then the Crockpot was invented and made by Rival in the 1970s, and it has continued to gain popularity since then.

You can put something in the CrockPot in the morning, leave it on low, and have a wonderful supper ready when you get home.  You can even put it on the night before and have lunch done by late morning without hardly any work.

The key I have is to have recipes and meals that have enough moisture in them.  You can of course get easy crockpot meals books filled with CrockPot recipes, but there are some recipes that our family just loves that we’ve adapted to the CrockPot as well.

Our Favorite Crockpot Meals

Chili

Our chili recipe which is quite simple – 1 can kidney beans, 2 cans chili beans, 1 can tomatoes, 1 can tomato paste, 1 can tomato soup, 1 lb hamburger browned, 1 onion chopped, 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 Tbsp garlic powder, and water to bring it to the consistency desired works great in a CrockPot.  The only thing we do different than if we were cooking it on the stovetop for an hour is to cook the onions in with the hamburger to get them softened.  We have found that everything else would be done but those little pesky guys.  So sometimes the veggies would need to be lightly sautéed to ensure being done evenly.

Roast

We also love to put a roast in the Crockpot, throw in some water, and let it cook away.  The slow cooking enhances the flavor of the roast and makes it melt in your mouth tender.

Chicken

You can put an entire chicken frozen in the Crockpot.  You don’t even have to add water because as it thaws, it creates its own broth.  Let it cook overnight or all day, and you will have the most tender roasted chicken you’ve ever tasted.

There are even some great hints out on the internet that you can find on converting your recipes to CrockPot cooking and have easy crockpot meals.  So what are you waiting for?  Dust off that CrockPot, and put it to work!

Okay, it’s your turn.  Share some of your favorite Crockpot meals with the readers in the comments!