Basic Kitchen: My Best Friend, The Crockpot

I am pretty sure almost every household in America has a crockpot. Really. Most of us probably received one as a wedding gift or a "first home" gift or a Christmas gift.

They are an American household staple. And they should be used OFTEN. Honestly, they are the simplest appliance you'll ever own or use. They do all the cooking for you when it comes to a meal.

So, here are the oh-so-tough steps to using a crockpot to make your meal:

1 - Pick a meat...chicken, a roast, ground meat, whatever!
2 - Choose a few veggies...we like carrots and potoatoes.
3 - Pick some seasonings...for flavor, we use chopped onion (dried or fresh; or onion powder) and celery, salt and pepper, and usually a little garlic (or garlic salt or garlic powder)
4 - Decide how long you want this to cook. (Going to be at work all day? 8-10 hours, then, would be good. Running out for a few hours? 6 hours might work. Noticing it's after lunch already and you haven't thought about dinner yet? 4 hours is probably best.)
5 - Put your meat in the crockpot (brown the sides on the stovetop first, if using a roast). Then add your veggies and seasonings around the meat and on top.
6 - Add a little water. I have no exact measurement. I think about 1/2 to 1 inch of water in the pot would be good. Just so things don't dry out.
7 - Set your time and press Start.

Ta-da! You've done it. :) Now, dinner will be ready and you don't have to stand there and stir anything or even check on it. Throw it all in a large serving bowl or divide it up onto plates and there's dinner!