By now you know I have a strange obsession with my crock pot. The good news is, not only is a crock pot a time saver, it’s also a money saver! Today, Frugal Sally will tell us 6 areas in which crock pots save money and time…because that’s how we roll.
Let me start this by saying “I love my crockpot”. There are so many reasons why I cannot do without this item in my kitchen. For starters, it is the easiest way you will ever cook. That is a fact! But the best reason is that it saves you money big time. It also saves you time and as far as I’m concerned, time IS money!
6 Ways Crock Pots Save Time and Money
1. Did you know that you can save a lot of energy and money using your crock pot instead of the conventional oven or stove? It will even save you more than a toaster oven. It doesn’t heat up the house like it would using your oven either. The fact is that if you were to use your crockpot/slow cooker for 8 hours once a week that by the end of the month it would only make a $.20 difference in your power bill? Crock pots only use about 100 watts of electricity. Compared to the gas or electricity you would use cooking with conventional ovens or stoves you save hand over fist.
2. You can also purchase the tougher and less expensive cuts of meat. By slow cooking these tough cuts it makes them so tender they all but fall apart. I love to buy bone-in chicken thighs (because they are so cheap), cook them in the slow cooker and by the time they are done the meat falls right off the bone. I didn’t have to pay the higher price for boneless and you seem to get a better taste when the bones simmer with the meat all day. The same holds true for bone-in beef and pork roasts. They are cheaper and when cooked all day in the crockpot the bone can easily be pulled right out. I love doing pork roasts this way for my pulled pork sandwiches. All I do is rub a pork roast with some salt and pepper, throw it in the crockpot. Pour in a can of root beer and cook for 8 hours on low. Drain it, shred it and put it on a bun!! Can’t get any easier then that. Yummy too!
3. You can also cook dry beans which cost so much less then the ones in the cans. They are also some of the healthiest foods you can eat. There seems to be much less waste in slow cooking too. Less waste also helps you save money.
4. You save so much time with a slow cooker! I can throw everything in the crockpot in the morning before I leave for work and it is done when I get home. I also like to make double the amount, or have two crookpots going so I can have one for dinner that night and freeze the rest for dinners later in the weeks to come. Cooking in bulk also saves a good chunk of change too. Last week I purchased an 8 pound pork roast for less than $2 per pound. It made enough pulled pork for at least 5 meals for my family.
5. Cooking more than one meal at a time will also save you in the long run because you won’t have to go out to eat when there isn’t anything at home, or you don’t have time to cook a meal from start to finish. It will just be a matter of heat and eat.
6. Crock pot/slow cooker cooking can be healthier too. You use much less grease or oil than in traditional cooking so there are less calories. You get to choose the amounts of salt and there are less preservatives than popping a pre-made store-bought meal into the oven. Healthier meals will save you money in health care costs as time goes by.
You can find free recipes all over the web for crockpot cooking. I tend to look for ones with the least amount of prep work or ingredients. That makes it easier and cheaper.
So don’t leave that crockpot in the box. Start using it! I just don’t know what I would do without it. The savings alone are worth it. The saving of my sanity makes using a crockpot worth more than money, but knowing the savings I am getting is a win/win for me!
My love of crockpots is…well LARGE to say the least I own a 6qt,5qt a 3qt round a few vintage ones that are just for looks and my party guys who hold three 1.5qt crocks. The man gets mad because I am always looking for new/used ones. I did tell him that one day I was going to have an epic crockpot party and use them all at the same time and he would not be invited..lol
An epic crock pot party?! That sounds FABULOUS! 🙂
Love my crock pot too. In addition to using it to cook, I use it to keep things warm too. I love getting the rotessarie chickens at the store but when they get cold they aren’t as good. I started just putting mine straight from the store into my crock pot on keep warm setting. I have only done up to 4 hrs but it is as if it came right from the store when ready to eat. Same works for meats we have cooked on grill–keeps taste fresh but you have more options to cook ahead. I also use a second crock pot to cook my veggies if I have a big cut of meat in one of the crock pots. Do baking potatoes/sweet potatoes in the crock too. That way even if I don’t have a whole crock pot meal I still have an easy side to go with the meat or some grilled fish on the George Foreman grill.
