This easy cleaning method will show you How To Get a Clean Slow Cooker with ease!
In my latest article for eHow, I'm sharing a super easy Slow Cooker Cleaner and showing just how easy it is to clean a slow cooker in just a few minutes. This easy method will remove burned on foods from the inside and outside of your slow cooker or crock pot with very little effort and a few household ingredients. I even included a super easy to follow video so you can see just how well it really works! To grab my Slow Cooker Cleaner and see How To Clean a Slow Cooker, click HERE!
Now that we've covered how to clean your slow cooker or crock pot, let me share a few more tips with you to make your slow cooking experience a great one! Keep reading for some amazing slow cooker meals too!
1. First and foremost…DO NOT KEEP OPENING YOUR CROCK POT DURING COOKING TIME! I cannot tell you how many times I used to open mine for a closer look, not knowing that I needed to add more cooking time, then not understanding why my roast wasn’t ready after 6 hours. Well, the thing is…crockpots aren’t meant to be stirred and checked on often. They are slow cooking your food, so just leave them alone, and let them do their thing ;)
2. Brown meats before adding them to the slow cooker! It will help the meat maintain it’s flavor and help with appearance too. Not to mention, it helps lower fat.
3. For the most part, you should thaw frozen vegetables before using them in a crockpot. Otherwise, they may add to the cook time if they make the liquids cooler or need more time to thaw than the other ingredients.
4. Pay attention to cook times! If something says cook 8-10 hours on low, realize your meat will turn out differently for each. Example: at 8 hours, you may have to slice your meat, at 10 hours, it will most likely shred. If your recipe says cook 4-10 hours on low, that doesn’t mean it will cook the same for 4-5 hours on high. It may…or it may not.
5. Add soft veggies towards the end of the cooking time. This is the ONLY time you should be opening your cooker. Tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini will maintain their color and won’t be mushy if you hold off and add them towards the end of cooking time.
6. This may be my favorite…Use the juices at the bottom of your pot to make a gravy. They are usually thin, but when mixed with a little flour and cooking for an extra 10-15 minutes, you can make a killer gravy!
7. Use your crock pot to slow cook soups! We have taken many of our stove top soup recipes and put the ingredients in the crock pot on high for 6 hours instead, and the flavor difference is AMAZING!
Check out my Chili Cook-Off winning Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili Recipe! It only takes a few minutes to prepare and you can just walk away and let your slow cooker do all of the work. I actually won a Chili Cook-Off with this recipe, and it is one of our family favorites!
These Slow Cooker Carnitas Pork Tacos are so delish! Street tacos are so popular now and this makes serving them up to your family a breeze. Just stick your pork in the slow cooker and go on with your day! You can take taco night to the next level with these pork tacos!
Looking for more Slow Cooker Recipes? Here are 22 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes that you can prepare for your family and friends!
Rhonda Weigandt says
You are right to adjust cooking times and browning meat before slow cooking and the broth does work well for tasty gravies.Good advice and good job.I've been cooking for over forty years and I like to see down to earth advice.Also even opening an oven to look at something cooking or a top on a stove pot adds some cooking time if we think about it.Great advice keep up the good work.