You’re right! They work GREAT for potluck events to keep food warm!!
I am using mine right now. I grilled some porksteaks I got on sale yesterday. I grilled them part-way then through them in the crockpot and covered them with Sweet Baby Ray BBQ sauce to simmer all day. It is 105 degrees again today and didn’t want to be outside mid-afternoon BBQing.
Whew, me either girl.
To go with your super easy pulled pork recipe, here’s one for beef. Just take a tough cut of beef roast, dump a can of manwich sloppy joe sauce (or a home made version) over it, and cook it the crockpot until done. You’ll know it’s done because when you go to lift it out with a fork, it will just fall apart. Then pull it out, shred it with two forks, and add it back to the juices, heat a little more and it’s good to go.
I should not read comments when I’m hungry. LOL
So true!!
Any excuse to use my crock pot is a good one. 🙂
So true! I love my crock pot, too!
Sharin’ the love!
I use my trusty old slow cooker about 3 times a week. It’s dying. If anybody ever approaches you for a slow cooker review, give ’em my name, huh? 😉
LOL Get in line, sister! Mine isn’t dying, but I do love a good collection. 😉
Welcome back, Stacy. I have been praying for your family this week.
TARA @ Simply Made Home
🙂 Thanks Tara…I look forward to resuming things on Monday.
We got a piece of roast from our church, and I got a slow cooker liner, put the liner in, then put my roast in, spices, and onions, and cooked it. Come time for cleanup after the meal, drain your juices/water, and throw every thing away. Wipe down the crock pot if you feel like it needs it after it cools down, and bam, your done. Crock pot liners save a bunch of time, and clean up effort. I used Reynolds Crock Pot Liners but I’m sure there are others out there. Just a helpful hint!
I’m so stinking cheap that I won’t buy those. LOL
How do you clean your crockpot without the crock pot liner? I’m not much of a crock pot cooker, so I guess I need to learn. My Mom shared with me the liner idea, but is there another route to go for cleaning the crock pot?
I just let mine soak after I take the food out. Here is a great post by Ginger at Crock Pot Recipe Exchange – all about cleaning. 🙂
http://www.stacymakescents.com/fix-and-forget-friday-crock-pot-cleaning
That’s why I love the crockpot Stacy recommends above. Liners are not needed, cleanup is a breeze without! 🙂
I love my crock pots! Can’t wait to pull them out of storage. 🙂
Yeah, I agree with you Stacy – anything disposable I can avoid using, I try my best to avoid. Cheaper and greener. The other problem with those liners is they are made of plastic which can leach chemicals into your food, especially when heated for that long. An easy tip for cleaning your crockpot is to sprinkle some baking soda in the insert while it soaks. Works wonders when you go to scrub clean – no big deal!
Baking soda to the rescue! Love that stuff. 🙂
Do you have a recommendation for a great Crockpot? I have one with a High Low and Warm setting. I follow the settings recommended in the recipes, but the edges always get burned. I try to adjust the times, but that never works either. Do you have any advice?
Dusti, I’m not sure what kind Sally uses but I love my Hamilton Beach set! It’s a nesting set of 3 and it’s very easy to store. This is the one I have (in white): http://amzn.to/NsfAg0
I was just going to recommend the same one! Mine is black. I’ve had it for a few years and love it so much, I just bought a second for making two things at once! Highly recommend.
In hindsight, I wish I had gotten the black instead of the white. 🙂
Crockpots are so awesome. Jerm is supposed to slaughter some roosters this week hopefully, and at least 1 of those bad boys will be crockpotted ASAP!
JEALOUS!!